Help Keep Our Rainforest This Way

Write a short letter to the Mayor, your City Council member, Councilwoman Kathryn Freed, Chair of the Contracts Committee, and Council Speaker Peter Vallone.

Dear ________________:

Logging has been identified by World Wildlife Fund and World Resources Institute as the greatest factor in the loss of the world's forests. Logging roads are a leading factor in the eventual total destruction of tropical forests.

The U.S. is the second largest importer of tropical hardwoods and the world's largest importer of mahogany, the majority of which is logged illegally from indigenous lands and parks.

In Burma, the military regime uses forced labor and beatings to extract teak from in and around local villages.

Please help stop the needless slaughter of Earth's most valuable ecosystems by loggers, both legal and illegal, for production of tropical hardwoods. New York City uses these woods for boardwalks, benches, bridge decking, railway crossties and furniture.

Please pass Intro #1014, Tropical Hardwood Selective Purchasing Legislation. As the 4th largest municipal budget in the U.S., this is a monumental and laudable step towards alleviation of the pressures to log tropical forests.

Thank you for your efforts in this regard.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

Please send letters to the following, with copies to Rainforest Relief:

The Honorable Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
Mayor of the City of New York
City Hall, NYC 10007
212/788-7585
fax: 212/788-2975

Councilwoman Kathryn Freed
51 Chambers Street, #429
NYC, NY, 10007
212/788-7722
fax: 212/788-7727

Council Speaker Peter F. Vallone
City Hall
NYC, NY10007
212/788-6865
fax: 212/788-7207