Rainforest Problems
Controlling the Ranching Boom that Threatens the Amazon
In the Brazilian Amazon, 80 million head of cattle — nearly as many as
exist in all of the United States — now graze on land that once was
tropical rainforest or the biologically rich, wooded grassland known as
cerrado. An area larger than France is given over to the
cattle, making ranching by far the biggest driver of deforestation in
Brazil’s Amazon, responsible for more than three-quarters of forest
loss.
Environmental groups have warned for years that cattle production is
gobbling up huge chunks of the world’s largest rainforest, but their
campaigns have had no discernable impact on deforestation. Forest
clearing remains stubbornly high while beef production has continued to
expand, enabling the industry to become an economic and political
juggernaut, seemingly unstoppable.
Emissions from Amazon deforestation to rise as loggers move deeper into the rainforest
Emissions from Amazon deforestation are growing as developers move deeper into old-growth forest areas where carbon density is higher, report scientists writing in Geophysical Research Letters.
Analyzing deforestation data from 2001 through 2007, a team of researchers from the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University found the aboveground biomass lost per unit of forest cleared increased from 183 to 201 metric tons per hectare over the period, largely the result of moving from drier "transition" forests in the southern Amazon to wetter "rainforests" closer to the heart of the basin. Worrying, the scientists note that remaining unprotected forests harbor still higher levels of biomass — an average 231 metric tons per hectare — suggesting that future clearing will have an increasingly significant impact on climate.
Crude: The Documentary - What You Can Do To Help
Crude tells the story of the largest environmental lawsuit on the
planet, pitting 30,000 Ecuadorean rainforest residents against Chevron,
the world’s fifth-largest company. Making the film was a three-year
labor of love — a grueling process that was both physically and
emotionally draining. Now that the film is finished and has taken on
its own life, bringing it to theatres across the country has been a
tremendously rewarding experience, mostly because of the way in which
it has changed my view of my fellow citizens. The theatrical release of
the film has reminded me of the power of cinema to unite and inspire
people, and confirmed my belief that cinema can and should be a
communal experience.
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China suspends reforestation project over food shortage fears
Food shortage fears have prompted the Chinese government to suspend the
reforestation of marginal arable land, a senior government official
said today.The sacrifice of a key environmental restoration project for crop production highlights the growing problem of feeding the world's biggest population as cities expand into farmland and urban residents consume more meat and vegetables.
Lu Xinshe, deputy head of the ministry of land and resources, said the country was struggling to hold the 120 million hectare "red line" considered the minimum land areas needed for food self-sufficiency.
With industrialisation eating into the countryside, he said the government would halt plans to restore arable land to nature.
Palm Oil Growth Damages Rainforest Environment
The rise in the use of biofuels has encouraged the growth of palm oil
production. But oil palm plantations have negative environmental
impacts on tropical rainforests.
Substituting fossil fuels for transportation with biofuels is just one means of protecting the environment from climate change effects. Palm oil production is surging, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia, to satisfy this need. The environmental benefits of using palm oil as an alternative source of energy may be more than offset by the negative environmental effects such production has on tropical rainforests. A policy brief issued by the OECD in November 2007, entitled “Biofuels for Transport: Policies and Possibilities” addressed this problem when it stated, “This is already becoming an issue in certain countries in South-East Asia where the expansion of palm oil plantations largely comes at the expense of existing forest area and biodiversity”.
