Neil Young wants to save rainforests with old cell phones

Rocker Neil Young is looking for folks with hearts of gold, or at least willing to give some silver for a clever new way to save rainforests, according to Rolling Stone.

By rigging old cellphones up to solar collectors and mounting them on trees (see photo below), the Rainforest Connection hopes to catch the sounds of chainsaws and panicking wildlife, so authorities can instantly be alerted to illegal logging.

The group's Kickstarter campaign has raised $100,000 for its efforts in Africa, but hopes to double that by July 29 to help protect rainforest in the Amazon and Indonesia.

Satellite surveillance produces results days or weeks too late.

"This technology enables the forest to talk to the world," Young said. "When the forest is threatened, the forest can speak and you can hear it."