Pretty Late, Still Great
This November, I had the opportunity to see Mr. Charlie Hamilton James speak about his experience with National Geographic and his experience buying a huge plot of land in Manu National Park in Peru on behalf of National Geographic. His mission was to kick out the illegal loggers on the plantation, but he wound up befriending them and going on a long trek through the Amazon Rainforest to see how people of the rainforest go about their daily lives. After spending time with some gold miners, a local tribe, some slash and burn farmers, and more, James comes to an epiphany: the people "harming" the rainforest only do so because they see the rainforest differently. The people of the rainforest see the forest as a resource that they use to make a living.
Aside from his inspiring experiences, the part of the talk I found most interesting was it's correlation to my first-semester economics elective. This fall in class, we talked a lot about developing regions and their use of resources. My professor pointed out that, at one point, the United States chopped down many forests in order to build houses and a civilization. Nowadays, however, the United States actually plants two trees for every tree they chop down, making the system not only sustainable but beneficial for the environment. The Amazon region, I believe, is just not at that point yet. The people who live in and around the Amazon need to chop trees and burn parts of the forest to make a living. They are not harming the forest out of malice, but rather are trying to make a better life for their family. As Brazil and other countries containing parts of the Amazon become more stable economically, politically, and environmentally, I believe that their governments will do a better job of making work available for the people of the rainforest while still protecting the species living inside of it (plant or animal).
James inspired me to look at all sides of a situation before assessing it. I was so amazed by his open mind, and I was so impressed by his motivation to change a problem he saw. I also appreciate the fact that he shared his solutions with us and also made a point of explaining how and why it didn't work. He conceded that he couldn't find a solution and doesn't know of one, but he still strives to make people aware of the issue, hoping that, as a global community, we will work to fix this problem together.
Aside from his inspiring experiences, the part of the talk I found most interesting was it's correlation to my first-semester economics elective. This fall in class, we talked a lot about developing regions and their use of resources. My professor pointed out that, at one point, the United States chopped down many forests in order to build houses and a civilization. Nowadays, however, the United States actually plants two trees for every tree they chop down, making the system not only sustainable but beneficial for the environment. The Amazon region, I believe, is just not at that point yet. The people who live in and around the Amazon need to chop trees and burn parts of the forest to make a living. They are not harming the forest out of malice, but rather are trying to make a better life for their family. As Brazil and other countries containing parts of the Amazon become more stable economically, politically, and environmentally, I believe that their governments will do a better job of making work available for the people of the rainforest while still protecting the species living inside of it (plant or animal).
James inspired me to look at all sides of a situation before assessing it. I was so amazed by his open mind, and I was so impressed by his motivation to change a problem he saw. I also appreciate the fact that he shared his solutions with us and also made a point of explaining how and why it didn't work. He conceded that he couldn't find a solution and doesn't know of one, but he still strives to make people aware of the issue, hoping that, as a global community, we will work to fix this problem together.
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