percent of the world’s total land area. About 1.6 billion people around the world depend on forests for their livelihoods and daily subsistence needs. And needless to say, the oxygen they provide are the reason for our existence. It’s now a bitter and well established fact that the forests are being chopped down or being ignored. Friends of the Forest Preserves from Cook County are the one’s who are trying to bring a change in this situation. They are trying to protect nations largest (nearly 70,000 acres) forest preserve district. Here is a conversation with Benjamin Cox, Executive Director of this esteemed organization.