Posts By Chelsea Matthews

Chelsea Matthews - who has written 7 posts on Rainforest Action Network Blog.

Chelsea is the Forest Program Assistant at RAN, where she supports both the Rainforest Agribusiness and Rainforest-Free Paper Campaigns. Chelsea first got involved with environmental non-profit work while interning at Accion Ecologica in Ecuador.

Tragedy in Tripa: Cargill Can Make a Difference

By Chelsea Matthews, April 10 2012

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Tragedy in Tripa: Cargill Can Make a Difference

Last week hundreds of fires blazed through the Tripa peat forest of Indonesia, threatening the survival of one of the largest remaining populations of wild Sumatran orangutans in the world. These fires rapidly got out of control after they were intentionally started by profit-hungry palm oil companies in order to clear rainforest for palm oil [...]

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Update: Indonesian Court Fails to Protect Critical Orangutan Stronghold

By Chelsea Matthews, April 3 2012

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Update: Indonesian Court Fails to Protect Critical Orangutan Stronghold

It’s a sad day today for the few remaining, critically endangered orangutans of Sumatra. In a much anticipated court ruling in the high-stakes case filed against palm oil plantation company PT Kallista Alam and the governor of the Province of Aceh for illegally draining and clearing the internationally renowned Tripa Peat Forest, the judges have [...]

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A 48 Hour Twitter Jam to Save Tripa

By Chelsea Matthews, April 2 2012

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A 48 Hour Twitter Jam to Save Tripa

This blog comes from our friends at End of the Icons. In an amazing global response to the tragedy in Tripa, thousands of people all around the world have emailed the President of Indonesia and key stakeholders calling for the law to be enforced and this precious peatland to be saved. We are happy to [...]

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Raging Fires in Indonesia Displacing Communities and Pushing Orangutans to Edge of Extinction

By Chelsea Matthews, March 30 2012

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Raging Fires in Indonesia Displacing Communities and Pushing Orangutans to Edge of Extinction

A global tragedy is unfolding in Indonesia this week as fires rage through Tripa Swamp, displacing local communities and threatening hundreds of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans. These fires, initially set by palm oil companies to clear land for more plantations, are pushing this population of orangutans to the edge of extinction. Conservation experts say the [...]

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Land Conflicts Spark Occupy-type Protests In Indonesia

By Chelsea Matthews, February 21 2012

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Land Conflicts Spark Occupy-type Protests In Indonesia

Here at Rainforest Action Network, I’m gearing up for the Occupy Our Food Supply global day of action on February 27th, 2012 and it reminded me of a story from Indonesia last month. On January 12, thousands of Indonesian farmers, workers, Indigenous community members, students, and people representing over 50 local non-profits flooded the streets [...]

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How To Occupy Cargill

By Chelsea Matthews, February 10 2012

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How To Occupy Cargill

Update: Occupy Cargill’s Phone Lines on #F27 If you can’t physically occupy a Cargill facility (see below), here is a quick and easy way to make a big difference just by picking up the phone. If you’d like to go into greater detail beyond the script, check out our new Cargill factsheet. 1) Call 1 [...]

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EPA Rejects Palm Oil: Good News for Indonesian Rainforests

By Chelsea Matthews, February 2 2012

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EPA Rejects Palm Oil: Good News for Indonesian Rainforests

Before I started doing environmental work, I’d assumed that biofuel use would have a positive effect on the climate. It turns out the truth about biofuels is much more complex than I’d originally thought. Not every biofuel on the market today has a positive impact on the environment, and some actually pose a major threat. [...]

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