Willie Smits: How to Restore a Rainforest

Saturday, 16-February-2013 - Veghel - Today, I came across this 2009 presentation by Dr Willie Smits.

Inspiring Furniture from Firewood

Saturday, 21-May-2011 - Loosbroek - This morning I had the pleasure of meeting Rik Ruigrok (photo), innovator and owner of Herso. He and his team have a passion for turning waste wood into beautiful furniture. "A work of art is hidden under each table surface." He is commited to taking good care of our planet. He truly practices what he preaches. It's not just furniture, it's a way of life. I was inspired. Pics (25)

Veghel Family Supports Masarang Sugar Palm Project

Saturday, 16-February-2008 - Veghel - Read an article in yestersday's newspaper about wood processing machines going from Veghel to a factory in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It's part of Dr Willie Smits' initiative to replace oil palm tree plantations with sugar palm tree plantations which are more friendly for the environment. the Masarang Foundation's goal is "to save the environment through the active role of the local people." It's complicated how the demand for palm oil created by Unilever, Nestle and Cargill (see trade link) is causing destruction of tropical rain forests and the creatures which live there, including the orangutan.
http://www.orangutan.com/thepeople/dr_willie_smits.htm
http://www.brabantsdagblad.nl/brabant/2232502/We-eten-het-regenwoud-hier-zelf-op.ece
http://www.brabantsdagblad.nl/regios/udenveghel/2647651/Houtfabriek-op-weg-naar-Indonesie.ece
http://www.brabantsdagblad.nl/regios/udenveghel/article2493324.ece
http://www.masarang.or.id/english.htm
http://www.indonesia-ottawa.org/information/details.php?type=news_copy&id=3421

Rain Forest is Best Defense

Sunday, 27-January 2008 - Maui- “The world’s rainforests are our last, best defense against catastrophic climate change. Agribusiness companies are tearing down rainforests in places like Malaysia and Indonesia to produce palm oil biodiesel which they are then marketing as a solution to global warming. Their false solutions aren’t making the world safer, they are just making a corporate profit.”

- Kasha Ho`okili Ho of San Francisco’s Rainforest Action Network

http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/?cat=12

Climate Crisis

It's clear to me that we have a climate crisis, and that we need to stop global warming. My most important New Year's resolution for 2007 is to take this year to discover what I can do for the coming 10-year period to actively support the cause of saving our planet. Step 1 was to view the DVD, An Inconvenient Truth. Step 2 is to tell everyone I know and everyone I meet about the climate crisis, encouraging them to take Step 1.

An Inconvenient Truth is an urgent warning for everyone. It needs to be communicated from person to person. It offers choices each one of us can make which can change the outcome of our life on this planet.

When my daughter, Katherine (1980), got done seeing An Inconvenient Truth two weeks ago, she felt compelled to act. She made a list of things she could do to help stop global warming. Each day since, she would ask herself, "So, what did you do today?" As she completed an item, she would check it off. One idea on her to do list was to make a website http://www.whatdidyoudotoday.eu. This blog is dedicated to Katherine.