Fw: Tell Your Senator to Help Stop Illegal Logging!

November 2, 2007

Tell Your Senator to Help Stop Illegal Logging!

Rainforest Action Network

Tell Your Senator to Help Stop Illegal Logging! [for Americans]

Across the world, illegal logging is destroying old growth forests at an

astonishing rate. Much of the illegally harvested wood ends up in the U.S.

because America has no law against importing illegally-sourced wood.

Today we have the chance to change that and help protect forests worldwide.

For the first time, the Senate is now considering adopting a law to ban the

import of illegal wood.

Please urge your Senators to co-sponsor the Wyden-Alexander amendment to the

Farm Bill to combat illegal logging.

We need to get as many Senators as possible to co-sponsor the amendment by

Monday!

From Borneo to the Amazon to Siberia, illegal logging is the first step in a

devastating cycle of forest habitat loss, animal poaching and carbon

emissions.

Indonesia: A U.N. report estimates that 98% of Indonesia's forests could

disappear within 20 years. The Government of Indonesia estimates that 73% of

all logging is illegal;

Peru: The Amazon is under attack by mahogany traffickers. The vast majority

of Peruvian mahogany -- 80% of which is illegal -- is destined for the U.S.;

Russia: The Far Eastern forests, home to the planet's largest cat, the Amur

tiger, are being leveled to feed the factories and furniture mills of China,

many of which send products to the U.S.

Encourage your Senators to co-sponsor the Wyden-Alexander amendment to the

Farm Bill to combat illegal logging.

The amendment will give enforcement agencies a powerful tool for fighting

illegal timber traffickers by making it a crime to knowingly import, sell,

buy or transport illegally-sourced wood and wood products.

It's time to send a message to international timber syndicates that America

will no longer accept the environmental destruction that comes with illegal

logging. Please take action today!

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