Please go now to http://www.environmentalsustainability.info/donate/ and make a gift to the Earth. By supporting Ecological Internet you are giving voice to natural ecosystems everywhere, working for their conservation and protection; and frequently achieving startling victories (more on this later).

We are optimistic that together over coming weeks we will raise the $25,000 necessary to continue providing our unmatched services. Note a new gift-making option to setup a regular small donation (sometimes called a tithe), which is important in building a regular flow of funds. And tax-deductible one-time online gifts using a credit card, mailed checks, grant application opportunities and site sponsorships are much appreciated as well.

There are many reasons to give generously. Please give if you can, and by all means please do not unsubscribe if you cannot, this too shall pass. This is the first of four expected appeals to be made to Ecological Internet's network participants. We simply must raise our goal. Let's review how and why you may want to financially support these ground-breaking efforts.

Ecological Internet (and its predecessor Forests.org) has a long and distinguished history of achievement. By our estimation EI's network has had a hand in more rainforest conservation victories over the past 13 years than any public association ever! In the past month EI's Earth Action Network provided critical international leadership which protected Ecuador's fabled Yasuni National Park and the invaluable Lake Baikal in Russia. Together our network (you!) over the last six months has positively impacted rainforest policy across the entire tropical rainforest expanse - including victories in the Congo, Amazon and Indonesian rainforests.

And Ecological Internet's record of innovation in the use of computer networks to advocate on behalf of Gaia and all her ecosystems is simply unmatched. Dr. Glen Barry began disseminating rainforest information from Papua New Guinea in 1990, our first "gopher" web site went online in 1993, and the Forest Conservation Portal web site was unveiled shortly thereafter - one of the first 10,000 sites on the World Wide Web. Today our suite of environmental portals (listed below) is the most comprehensive in existence, reaching over one million people a month.

The Forest Conservation Blog at http://forests.org/blog/ and accompanying email list (to which you are subscribed) are the Internet's longest continuously run environment blog, and one of - if not the - first blog of any type ever. This claim is made based upon a recent Economist magazine article which stated the Internet's first blog appeared in 1997. Yet our archives at http://forests.org/archived_site/today/recent02.asp show clearly we have been blogging on forest conservation since 1995, long before there was a word for commenting upon and providing links to Internet information. The tradition continues with the Earth Blog at http://www.environmentalsustainability.info/blog/ .

And Ecological Internet goes well beyond environmental commentary, with a history of excellence in facilitating environmental conservation by providing for free a multi-faceted global environmental advocacy information system. Ecological Internet provides six unique and astonishingly comprehensive environmental portals that provide unprecedented and unmatched search engines and news tracking capabilities.

With one full-time staff person, a small group of rotating volunteers, and a large international network of participants; Ecological Internet has built the knowledge infrastructure required for informed action to successfully pursue global ecological sustainability. The system built over the last ten years is now fully in place and hitting on all cylinders. Our network grew 20% in the last two months, and our effectiveness as demonstrated by conservation victories is soaring.

We look forward to working with you over the coming two months to raise the funds necessary to continue Ecological Internet's tradition of excellence, innovation and achievement. Please choose to support Ecological Internet and give back to the Earth now at http://www.environmentalsustainability.info/donate/ . If we are successful in raising these funds with your help, I can guarantee many more environmental victories to come.

For the Earth,
Dr. Glen Barry

Your donation at http://www.environmentalsustainability.info/donate/ makes the following possible:

EcoEarth.Info -- http://www.EcoEarth.Info/
Climate Ark -- http://www.climateark.org/
Forests.org -- http://forests.org/
Water Conserve -- http://www.waterconserve.org/
Rainforest Portal -- http://www.rainforestportal.org/
Ocean Conserve -- http://www.oceanconserve.org/