April Fools! Bloomberg’s Tropical Hardwood Reduction Plan Will Triple the City's Destruction of Rainforests
Man standing at a podium that has the United Nations symbol on it, with part of a blue banner behind him and a man seated to the right at the dias
Mayor Bloomberg announces the Tropical Hardwood Reduction Plan at a meeting at the United Nations on February 11, 2008.
Rainforest Relief and New York Climate Action Group excoriated Mayor Bloomberg's Tropical Hardwood Reduction Plan in a press release issued on April Fools' Day, highlighting the Plan's bait-and-switch.
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E/The Environmental Magazine


The Nation's only non-profit, independent, consumer publication on the environment, E Magazine is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues.
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Mayor's Plan Will "Trash" More Rainforests
Man in front of microphone at dias with banner behind him that reads "Addressing Climate Change"
Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the United Nations announcing New York City's plan to address the city's use of tropical hardwoods
The city's plan to address the use of tropical hardwoods actually allows for a doubling of use by city agencies in the near term.
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NY Post Article Confirms NYC Parks Department Is Switching to Alternatives
Boardwalk in foreground and amusements, including a steel tower with a steel mushrooming array at the top, in the background, and people walking on the boardwalk.
Years of campaign work by Rainforest Relief and more recently New York Climate Action Group has resulted in a major victory in New York City.
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NYC Parks Department Ends the Use of Tropical Hardwoods for Benches
A bench with gray, 3" x 10" slats, next to a fence
Parks began using some recycled plastic lumber in 1998, after Rainforest Relief met with Parks Commissioner Henry Stern but has continued to use mostly tropical hardwoods until December of 2007
Years of campaign work by Rainforest Relief and more recently New York Climate Action Group have resulted in a major victory in New York City.
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Benpa Yapi Agrees to Not Sell Tropical Plywood
Respoinding to the Rainforest Relief campaign, Benpa Yapi Malzemeleri Dis Tic, Ltd., a plywood manufacturer in Turkey, has announced that they have not and will not source tropical hardwood.
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Wildwood WIll Use Black Locust! Instead of Rainforest Wood
Boardwalk with shops to the left and a railing between the beach to the right, with one person walking on the boards
The Wildwood, New Jersey boardwalk
Wildwood's bid calls for the use of ipê, most likely illegally logged from the pristine rainforests of Brazil.
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Groups Take the Plunge for Climate Change
Woman in bikini running out of the water onto the beach, with others behind still in the water
Ariane Burgess of the New York Climate Action Group ermerges refreshed after taking the plunge for a healthy climate in the icy waters off Coney Island. Rob Jereski of NYCAG is to the left and Tim Keating, director of Rainforest Relief is to the right. Photo by Antrim Caskey
Members of Rainforest Relief and New York Climate Action Group took the plunge into the frigid waters off Coney Island, NY to highlight climate change and the city's contribution to climate-changing deforestation.
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Rainforest Relief Releases New One-minute PSA
Close up of man with "450 species" in white on the image to the right
Tim Keating, Rainforest Relief director, in a newly-released PSA on rainforest wood
Rainforest Relief has released a one-minute video public service announcement about the destruction of rainforests for export timber.
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Jeremy Paster, 1971 – 2007
Man with beard to right in front of ocean and lawn
Jeremy Paster, activist and friend of Rainforest Relief is remembered.
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Wall Street Journal Article Exposes Major Failure of FSC Certification
Aerial view of a road through a rainforest showing logs stacked alongside the road
An illegal road cut into the rainforests of Brazil by a logger in Peru that was certified by an FSC accredited certifier. More photos are available here.
An article in the Wall Street Journal has exposed a major failure of the FSC to protect old growth forests.
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Ecological Internet Supports NYC Campaign
A railroad track crossover with over a dozen wooden ties lined up next to each other, at an angle under the tracks
New York City Transit Authority, part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, a state agency, uses subway track ties logged from the rainforests of West Africa. On one of these ties, the words, "Products of Cameroon" can be seen in white.
Ecolotgical Internet has posted and sent an action alert highlighting Rainforest Relief's New York City campaign. To send an email to NYC staff and officials, click here. To find out more about the NYC campaign, click here.
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Alternet Publishes Article on RR's New York City Campaign
Alternet logo consisting of "Alter" in black and "Net" in blue, with a blue arrow sweeping from the front of the "A", under the A, pointing to the tag-line "The Mix is the Message"
AlterNet published an article by Rob Jeresky on Rainforest Relief's New York City Rainforest Wood campaign.
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NY Climate Action Group Forms, Supports RR NYC Campaign
Blue sphere with an orange border with "New York Climate Action Group" in black
NYCAG recently formed and has adopted Rainforest Reliefs campaing to end New York City's use of tropical hardwoods.
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Ocean City Update 3
Yet another citizen protest prior to a City Council meeting in Ocean City
Ocean City Council votes to use ipê for boardwalk renovations, then reverses itself — but the ipê is on the way.
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Hoyt Street Uses Destructively Harvested Tropical Wood in "Green" Buildings
The interior of an apartment, with a view of the kitchen and part of the living room, with furniture.
Hoyt Street Properties' The Encore, touted as a 'green' building, is using wood logged from the rainforests of West Africa.
Hoyt Street Properties is touting their buildings as 'green' but are using wood logged from the old growth rainforests of the Amazon and Africa.
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Metro Homes Set to Use Brazilian Hardwoods in Trump Plaza Jersey City
Large condominium building with the lights on with a city skyline and deep blue evening sky behind it
Trump Plaza Jersey City is being advertised as having floors made of Brazilian hardwoods
Metro Homes touts their 'green' construction but they are using wood logged from the old growth rainforests of the Amazon.
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Brazilian Police Dismantle Gang that Smuggled Rosewood to U.S.
Long thin piece and blanks for the bank and neck of a guitar, made of a dark reddish wood with dark grain lines
Brazilian rosewood is used often by luthiers fashioning guitars. Some consider it the "holy grail" of guitar woods.
Brazilia police, along with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, uncovered a group of smugglers shipping illegally logged Brazilian rosewood to the US.
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Pottery Barn Seeking Nyatoh Alternative
Man in orangutan costume holding a sign that reads: "Pottery Barn: Please Hurry, We Need Our Forest Home!" and a photo of a baby orangutan, standing in front of a Pottery Barn store.
Orangutans and their families are dying and being driven from their forests homes by loggers who are in part feeding the demand for nyatoh outdoor furniture created by Pottery Barn and other companies.
Rainforest Relief cancelled scheduled demonstrations at Pottery Barn stores after representatives of Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn's parent company told us that they are seeking alternatives to nyatoh outdoor furniture.
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UN FAO Workshop
Sparse trees and grass
Deforestation in Brazil (photo from UNFAO website)
A recent UN FAO workshop focused on the contribution of deforestation to global warming.
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Crate & Barrel Takes a Big Step Forward: Catalog Now Features FSC-Certified Eucalyptus Instead of Nyatoh
Wooden bar chair and bar
Crate & Barrel has shifted their sales of nyatoh to FSC-certified plantation eucalyptus. They should be applauded for this but they also should cease the sales of uncertified teak and mahogany.
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National Geographic Magazine: Last of the Amazon
Four Indians in Brazil standing on clearcut land; some forest remains in the background
Photographs by Alex Webb
National Geographic's amazing article on the loss of the Amazon from logging, ranching and production of soy and other crops.
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This Old House Promotes Rainforest Destruction
This Old House logo
On Oct. 23, 2005, This Old House suggested two tropical rainforest woods and two temperate rainforest woods for siding for their current project.
This Old House is once again promoting the use of wood logged from rainforests, thus speeding the destruction of Earth's most biodiverse ecosystems.
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Logging in the Amazon May Double Estimated Damage
Logs piled up after logging in the Amazon
Freshly cut logs from the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil are seen in this August 18 photo. (Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)
A new study of satellite images from the Brazilian Amazon shows that the estimates of rainforest destruction should be doubled due to logging.
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Linens 'N' Things to End Sales of Nyatoh Furniture
Linens 'N' Things Logo
LNT has ceased to purchase outdoor furniture made from nyatoh, a wood logged from the old growth rainforests of Indonesia.
Linens 'N' Things, a large retailer with 500 stores across the US and Canada, has announced an end to the purchase and sales of outdoor furniture made from nyatoh, logged from the endangered rainforests of Indonesia.
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Gardener's Supply Ends Sales of Outdoor Furniture from Endangered Forests
Eco-Teak bench sold by Gardener's Supply made from plantation teak.
Eco-Teak bench sold by Gardener's Supply made from plantation teak
Gardener's Supply, a catalog company with two retail stores in Vermont, has responded to our campaign and ended their sales of outdoor furniture made from wood logged from endangered tropical forests.
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Target Makes Strides but Continues Destroying Rainforests
Target on the rainfoests.
By selling furniture made of nyatoh, logged from the dwindling rainforests of Indonesia, Target is helping destroy rainforests and the orangutans and other wildlife that live in them.
Help us stop the sale by Target of nyatoh furniture, logged from the old growth rainforests of Indonesia.
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Benpa Yapi Malzemeleri Dis Tic, Ltd., Set to Use Lauan Plywood
Stacks of tropical plywood
Stacks of plywood logged from the rainforests of Indonesia, where illegal logging is rampant
We need your help to stop a plywood importer/wholesaler in Turkey that's about to start importing plywood from Indonesia, thus speeding the destruction of the dwindling rainforests of Southeast Asia.
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Jersey City, NJ Passes Rainforest Wood Ordinance
Jersey City City Council
Jersey City City Council voting unanimously on a rainforest wood ordinance
Jersey City, NJ has passed a regulation barring the city from purchasing tropical hardwoods or temperate rainforest woods for any future projects. The city has been buying benches made from the Amazon rainforest wood ipê.
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Earth About to Catch 100,000-year "Morbid Fever"
Fires burning in the Amazon rainforest
Fires raging in the Amazon. Photo from brazil-travel-guide.com.
James Lovelock, innovator of the Gaia hypothesis, predicts that the tropics will become scrub desert and that Civilization will not survive climate change.web
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Washington Post Article on Illegal Logging and China
Front page of the Washington Post, Sunday, April 1, 2007, with headline, "Corruption Stains Timber Trade"
Page 1 of the Sunday, April 1, 2007 Washington Post.
The Washington Post has published an incredible article on illegal logging taking place in East Asia and around the world, to feed the insatiable demand of Chinese factories exporting wood products to the world.
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About.com Promotes Rainforest Destruction
About Logo
About.com promotes the purchase of ipê, Shorea and other rainforest woods for decking
About.com, a subsidiary of The New York Times Company, is promoting the use of rainforest woods, many of which are illegally logged, in articles on home decking.
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US Bill Introduced to Ban Imports of Wood Logged Illegally
Two men standing and one sitting on logs on the ground in a clearing in the rainforest
Tim Keating of Rainforest Relief and George Marshall, formerly of Rainforest Foundation standing on mahogany logs that were illegally logged in Belize. The man sitting is from a nearby Mayan village and a former coordinator of the Toledo Maya Cultural Council.
Landmark legislation that would enable the banning of the imports of wood logged illegally into the US has been introduced into the US Congress.
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New York Times Article on Amazon Illegal Logging
Truck driver and a cargo of illegal logs
Transporting illegal logs. Joao Silva for The New York Times
An article in the New York Times exposes continuing and increasing illegal logging in the Brazilian Amazon. Read the story and our response.
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Kmart's Martha Stewart Outdoor Furniture Ending Use of Nyatoh
The Martha Stewart Sierra Vista line of outdoor furniture
The Martha Stewart Sierra Vista line of outdoor furniture. Martha Stewart, Inc. will no longer sell nyatoh furniture through Kmart.
The Martha Stewart line of outdoor furniture, sold through Kmart, will no longer be made of nyatoh, logged from the old growth rainforests of Indonesia.
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Wal-mart Destroying Rainforests
Outdoor furniture set made of nyatoh sold by Wal-mart
Wal-mart is selling three lines of outdoor furniture made of nyatoh
Wal-mart may be the largest retailer of outdoor furniture made of nyatoh and is thus a big player in the destruction of Indonesia's dwindling rainforests.
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Vons
Bar made of nyatoh wood for sale at Vons
At least 75% of logging in Indonesia's rainforests is done illegally and logging is driving destruction that is leading to these forests disappearing by 2010. Demand for nyatoh, manufactured into products like this bar, and other woods is driving the logging.
Vons, a food and product retailer with 325 stores in southern California, is selling furniture made of nyatoh logged from Indonesia's dwindling rainforests.
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Rainforest Relief Teams with EMA on Safe Sets™ Campaign
Environmental Media Association Logo
The Environmental Media Association (EMA) mobilizes the entertainment industry to educate people about environmental issues and inspire them into action
Rainforest Relief has joined with EMA to eliminate the use of lauan plywood in movie and theatrical set construction. A sign-on letter is circulating through Hollywood and recently appeared in Hollywood Reporter and VLife magazines.
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