Development // Current TV

Tales from the Missionary Hut: The Hoe

This simple make-it-at-home hoe is a powerful device that enables you to plough vast... more

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Ecological kings of the jungle being toppled by drought, pests, and disease

The biggest trees in the world, known as the true ecological kings of the jungle, are dying off rapidly as roads, farms and settlements fragment forests and they come under prolonged attack from severe droughts and new pests and diseases.

Big trees may comprise less than 2% of the trees in any forest but they can contain 25% of the total biomass and are vital for the health of the whole forest. Credit: us-parks.com

Long-term studies in Amazonia, Africa and Central America show that while these botanical behemoths may have adapted successfully to centuries of storms, pests and short-term climatic extremes, they are counter-intuitively more vulnerable than other trees to today's threats.

"Fragmentation of the forests is now disproportionately affecting the big trees," said William Laurance, a research professor at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia. "Not only do many more trees die near forest edges, but a higher proportion of the trees dying were the big trees.

"Their tall stature and relatively thick, inflexible trunks, may make them especially prone to uprooting and breakage near forest edges where wind turbulence is increased," Laurance said in this week's New Scientist magazine.

Big trees may comprise less than 2% of the trees in any forest but they can contain 25% of the total biomass and are vital for the health of whole forests because they seed large areas. "With their tall canopies basking in the sun, big trees capture vast amounts of energy. This allows them to produce massive crops of fruits, flowers and foliage that sustain much of animal life in the forests. Their canopies help moderate the local forest environment while their understory creates a unique habitat for other plants and animals," Laurance said.

"Only a small number of tree species have the genetic capacity to grow really big. To grow into giants, trees need good growing conditions, lots of time and the right place to establish their seedlings. Disrupt any one of these and you lose them."

In some parts of the world, Laurance said, populations of big trees are dwindling because their seedlings cannot survive or grow. "In southern India an aggressive shrub is invading the understorey of many forests, preventing seedlings from dropping on the floor. With no young trees to replace them, it's only a matter of time before most of the big trees disappear."

According to Laurance, it is not just the biggest trees in the world that are suffering, but also the biggest in their communities. Dutch elm disease killed off many of the stateliest trees in Britain in the 1960s and 70s, and new exotic organisms and bacterial infections, often brought in from other continents via garden centers, are threatening oak, ash and other species.

Longer lasting and more intense droughts, which are becoming more frequent in many tropical areas with climate change, are also taking their toll. Studies in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica suggest that big trees also suffer more in droughts than most other organisms.

"In rainforests droughts promote surface fires that burn through leaf litter on the forest floor. Larger trees were initially thought to survive these fires but, in fact, many die two to three years later. In cloud forests, big trees use their branches and crowns to rake the mist and capture water droplets. Global warming could push clouds up to higher elevations depriving them of sources of moisture," Laurance said.

"The danger is that the oldest, largest trees will progressively die off and not be replaced. Alarmingly, this might trigger a 'positive feedback' that could destabilize the climate: as older trees die, forests would release their stored carbon, prompting a vicious circle of further warming and forest shrinkage."
more at the linkThe biggest trees in the world, known as the true ecological kings of the jungle, are... more

JanforGore
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Rio +20: Earth Mover or Green Economy Carnival

When we go to Rio De Janeiro in June next year, lots of emotional capital will be... more

Kevin_Rennie
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Tales from the Missionary Hut: The Wind Up

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worldwrite
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‘They Found Nothing. Nothing’ - The IAEA, Iran And ‘Fantasy Land’

Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its... more

worrg
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3 months ago
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Dharavi: Reaching for the sky

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Disease, Violence, Malnutrition, Pollution, Illiteracy - Five Scourges that Cripple the IQ of Sub-Saharan Africa

article seeks to explain the "environmental" factors that hamper Nigeria and... more

googygood
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4 months ago
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We Need to Reconnect, We Need to be Family Again

This weekend, we installed our new officers at my local lodge. It was a good day. The... more

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4 months ago
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An Overview of Film Finance - Baseline Intelligence

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Marking Time in Making Films - Baseline Intelligence

Film Producer, Consultant, and Teacher Norman C. Berns explains the long road it truly... more

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4 months ago
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Tales from the Missionary Hut: The Banana leaf Tampon

The banana leaf tampon is all the rage for menstruating women from Sweden to Singapore... more

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5 months ago
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Trouble on the Land, September 27, 2011

don't miss this one, massive land grabs on a massive scale

frankpatton
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Tales from the Missionary Hut: Tippy Tap

A breakthrough in low cost water technology, the tippy tap is a simple device for hand... more

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6 months ago
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Pain & Prostitution – Avery brings her smile

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6 months ago
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Article: Planet Under Pressure Conference - London March 2012

Planet Under Pressure Conference - London March 2012 Call for submission of... more

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An Epic Beard in More Ways Than One

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b_reilly
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8 months ago
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Costing the Earth! You've been Trumped!

We've been battling the police and the Scottish Government, to film a story we feel must be told. You've Been Trumped is an urgent examination of Donald Trump's plans to construct a luxury golf resort on one of the most environmentally sensitive stretches of land in Europe.
jónsi is doing his part. The lead singer from Sigur Ros has offered his extraordinary music for the film.
Now, we need your help.
What's at Stake

Described as 'Scotland's Amazon rain forest' by the country's leading climate change expert, the stretch of untouched coastal wilderness north of Aberdeen has Britain's top convservation ranking.
No large scale development is supposed to take place there. Yet Donald Trump is now building a millionaire's playground - 1500 houses, a 450 bed hotel and two golf courses.
Donald Trump claims he has 'great support' from the environmental groups. However, the film reveals how every major conservation group in Scotland has come out against the plan - including Scottish Natural Heritage, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and the Ramblers Association. Scottish Natural Heritage - the Government's own environmental agency - says the resort will destroy the “the crown jewels” of Scotland’s natural heritage. And Scotland is bursting with golf courses already.

Yet Mr Trump has convinced the Scottish Government to upend the planning process and its own environmental laws on the pretext that the project is “in the national interest”.

The documentary calls into question this extraordinary decision. And follows a cast of real-life "Local Heroes" (the classic film was made just up the coast) as they battle against the odds to protect the ancient, globally important landscape that has been the backdrop to their lives. Their homes are under threat too - the authorities could level them to improve the view from the Trump hotel.
During the course of filming we became amongst the first journalists ever jailed in the United Kingdom simply for conducting an interview. Our crime? Investigating the cutting off of an 86-year-old woman's water by crews employed by Mr Trump. Our footage and camera equipment was confiscated too. According to the National Union of Journalists, this police action was 'unprecedented'. You can read about it here in The Guardian.
If you care about our planet, human decency, and freedom of speech, then please help us finish this film.
What We Need

You've Been Trumped will get its world premiere at North America's biggest film festival - Hot Docs in Toronto - on Tuesday 3rd May at 9pm. We're nearly there! Please check out our new website with full details.
We've paid for all the filming and almost all of the editing ourselves. But now we have to come up with almost $20,000 for what people in the business call “post production”. Stuff like the final sound mix, colour correction, and titling. And there's insurance, rights clearances and the like.We've been battling the police and the Scottish Government, to film a story we... more

pdy
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This week “on the ground” – leading by example

These men and women are leading by example, often opening their own homes to foster... more

b_reilly
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8 months ago
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Community Led Development - Auckland NZ 2011

Waiheke Island's Okahuiti/Ostend Residents & Ratepayers Association hosts a... more

da100thmonkey
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9 months ago
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Afraid of the dark? I was.

The ndebele in Zimbabwe have a saying that translates, “don’t be afraid of... more

b_reilly
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10 months ago
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