5/22/17 Buses and Oil Palm

Travel day! I truly don’t think this bus could be any more bumpy. I have thought the bus was going to tip over like fifty times and it doesn’t help that most of the seat belts don't work. I told Kayla she has to hold onto me in a crash since she has a working seatbelt. The bumpiness can be fun, except when you have to go to the bathroom, then it is horrible. As we were driving, we passed hillside after hillside covered in oil palm. Mike explained how much profit can be made from oil palm, which is why oil palm monocultures cover Borneo. Once you cover the initial cost of planting the trees, you get a yearly harvest. The trees have their first harvest after 3-5 years and once trees are around 25, they are too tall to harvest the fruit from so they are cut down. Once the soil is replenished, new trees are planted. Oil palm is planted on terraces (a stair like steppe) for better drainage. I would be interested to know how much a single palm costs and how many acres the average oil palm plantation is. I also wonder what other countries grow oil palm? At home I have been trying not to eat foods with palm oil by checking the labels in my food, but man, it is hard! I’ve heard that half of all products in US grocery stores use palm oil. It is much easier now that I am eating healthier, as palm oil is normally found in highly processed foods.

Since palm oil fragments the habitat of many species,  animals like orangutans will come to forage in the oil palm. The farmers will either shoot them or, if there are babies, sell them into the exotic pet trade. Sometimes farmers won’t have a gun so will maim them with whatever tool they have, like a machete. Also, by the habitat being fragmented, populations are separated and genetic variability is reduced. It is devastating to see what were so recently lush rainforests but now are row after row of oil palm. It has always astonished me how many people have never even heard of palm oil even though it has such a huge impact on the environment and is used in most of the foods we eat. The US is buying tons of palm oil but we still pass judgement on Malaysia for cutting down their rainforest even though we are literally sending them money to do exactly that.
After a bus ride that seemed to last forever, we finally arrived at the Forest Edge in Sepilok. As our bus pulled in we saw a big signed saying longhouses and the bus erupted in groans. Turns out we get actually rooms for the night!!! This place is so nice, definitely a tourist destination. We got some ginger lemongrass welcome drinks as the staff put our bags in our room. Such a difference from our stay in the longhouses. As I was sipping my drink I looked up and saw a leaf bird perfectly camouflaged in a bright green tree. Everything was so beautiful but I couldn't focus because I had to pee so bad; story of my life. Me and Kelsey were roommates again (YAY) so we headed up to our room and THERE WAS AC!!! We cranked the AC as high as it could go and set our bags down on bed that had actual bedding and jumped for joy when we saw a bug-free bathroom with toilet paper supplied! At the longhouse we had done laundry in our sink but nothing dried so all of our clothes were just much grosser then they had started. So we attempted to do sink laundry again and since the room had AC things actually kind of dried! Turns out there was a pool so of course we threw our swimsuits on and headed down. We all lounged in the pool talking with people from all over the world. For dinner I had a yummy cashew tofu dish and a milk shake. The rest of the night consisted of mashed potatoes, wine, and attempting to journal though I always end up just talking to everyone. I really lucked out that everyone in our group is so awesome but it does make it really hard to get work done since I spend the entire time crying from laughter.