For example, the Amazon rainforest covers an area of two and a half million square miles. That’s a big number, but you can’t really visualise it can you? All you see is a lot of trees.

To put it slightly into perspective, Australia is around 2.8 million square miles, so the Amazon rainforest is only a little smaller than the entire Australasian continent.

Even more astonishing is the estimate that there are still around 50 Indian tribes living in the Amazon rainforest that have never been discovered and never had contact with the outside world. But it isn’t just the big numbers which are impressive – it’s the actual contribution of the Amazon rainforest to the survival of the planet that needs to be understood.

The Amazon rainforest has often been described as the lungs of the planet, and for good reason. Every single day the Amazonian forests generate 20% of all the oxygen in the atmosphere. Without them we’d quickly start to suffocate. 70% of all plants used in treating cancer are found in the rainforests, and if you lined up every plant, animal and insect in the entire world, every other one of them would live in the Amazon rainforest.

It’s easy to be impressed by these figures and images, but sadly it isn’t all good news. Imagine an acre and a half of rainforest. Not easy is it? So imagine a full size football pitch, which is an acre and a half in size anyway.

Now picture that football pitch full of trees, animals and wildlife. Listen to the exotic birds calling to each other, the gentle drip of the heavy raindrops pattering through the leaves onto the rich soil beneath. Imagine that huge area of stunning and valuable forest.

Now blink your eyes twice. It’s gone.

Quite literally an acre and a half of Amazon rainforest is destroyed forever every single second of the day. It’s hard to visualise isn’t it?

Even harder to visualise is the irreparable damage it is causing by destroying one of the most valuable and diverse natural resources on the planet. We need to do something today, because by this time tomorrow an area of Amazon rainforest more than one and a half times the size of the UK will have vanished forever.

The controversy is based on the fact that Nestle gets its palm oil from the Sinar Mas company in Indonesia who destroys the natural forests in order to have room to plant the tropical palm plant. Once Nestle was convinced that the activists at Greenpeace were correct in their allegations about the forest destruction, it has dropped their association with that company. The problem has not gone away for the big corporation however, as it still buys its palm oil from Cargill, which in turn, also gets its supply from Sinar Mas.

Nestle was successful in the removal of one of Greenpeace’s videos from the popular YouTube site relating to the issue, but the video spread over the Internet, while Facebook and Twitter were soon flooded with massive messages of protest. In the beginning, Nestle’s top personnel dismissed the activity which only made things worse, resulting in the Swiss food giant receiving nearly a quarter of a million emails regarding the issue.

On April 15th at the Nestle shareholder meeting, Greenpeace protesters showed up and dropped themselves down from the ceiling, releasing a shower of leaflets on the heads of the meeting participants – sparking the fire once again. At the meeting, the Chairman for Nestle, Mr Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, had stated that that the source of deforestation is not related to his company and that Nestle is working on procedures and the implementation of a plan, to lower the amount of palm oil it buys. He instead blamed the deforestation issue on politics within Europe regarding the requirements of bio-fuel. (Palm oil is used in food, bio-fuels, and cosmetics).

While Brabeck-Lematch said that his company plans to bring about a halt concerning rainforest destruction, he did not buckle to the demands coming from Greenpeace to stop buying palm oil from Cargill. Nestle has promised that by the year 2015, the Swiss company will purchase only sustainable palm oil. But critics say that it is too little and too late.

The rainforests in Indonesia are key habitats for orangutan and carbon storage. Destroying these areas is a major contributor to Indonesia’s sky-rocketing emissions. In the 1960s, Indonesia consisted of 82 percent cover in terms of forest, but today the rainforest covers less than fifty percent of the country.

Greenpeace says it will continue to bombard Nestle until they have cleaned up their act and have removed any association they have with Cargill. In the middle of March, 2010, there were Greenpeace activists in Europe who went to Nestle offices and factories in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, urging the company to stop using palm oil that is the result of forest destruction. Greenpeace says, and will continue to remind the world, that we need those rainforests as they play a key roll in regulating the earth’s climate and absorbing carbon dioxide. Palm oil producing companies are literally choking the environment and are the reason that Indonesia is the third largest carbon emitter next to the USA and China. Cutting down valuable rainforests is actually responsible for more carbon emissions that all of the auto mobiles and air planes in the world.

By installing even just a few of these products, you can be assured that your carbon footprint will dramatically reduce and you won’t only feel better in yourself, you’ll notice the difference in cleaner air and less pollution. It’s not just about reusable bags (although that’s it, too). It’s about buying smartly so you get more for your money, and contribute less to the Earth living longer.

Wait; did we say ‘more for your money’? If helping the world in which you live is not incentive enough, then surely saving a penny is. By purchasing eco products, many times what you buy will not only last longer, but they can be reused (as in the case of reusable bags, such as canvas or string bags). Energy saving light bulbs will last longer, cost less to run, and won’t harm the environment as they operate. ‘Green ink’ will last longer as it is designed to use less as it prints, plus it is less damaging to the environment when the paper it’s on is thrown out (although hopefully you’d first think about printing an email, and perhaps putting it in the recycle bin when you are done with it, if you do print it).

So, now you’ve decided to get on board and do your bit. Good for you! But there is more you can do, without spending that much more. Ethical products ensure that whatever you’re buying is sourced or manufactured in areas free from slave labour, where the workers are paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work. Chocolate that has been made using cocoa beans from countries where children don’t work to gather them will taste better, and if you want to actively purchase products from countries where the people want to create the items, then there are stores that enable you to do so. Not only will you be buying something free from slave labour, you’ll be supporting the workers and supporting the communities they live in.

It’s easy to contribute to a better world, and it costs very little. The rewards, however, are great. What’s stopping you?

Why choose organic skin care products?

Firstly, who wouldn’t want to eliminate as many harmful toxins from their body as possible. Non-organic hair care products and skin care products are produced using chemicals which the body absorbs and consumes through the scalp, hair and skin. This can never be a good thing for your long-term health.

A common chemical found in beauty and personal hygiene products (shampoos, toothpaste etc.) is sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). This product boosts the amount of foam produced when in contact with water but has long been associated as a skin irritant. The chemical is similar to detergent and it removes natural oils from the skin. Daily use and prolonged exposure results in dryness and peeling.

Mineral oil is a commonly used alternative to more expensive skin care oils but it is in fact a by-product of petrol. The oil acts like a barrier preventing the hair and skin from absorbing other ingredients of the product and is a known cause of acne.

Preservatives called ‘parabens’ are used in deodorants and have been linked to breast cancer as well as being a known irritant to eczema sufferers. Another preservative called methyldibromo glutaronitrile (MDGN), is also considered an irritant. There are many more ingredients that are potentially harmful not just as allergens but also as carcinogens (substances involved in the development of cancer).

Secondly, the manufacturing of organic products is a more environmentally friendly process which is kinder to the planet and without the inhumane animal testing methods used by the major health and beauty companies.

Many people are now switching to organic skin and hair care products to protect themselves from harmful chemicals and distance themselves from morally questionable production methods.

Where to buy organic beauty products

Due to a loophole in the law, health and beauty products can be described as ‘organic’ yet contain potentially harmful chemicals. With no certification, a product can have one ingredient from organic agriculture and promote itself as being ‘organic’ even if the remaining ingredients are synthetic. Even the aforementioned sodium lauryl sulphate is often labelled as being ‘derived from coconut’ but its properties are so far removed there is little resemblance.

So, find a retailer who only stocks and sells organic beauty products that are certified by a respected certification body or buys from a supplier that is working toward certification. In the UK, the Soil Association certify organic products using these criteria:

• If a product has 95% organic ingredients then it can be marked ‘organic’
• If it has 70-95% organic ingredients then it can be marked ‘made with organic ingredients’
• If less than 70% then the product does not receive certification

Find an online store selling organic beauty products as they will lay out their code of ethics in simple terms telling you exactly where their products are sourced from and what certification they look for from a supplier.

Most international companies have also started using recycled materials as a raw material, or to package their products. Some companies have experimented successfully in using recycled material to make household and office products. Colourful and exquisitely designed waste paper baskets not only liven up an office but do become a talking piece. Similarly, a recycled paper lamp shade used on energy saver lamps adds a mellow glow to the room in which they are placed. With some imagination and a touch of creativity and some help from the Japanese art of origami, companies have been able to produce exquisite looking products.

There is a variety of colourful items, ranging from waste paper baskets that don’t need a liner to eco lamp shades that are made from recycled paper! Another great advantage of these products made from recycled materials is that they can be assembled easily; by simply unfolding them one can store them like an ordinary sheet of paper. Imagine a magazine rack made from recycled plastic. It does tickle the imagination. The great advantages of buying and using items made from recycled materials are that they can be easily cleaned, require no maintenance and its takes minutes to unfold, clean, and reassemble them. People can become innovative and start designing and making their own items using recycled materials.

Many people are aware of the dangers that the world is facing from pollution and indiscriminate uses of non biodegradable goods, and now shun them with contempt. Green household products are hugely encouraged and some households have changed their entire life styles to become environment friendly. Everyone must make a conscious effort to safe the earth, and using recyclable materials and green household products is the way everyone can contribute to help nature to be healed and saved from the sometimes selfish behaviour of people.

Now is a good time to start thinking about using green household products and finding stores that make items out of recycled materials. Another great advantage of purchasing and using items made from recycled materials is that they are not expensive and not only is money saved, the environment is also being saved.

It’s never too late to help save the environment and every little bit done by any individual will help our future generations enjoy the fruits of nature.

Unfortunately, the forests that should be the world’s shield to the growing global warming crisis are now under threat; almost 80% of the vast land areas all over the earth have been wiped out. Everything went by in a matter of 30 years, and the foundation is due to human doings such as destructive logging and agricultural land transformations. The fact that deforestation is the second cause to climate change should alert every human being in order to put to a stop to anything that may interrupt our normal ecosystem. If no moves would be done, further retaliation of nature would surely come to pass.

Major Carbon Storehouses

It is increasingly clear that our ancient forests play a crucial role in the regulation of world climate through carbon storage and water recycle back into the atmosphere. It is a fact that the green areas of the earth are regulators of climate, and destruction of that area means contributing to a climate change. Eighteen percent of all carbon emissions come from deforestation. Instead of the forest protecting us from disastrous effects, man made phenomenon make them our source of devastation instead.

Full grown forests are the greatest keepers of carbon dioxide. Other "keepers" include: the earth soil, the plant life, and the smallest and biggest trees. Some popular areas such that of the Congo rainforest represent one of the planet’s enormous carbon sources on land, and destruction of it may cause more greenhouse gas to get trapped in the atmosphere.

The carbon is emitted from the green life through logging, burning and rotting. If these illegal activities happen frequently and continuously in all parts of the world, then the levels of carbon trapped in our environment is exceedingly augmented. Climate changes happen abruptly and changes in the world environment would slowly take place.

Deforestation and Its Effect On Climate Change

When deforestation is carried out, climate changes begin to progress over a period of time. The gradual modification in climate show insignificant numbers, but it affects the earth in major ways. The following are some examples of global changes after massive deforestation: temperature of global surface has increased by 1°F, precipitation events happen around the world and in extreme cases, snow capped mountains have decreased in cover, sea levels have risen, and thawing of permafrost has slowly been happening over the years.

It is said that in a matter of 50 decades, the world may be in an irreversible state already. If things could be prevented now, then it is highly suggested that every human take part in preserving the world.

Controlling Climate Changes

If deforestation and climate changes go together, then unbinding them would be the first step to problem solving. Deforestation and other causes of climate alteration should initially be stopped so that further effects cannot take place. However, the only key to ending deforestation is through mankind.

If no human effort is exerted, then all else will be impossible to do.