Teen Activists Take on Rainforest Destroyers
2/24/97
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Headline: Teen Activists Take on Rainforest Destroyers
Source: Rainforest Action Network
Date: 2/24/97
Author: Marika Holmgren
RAN Grassroots Director
RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK
World Rainforest Report, Winter/Spring 1997
TEEN ACTIVISTS TAKE ON RAINFOREST DESTROYERS
Perhaps it is fitting that one of the most active groups working to
protect rainforests for future generations is a group of young people all
under the age of fifteen. After all, it is their generation that will
feel the impact of the loss of the rainforests even more acutely than
their predecessors. Defenders of the Rainforest, in Worcester,
Massachusetts is a group of teenagers dedicated to securing the permanent
protection of the world1s remaining rainforests.
Since last September, Defenders of the Rainforest brought together
teenagers who wanted to 3take a stand against rainforest destruction,y
says the group1s founder, Jonathan Luman, fourteen. 3We decided that we
should be a radical environmental group, and defend the rainforest through
non-violent direct action, protesting, petitioning, letter writing,
education, and boycott campaigns.y
The group works primarily on the Boycott Mitsubishi Campaign. They have
held demonstrations at Mitsubishi dealerships that have been attended by
over 50 people, a difficult feat even for seasoned groups coordinated by
adults. 3Mitsubishi is a greedy corporation because they will make money
any way they can, even if it means destroying the heart and lungs of the
Earth!y said Luman.
Defenders of the Rainforest is quickly learning the ins and outs of
campaign work. Responding to Mitsubishi dealerships that refuse to meet
with them, Luman is steadfast and unwilling to budge: 3They don1t respond
because they think if they ignore us we will go away,y he said, 3but they
are so wrong.y
So far, Defenders of the Rainforest has collected hundreds of petition
signatures, educated thousands of people about Mitsubishi1s involvement in
rainforest destruction, and about rainforests in general. Currently, they
are collaborating with Franklin Development and Research Corporation, a
Boston-based socially responsible investment firm, to launch a campaign to
revoke Mitsubishi1s corporate charter in Massachusetts.
But the group has not limited their work to Mitsubishi. No rainforest
destroyer is safe from Defenders of the Rainforests. They are also
working on campaigns against Texaco, Shell, the World Bank,
Georgia-Pacific, and Weyerhaeuser. And it doesn1t end there: 3Meanwhile,
we are doing a campaign against the selling of tropical hardwoods. We are
planing protests at stores that sell tropical hardwoods in the
Spring/Summer of 1997.y
With chapters already starting in Washington state, Washington, D.C., and
Sydney, Australia, the group is expanding quickly. They hope to have
additional chapters in California, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and
Boston. But Luman stresses the importance of enjoying the work the group
does: 3All of us are excited about the months and years to come, because
we know that saving the rainforest is not only necessary, but also fun!y