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Take Action: Ask your MP to support new illegal logging legislation Unbelievably, there are no laws in place that outlaw the importation of illegal timber into Europe, an illegal trade worth 3 billion Euros a year. WWF estimates that the UK is the largest importer in Europe. Stopping the tidal wave of illegal timber that floods into Europe, and the UK, is a vital step towards saving our forests. Please take Action today. Click on the link below.http://www.wwf.org.uk/researcher/issues/forests/0000000284.asp

The UK is one of the largest importers of illegal hardwoods from ancient rain forests.
The problem is huge. Since 1970, more than 232,000 square miles of Amazon rain forest have disappeared, nearly the size of Texas, according to environmental site Mongabay.com. Another 3,860 square miles of rain forest is expected to be destroyed this year. With it goes incalculable biodiversity, cultural diversity, and one of the most effective counterweights to climate change.

At Sanded Floors we believe that the way to achieve a sanded wooden floor is to sand and make the most of the floor boards you already have. If you have to have a new floor, please make sure the wood you buy has the FSC stamp on it. The same applies to hard wood furniture that is swamping the market at present, mainly in the form of garden furniture. We have supplied several links on our flooring links page, that supply FSC stamped wood. Other links on our site that supply hard woods, say they are from sustainable forestry practices, but it's up to you to be vigilant and check these companies out for yourselves. If more people play an active roll in doing this for themselves and show their disapproval of this illegal trade, eventually the suppliers will get the message. Please take a look at the links below to get a real understanding of the problems we face with the loss of the worlds ancient rain forests.

BE AWARE. THINK, CHECK, ASK QUESTIONS, BEFORE YOU BUY ANY HARD WOODS. IT'S UP TO YOU TO STOP THIS TRADE. EVERY INDIVIDUAL CAN HELP TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

15/6/2005.... Pressure from environmental groups and the general public persuaded the B&Q stores to stop selling illegally logged rainforest wood. Garden furniture and wood from B&Q now comes from environmentally safe managed plantations.

If you buy Xerox paper for your computer or office you are innocently helping to destroy 400 year old trees in the Tasmanian temperate forest ...... FIND OUT MORE

GUNNS Limited -- Australia's largest logging company -- continues to rapidly destroy one of the Earth's most unique and ancient temperate rainforests in Tasmania. They turn this into wood chip which they then supply to Xerox to make paper.

Gunns website has a different story to tell, putting themselves forward as "A Leader in Sustainable Forest & Environmental Management". Not only are big logging companies destroying the planets chances of survival in the current threats to climate change but they are also making us believe they are actually looking after our ancient forests.... quite simply.... THEY ARE NOT. If we loose what's left of the earths ancient forests to these massive logging companies the earth will have no defences against climate change. WHATS MORE IMPORTANT...
GARDEN FURNITURE, DECKING, NEW HARDWOOD FLOORING, PAPER PRODUCTS OR HUMAN SURVIVAL ON EARTH.
WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE. We can all make a difference by finding out the origins of the products we buy and making sure they are not having a devastating effect on the planet , wild life and indigenous peoples. By buying wood from ancient rain forests we are creating a further demand.

Ancient forest with 400 year old trees being logged by Gunns Limited to turn into wood chip for paper products.

Illegal logging.info This site is maintained by the Energy, Environment and Development Program of Chatham House in London, with funding from the UK Department for International Development

defra.gov. UK government environmental information with links to other sites giving important environmental information.

FSC Forest stewardship Council Uk The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world's forests. It was founded in 1993 in response to public concern about deforestation and demand for a trustworthy wood-labelling scheme. Find and buy the products you require without damaging our planet. There are some great links on this site.

ILLEGAL LOGGING Greenpeace information site.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH Did you know? About half of the tropical timber imports to the European Union are illegally cut - and the UK is the biggest importer of such wood.

OXFAM. COOL PLANET Explains the effects of deforestation.

GREENPEACE MEDIA BRIEF PDF FILE Partners in crime: the UK and destruction of the Forests of the Great Apes...... Case study - Vicwood Thanry whose timber was used in the cabinet office.

FIND A SUPPLIER FOR FSC WOOD

HARD WOOD SUPPLIES FROM HENRY VENABLES For over a century Henry Venables has supplied selected hardwoods for joinery, construction and furniture, establishing an unrivalled reputation for quality and service. Can supply FSC wood by request.

THE HEALTHY FLOORING NETWORK . DUST MITES, Poisons underfoot - carpets and vinyl linked to indoor pollution. What better reason to have a natural wooden floor. These are things we all need to know.

 

Greenpeace have built a Climate Defenders Camp on the Kampar peninsula in Indonesia, to highlight the role that protecting peat and tropical forests must play in securing a safe climate.
The Kampar peninsula sits deep in the heart of the Sumatran rainforest. It's a unique and complex ecosystem, sustaining fishing communities, hunters and farmers, full of unique plants and animals, and home to endangered species like the Sumatran tiger and the Wallace's hawk.

Because of the deep peat bogs found below the forest it's also at the front line in the struggle to halt climate change. Peat bogs are delicate systems which store massive amounts of carbon. Half of the world's tropical peat swamps are located in Indonesia, and Kampar is the largest remaining intact area of tropical peat swamp rainforest.

Around the world, an area of forest the size of a football pitch is destroyed every two seconds. Deforestation adds to all of the industrial pollution we pump into the atmosphere - not only by releasing the carbon that's stored in trees and ecosystems, but also by destroying the natural carbon cycling capacity of the planet.

In the run-up to Copenhagen, Greenpeacer activists, working alongside local people, will be exploring the Kampar peninsula, showing how the destruction of the forest and the draining of the peatlands is contributing to climate change, and stopping some of the worst damage in classic Greenpeace style.

www.greenpeace.org.uk

ZERO WASTE THEATER

Watch this heartbreaking film free on streaming video by following this link about the effects of deforestation. Produced, directed, filmed and edited by Patrick Rouxel. It's 47 minutes of film with no narration that so utterly speaks for itself. Watch it, you need to know the suffering that goes on to give us the things we take for granted that come from the rainforests. THIS BOX IS A LINK CLICK IT NOW.

 

ANOTHER CAUSE FOR CONCERN IN THE RAIN FORESTS, start choosing our shoes with care.

 

Slaughtering the Amazon from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo.

 

OTHER KEY EMVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

wwwf.org.uk/marineact/fairshare.asp The UK seas are in crisis.

www.wwf.org.uk/marineact/fairshare.asp Watch our film then pass it on to your MP:

CLIMATE CHANGE:
Email to Lynne from WWF
Dear Lynne,
In terms of its impact for the environment, the Climate Change Bill is one of the most critically important pieces of legislation ever to go before the UK parliament .If strong enough, the Bill could ensure the UK contributes its fair share in the fight against climate change and also set a model for the rest of the world to follow .That's why it's vital we get it right. Over the next few months, we'll be closely following the Bill's progress through parliament and asking you to take a number of important actions at key moments, urging our politicians to make the right choices in strengthening the Bill. You can start by emailing your MP: http://www.wwf.org.uk/campaignccbill The Climate Change Bill must be made stronger, and you can help make sure the government delivers. TAKE ACTION!!!!!

Ask your MP for a Climate Change Bill that works. There are a number of things the Bill must do for it to be effective and perhaps the most important is the UK?s overall CO2 emissions reduction target. The government thinks a 60% reduction by 2050 is a reasonable target, but this is based on old science. The current science tells us that countries like the UK need to cut emissions by at least 80% to deliver our fair share of the carbon clear-up. And WWF research shows that an 80% reduction by 2050 is entirely achievable. The difference between a 60% and an 80% target is the difference between a Bill which rises to the climate change challenge, and one which simply ducks it. Only with
an 80% emissions reduction target can we hope to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Tell your MP that the Climate Change Bill must be strong enough to be effective.

http://www.wwf.org.uk/campaignccbil Follow this link to email your MP

 

The trash vortex The very thing that makes plastic items useful to consumers, their durability and stability, also makes them a problem in marine environments .The trash vortex is one of the most studied areas of plastic accumulation in our oceans. At its maximum the area can reach the size of Texas.
World Crises Old toothbrushes, beach toys and used condoms are part of a vast vortex of plastic trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

A series of eye opening films about what we are doing to our oceans. Follow the link below. Dear lynne, Thank you for sending this film tip. Best regards, Greenpeace.

PEOPLE ARE NEEDLESSLY THROWING AWAY 3.6 MILLION TONNES OF FOOD EACH YEAR IN ENGLAND & WALES.

Much of the food wasted in the UK is still in it's unopened packaging.