Biosphere 2 covers a mere 1.2 hectares with finite resources. Although Earth is vastly larger, its resources are also finite. People have to decide, for each biome, whether to leave some untouched, or use all of an area and its resources for human purposes. One example would be plowing under an entire prairie and growing wheat, displacing all of the native plants and animals. The rainforests are another such biome. Left alone, they produce huge amounts of oxygen for the whole planet, while supporting millions of species. Many humans want to use the trees for lumber and the land to grow crops or raise cattle.
Some groups advocate using rainforests in sustainable ways: Manufacturing herbal products, or raising shade-grown coffee under the canopy. Will these tactics help preserve the biome?
Go to the Rainforest Alliance‘s website (www.rainforest-alliance.org) and read about Rainforest Alliance-certified products such as coffee, tea, and cocoa.
Evaluate the website and work with the information to answer the following questions:
Is this a reliable information source?
Does the organization give supporting evidence for its claims?
Does it give sources for its evidence?
What is the mission of this organization?
Note the range of publications available on the Rainforest Alliance website and view the Research Report on cocoa certification (www.rainforest-alliance.org/publications).
Do you agree that certification is an adequate tool to ensure sustainability in cocoa farming?
Identify a claim the organization makes and the evidence it gives in support of this claim. Is it convincing?
The Global Canopy Programme (www.globalcanopy.org) is a UK-based group that has joined with the Carbon Disclosure Project to ask companies to disclose their "forest footprint" (www.cdproject.net/en-US/Programmes/Pages/forests.aspx). Should companies be required to participate?
Should some intergovernmental group investigate companies and estimate impacts?
Is it important to allow a “free market” for goods and services, assuming businesses will take care of the lands they use but do not own?