MNN - Mother Nature Network

Dell Computers announced last week on World Environment Day that it would be joining His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales Rainforests Project.

 

In addition to numerous celebrities including Robin Williams, The Dalai Lama, Joss Stone and Princes William and Harry, other sustainably focused companies have been joining in -- Marriott, Virgin, Barclays and National Geographic.

 

The goal of the Prince's Rainforest Project (PRP) is two-fold. First it aims to raise public (and corporate) awareness about the enormous importance of rain forests, not just in reversing climate change but also in preserving the fundamental life support systems of the planet. The second is to leverage political pressure and financial incentives to protect rain forests in developing nations (PDF).

 

The site called RainforestSOS is loaded with information. A few little known facts ... the Amazon forests alone store more than half (!) of the entire planet's supply of fresh water. And deforestation itself accounts for roughly 20 percent of total greenhouse has emissions, more than all the combined emissions from automobiles, trucks and ships. 

 

If you have a website, you can embed the signup widget ... the frog jumps every time a friend signs up through your site. There's also an application where you can place the animated frog in your own video message. I tried, but I guess you need U.K. high speed to do it ... didn't work for me.

 

There is growing concern that avoided deforestation will be left out of this year's U.N. Copenhagen agreement, so the mounting enthusiasm for protecting rain forests is a welcome sign. Hopefully the fairy tale of three princes and a frog has a happy ending!

 

I rap about this in my latest GreenDig video blog.