How is buying a used handbag like protecting a century-old tree? Both actions recognize that it’s better to make the most of what already exists – whether you’re reusing consumer products or protecting standing forests.
Think about it this way: buying a pre-owned wooden table doesn’t require anyone to cut down new trees, transport logs to a mill, cut them into boards, (bear with me…) distribute the lumber to furniture makers, design and assemble the table, or finally ship it to your local retailer. Wow, that was a mouthful, huh? The point is that all that work takes energy and often creates greenhouse gas emissions along the way.
In a new partnership with Team Earth, eBay is extending the idea of getting the most out of existing resources by supporting the protection of the world’s tropical forests. Not only do these forests shelter countless species and provide livelihoods for millions of local people, they also function as the “lungs of the Earth,” absorbing massive quantities of carbon. Yet despite the immense value of forests, they are still being cut and burned at an alarming rate.
What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, did you know deforestation accounts for 16 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions? That’s more than all the world’s cars, trucks, ships, trains and planes combined. So, protecting forest is an immediate way we can help stop greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere and start solving climate change.
What can you do? With Team Earth, we try to keep it simple.
Now through Earth Day (April 22nd), for every person who joins eBay’s Green Team challenge (committing to buy lightly-used products when possible), eBay will protect one acre of threatened forest. Just go to http://www.ebaygreenteam.com/, and collectively we will take a positive step toward preserving the world’s resources and preventing global warming.
Oh, and one more thing – since this money is being donated in your honor, you get to choose where you want it to go. Will you send it to the Brazilian rainforest to help protect the air we breathe? Or perhaps you will choose to benefit wildlife sanctuaries in Mexico, home to over 125 species of migratory birds. Alternatively, you can help make a difference in the forest reserves of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where dozens of plants play a role in the development of new medicines.
The choice is yours. Join the eBay Green Team challenge, and help Team Earth protect more forests today.
Learn more about eBay’s green campaign in this recent article from “The New York Times”.
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Starting today, thousands of Americans who typically stop at Starbucks on their way to work can use their morning cup of coffee not only to wake up, but to make an impact for the planet: Now, helping to conserve the world’s tropical forests is as easy as drinking your morning cup of Joe.
