Mushroom on old log

I wish to thank GingerV for sharing her emotional experience of sharing space with a thousand year old Jequitiba-rosa tree in the Parque Tres Picos in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Surely a sample of what used to be found in the Atlantic Forest before man cut most of it down. I can only meditate on what the Amazon Forests will be like in a few generations from now. Will it fair any better than the Atlantic forest, or old growth forests of North America and Europe? I doubt it. "Developed" countries point fingers at Brazil and its neighbors sharing the tropical forests of the Amazon, but in reality we were the first to swing the axe. What remains of our once mighty forests are no more than pinpoints on the map. We only need to look at what's happening to the remaining redwoods of the northwestern United States to realize that our national mentality is no better than that of the poor people of the Atlantic Forest, folks who invade the forest at night to cut trees to make charcoal in order to feed their kids. The forest and its animals are no match for man, no matter how poor, uneducated or enlightened.