There was an article published on TheSun.co.uk, along with a video based on Lily’s rainforest project with Sky and WWF. Click here to read/watch!
Also, Lily was interviewed on This Morning (this morning) discussing the project! Watch the video by clicking here! She also briefly discussed her career as a musician and her upcoming fashion project, Lucy In Disguise.
There’s a lot more information on the Sky website, including an interview with Lily:
What are the main obstacles to stopping deforestation at the moment?
The need for beef products. There’s such huge demand for them. They can’t supply that without cutting down rainforests because cattle need grazing. I can say that personally I shan’t be eating anything like the amount of beef that I’ve eaten in the past as a result of this trip. People at home can do that without having to part with any cash. It’s nothing to do with vegetarianism – it’s not an ethical thing. I’ve just seen what it does at the front end of the production line.
Why else should people not cut down trees?
When they do cut down the trees, it’s a double whammy. They burn them to make the land available, which means the carbon emissions are massive. And that tree is no longer able to absorb and store CO2 as well, which has a major role in slowing global warming. So it’s not just the deforestation, it’s the burning them that’s causing the problem.
Why is sky Rainforest Rescue concentrating on Acre state?
Acre as someone kept calling it! It’s Ack-ray, people! Around 12% of Acre’s forest area has been lost to deforestation. The main causes of this, as we’ve said, are conversion for cattle ranching and the paving of roads to other parts of Brazil and Peru. In other states it’s gone past the point of helping but in Acre there’s definitely a positive attitude and a will to make it work. They just need a push to help them out in their quest to try and help not only themselves but the rest of the world.
What did you learn from meeting rubber tappers and sustainable businesses using their products in Xapuri?
I thought that was really impressive but I still think that potentially there could be more – they are still companies, intermediaries, that are still making money out of people that are rubber tapping. It would be great if the rubber tappers could have ownership of their own products and created their own companies. Then they’d be educating their children in to how to set up their own industries and to really start owning the rainforest for themselves.
We visited a condom factory that was using natural latex sourced from local rubber tappers. As much as everyone giggled about it, if they can do it with the condom factory then surely they could do it with other industries? They just need a little push and that’s where Sky Rainforest Rescue comes in.
Final thoughts on your time in the rainforest?
When you think of doing stuff for charity it can be quite selfish in a way because you kind of want to give yourself a pat on the back. I guess if you can’t see sad crying people that you can help and then you can feel good about yourself because then you can go, ‘Oh I’ve changed that person’s life.’ That’s why this is such a difficult issue. Because there’s no obvious human face to put to it. It’s invisible. But in the long term it isn’t – the situation in the rainforest has implications for all of us. The solutions are not easy, but we need to tease out those complexities – just because there’s not a human face it doesn’t mean this isn’t serious.
Lily Allen is a 25 year old singer-songwriter currently living in London. She is the child of actor Keith Allen and film-producer Alison owen. Lily grew up in London surrounded by alot of musical influences, which later lead to a very successful career in music.
She spent years trying to get into the music industry and finally did in 2006 when she released her debut album 
'Alright, Still'. It features the UK #1 hit 'Smile' and the well known 'LDN'. In 2009, Lily made a huge successful comeback with her UK #1 single 'The Fear' and the new album 'It's Not Me, It's You' which went straight in to the UK Album Chart at #1. Click here to find out more!
