Helping the forest second act

I confess. I have thought about it. I could make it easy for myself. It's not like I wasn't singing the praises of this team last year. And you know what, I'll do that too. I'll copy the text from back then and then we'll see. A lot has happened in the meantime. Not just good things. But as far as the basics are concerned, why I want to introduce you to this troupe of all things today, I couldn't write it more beautifully today than I did back then.

Do you remember our fundraiser? I'm a little scared about how I might not be able to keep up the level this year. That's a great line. But correct. Not being able to keep up would also work, but it has a different meaning. It doesn't matter. I could triple instead of double. My last birthday, level, fundraiser, €7,554 donated to...

Wilderness International

Exactly. We buy rainforest. And really old ones at that. The trees are around a thousand years old and can easily live that long again if we don't destroy them. But that's not all. I have a plan. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't do things by halves.

There's an NGO called Wilderness International, which I think has a pretty well thought-out concept. How come you've never heard of it? That's exactly the point. Because there is no budget for advertising. Only 5 % of the donations go to administration and 38 % is spent on the actual land purchase, notarisation, land registration and official stuff. The vast majority, however, is used for genuine sustainability work, working together with the "locals" who ensure the long-term protection of nature there. Investments are made in research and education, which I personally believe is the key to success. Buying rainforest somewhere is of no lasting benefit if it then falls victim to palm oil plantations for our KitKat (from Nestlé, by the way). People need to understand why these forests are so important to us. I'm not quite sure how you would calculate that, probably more of an educated guess. I consider these forests, along with the oceans, to be the most important ecosystem on our planet. While it's hard to get to the heart of the matter when it comes to the sea, it's easy with the rainforest. I can even see them on Google Maps.

Wilderness International refinances the advance payment property purchases through donations. And here's the cool part. For every participation, there are geocoordinate-referenced aerial photos and a certificate, which is also authenticated with exact coordinates. So I can really go and show my godchild where he can look on Google Maps in twenty years' time to see which rainforest Uncle Paddy and his friends have protected forever. And I think that's pretty crazy.

The plan is as follows. We'll play a little game. I'll give you a month to donate and tell your friends and family. Let's see what comes together. My account is finite, but with everything that's in it on 15 October, I'll double it on my birthday.

Yes, that's how it was back then. After that, there was just one more sentence about doing something good once in a lifetime, but once is never enough. Of course we're doing something even cooler this year. I already have a super exciting idea. I just have to work out how much it will cost me in the worst case scenario. Could. Will.

A lot has actually happened since then. Wilderness International is now a household name in the scene. I think it's fair to say that the very high profile on the YouTube channel of RML, Robert Marc Lehmann, Mission Erde e.V. has probably given the project a significant boost in terms of awareness. Not least thanks to the joint Mission Canada, they are now bound to reach many new internet users.

And how does Wilderness International assess the situation in? Comparing then and now. I'd say we're all pretty much on the same wavelength. It is now more important than ever to protect even more rainforest even faster. Only 2.8 % of the earth's land areas are still intact habitats. Humans have already destroyed the rest. This can be measured. Official figures prove it.

We don't need another climate summit or another climate conference to discuss this. We need to act here and now.

I wrote something about this back in October. I thought it was so blatant at the time. On the NASA website, so please, this is NASA, they know everything and don't lie. And if they did, you'd never find out. Or you'd already be dead. On the NASA website, which documents the undoubtedly man-made climate change over the years, packed as a winter-summer slide show. Highly exciting and highly dramatic. I knew it had to be bad. But the fact that we have already destroyed the Arctic ice continent and that there is young and old ice, i.e. bad and good ice, was news to me.

The news about the satellite images that proved the increase in global warming by more than 1.5 degrees compared to before the industrial age, that was the first moment, what was that again with Paris? It wasn't an either or proposition. It was either or nature is going over and there is nothing we can do about it. When you saw the implications of this realisation, it was stark information. It meant that everything we do now will not come without scars. We have already destroyed too much. For example, some species that are already extinct due to global warming will not come back. They will never exist on this planet again. Because man was arrogant enough to believe he had the right to smoke with the window open at 35 degrees. With the air conditioning on. In city traffic. Slash traffic jam. In an SUV. Diesel.

What was the situation with diesels and petrol engines? Are diesels still so much worse than petrol engines? Or are today's engines as sophisticated as the manufacturers promise? That would be really interesting to know. Are there any independent tests?

In any case, this magical limit of 1.5 degrees, which we have known since the 1980s as "do not go there". Just like everyone has heard that you don't fly into a black hole because, according to all calculations, you'll never get out again. So we went there and kept walking. One heatwave after another wasn't enough for us. We had to try the next drought as well.

In the media, nothing. News, one day weeks later, much later, mentioned in the news, just before the weather. Since then, not a word, not a joke. Nothing. Simply nothing. Along the lines of what? 1.5 degrees? Yeah well, nothing then.

That wasn't an election programme. I'm losing hope.

We already had millennium summers in 2018 and 2019. Back then, trees and forests across the Saarland died. Gone. For at least 170 years. That's how long it takes for a forest to be old enough to harbour mega biodiversity. And only then do forests bind enough CO2 in their biomass to make a significant difference. For the first thirty years of its life, a single tree is even climate-negative. You can forget about planting trees until 2050. That's measured. That would be a slogan for a shirt. Joking aside, we need these forests if we and our children want to go out on the street next summer without a spacesuit. I couldn't care less. My life takes place in bed.

We must preserve what little forest there still is, here and now and for all time (every space). We cannot allow ourselves to wipe out the last CO2 reservoirs and at the same time oxygen producers on this earth because we like cheap monoculture palm oil in our oh-so-spreadable animal butter. And we have to breed so many animals to satisfy our milk and meat cravings that we buy soya feed from areas where the primeval forests are being cleared by fire precisely for this purpose. While the timber mafia cuts down the last primeval forests throughout Eastern Europe and the West stands idly by. Looking the other way. That's a total brain fuck. And then you have a prime minister who approves of all this and propagates that cruelty to animals has quasi constitutional status. This arrogant a... should be put through a meat grinder. Let's see what he thinks.

Back to the topic. Forest. Protecting forests. At Wilderness International, forests are not only purchased, but also permanently protected. Research teams and local partners from other NGOs such as Fauna Forever in Peru observe, intervene and monitor. Based on the results of the experiments, conclusions can be drawn about diversity, population, growth and migration behaviour. Gathering knowledge is important so that we can explain it when we are asked. It is important that we understand what we are doing. Because only then will future generations stop this madness. This is exactly what Wilderness International is doing. They provide expert information. So that people understand what is happening with their money.

The purchase contracts for all plots of land are in the name of the three internationally distributed companies of the Wilderness International Foundation in order to maximise legal certainty. We do not want to become large landowners, but to protect forests. In addition, as long as we have the choice, land is bought in areas where a notarised purchase contract is still worth something. And then everything is surveyed, regardless of whether it is nailed down or not. You shouldn't be afraid of tarantulas. Yes, and neither should caimans and huge, fat snakes. A rare species of snake has already returned. It's totally crazy how nature finds a way after all.

Watch their tireless videos. Pictures say more. With this team, every cent goes where it is needed most.

Politically, global environmental protection is more about monetising nature. Who has to pay how much in fines and when. Germany may have measured too much nitrate from fertilisers. The same thing led to a conviction back then. A repeat offender, oh how nice. Let's impose a hefty fine right away. A fine in the tens of millions seems appropriate this time. And our own politicians sit in the EU Parliament and think oh, only in the lower double-digit range, we'll take the money from the animal welfare cent.

It was clear to us that the animal welfare cent would be misused to cover budget shortfalls, KPMG interjects. But in all probability, we will only generate three billion from the animal welfare cent, or possibly five if things go really well. That doesn't even cover half the cost of the fine for breaching the EU Fertiliser Regulation, Mr Minister, says KPMG, but we will more than make up for it with the additional tax revenue from glyphosate, which was sneakily approved again after all.

Pure fiction, of course. I'm not saying that politicians are in cahoots with lobbyists. But perhaps our politicians are in cahoots with lobbyists who are not exactly known for their good environmental ideology. Oh, that gives me an idea for the cover...

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I like the cover picture.

As I said, this is the time to act. And we can afford to help. Anyone who says he/she/it can't afford it is lying. Are you reading my blog, presumably on a fancy iPhone? I'm afraid you're out, you can afford to help. Smoker? Out. Meat eater? Out. Car owner? Out. House, land or flat owners? Out. Alcohol drinkers? Out. I won't take away anyone's after-work beer or their fags (which, by the way, contain animal products). But then admit that you don't care about our environment and don't complain later that nobody told you.

Helping is so easy. We don't even have to get our hands dirty. Just donate a little and others sacrifice themselves for us by dedicating their lives to the local project. I would put my hand in the fire for Wilderness International. Well, if I could. Wink smiley.

And this is what our rainforest, protected by these very people, looks like in the following pictures. Hey, no kidding, that was a great action. It was worth it and it is worth it. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

With these pictures from Wilderness International, I bid you farewell for today. Because I couldn't say goodbye any better than with these pictures.

Do it better.

Misty Forest Canada
(Birthday, October 2023)

A brief categorisation of where we are:
in the very north-west of our planet

And we have donated so much,
that you can see the impact from space

And of all places, the Wilderness International website is giving me blurred images in the 7,500 metre spot protected by us. It's not enough that I have to spend the holidays with a urinary tract infection slash cystitis and antibiotics - yes, again - now the technology is failing too…