tagged w/ Habitat Destruction
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WHEN Nobel prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen coined the word Anthropocene around 10 years ago, he gave birth to a powerful idea: that human activity is now affecting the Earth so profoundly that we are entering a new geological epoch.
The Anthropocene has yet to be accepted as a geological time period, but if it is, it may turn out to be the shortest - and the last. It is not hard to imagine the epoch ending just a few hundred years after it started, in an orgy of global warming and overconsumption.
Let's suppose that happens. Humanity's ever-expanding footprint on the natural world leads, in two or three hundred years, to ecological collapse and a mass extinction. Without fossil fuels to support agriculture, humanity would be in trouble. "A lot of things have to die, and a lot of those things are going to be people," says Tony Barnosky, a palaeontologist at the University of California, Berkeley. In this most pessimistic of scenarios, society would collapse, leaving just a few hundred thousand eking out a meagre existence in a new Stone Age.
Whether our species would survive is hard to predict, but what of the fate of the Earth itself? It is often said that when we talk about "saving the planet" we are really talking about saving ourselves: the planet will be just fine without us. But would it? Or would an end-Anthropocene cataclysm damage it so badly that it becomes a sterile wasteland?
The only way to know is to look back into our planet's past. Neither abrupt global warming nor mass extinction are unique to the present day. The Earth has been here before. So what can we expect this time?
Take greenhouse warming. Climatologists' biggest worry is the possibility that global warming could push the Earth past two tipping points that would make things dramatically worse. The first would be the thawing of carbon-rich peat locked in permafrost. As the Arctic warms, the peat could decompose and release trillions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere - perhaps exceeding the 3 trillion tonnes that humans could conceivably emit from fossil fuels. The second is the release of methane stored as hydrate in cold, deep ocean sediments. As the oceans warm and the methane - itself a potent greenhouse gas - enters the atmosphere, it contributes to still more warming and thus accelerates the breakdown of hydrates in a vicious circle.
"If we were to blow all the fossil fuels into the atmosphere, temperatures would go up to the point where both of these reservoirs of carbon would be released," says oceanographer David Archer of the University of Chicago. No one knows how catastrophic the resulting warming might be.
That's why climatologists are looking with increasing interest at a time 55 million years ago called the Palaeocene-Eocene thermal maximum, when temperatures rose by up to 9 °C in a few thousand years - roughly equivalent to the direst forecasts for present-day warming. "It's the most recent time when there was a really rapid warming," says Peter Wilf, a palaeobotanist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. "And because it was fairly recent, there are a lot of rocks still around that record the event."
By measuring ocean sediments deposited during the thermal maximum, geochemist James Zachos of the University of California, Santa Cruz, has found that the warming coincided with a huge spike in atmospheric CO2. Between 5 and 9 trillion tonnes of carbon entered the atmosphere in no more than 20,000 years (Nature, vol 432, p 495). Where could such a huge amount have come from?
Volcanic activity cannot account for the carbon spike, Zachos says. Instead, he blames peat decomposition, which would have happened not from melting permafrost - it was too warm for permafrost - but through climatic drying. The fossil record of plants from this time testifies to just such a drying episode.
Continued at link . . .WHEN Nobel prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen coined the word Anthropocene... more
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About 600 miles west of the Ecuadorian coast sits the volcanic archipelago, which hosts a number of endemic species that largely depend on each other to survive, reported Reuters.
According to scientists, sudden and frequently changing sea temperatures and the death of coral reefs near the islands reveal the impact global warming is having on local sea life.
"The coral reefs create a habitat; they are like a forest, like the Amazon. They are home to scores of species. ... If the corals die we lose thousands of species that are associated to the coral," said German marine biologist Judith Denkinger.
"Everything is intertwined. You can't say this is land, this is sea, they are both one," Denkinger said.About 600 miles west of the Ecuadorian coast sits the volcanic archipelago, which... more
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Cypress trees belong in the ground, not in plastic bags!
A Florida cypress forest is a beautiful thing. Cypress trees provide habitat for threatened and endangered species, critical areas for migratory birds, help protect our communities from flooding, filter our waters, and are part of the amazing experience of being in nature in Florida. They are a valuable and intrinsic element of all that is wild and free in Florida. They belong in the ground, in our wetlands, and along our coastlines…NOT in plastic bags as mulch.
Cypress forests in Louisiana, Florida, and throughout the Gulf are being clear-cut to produce cypress mulch. Whole swamp ecosystems are being lost and the entire trees are being ground up to be sold in the garden departments of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe's.
These forests and wetlands are literally being sold off for two dollars a bag. It's like shredding the Constitution to make post-it notes: a NATIONAL TREASURE is being turned into a disposable product.
The Gulf Restoration Network (http://www.healthygulf.org/) and the Save Our Cypress Coalition (http://www.saveourcypress.org) has presented Lowe's, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot with extensive evidence of the destruction that is caused from cypress mulch. All three companies recognize it is a problem, but none of them have taken the concrete steps that are necessary to live up to the environmental commitments that they tout so loudly. These companies need to stop selling cypress mulch.
Cypress mulch is an unsustainable and unnecessary product, and there are much better options available. Melaleuca mulch is a great alternative and using this product is a way to help protect the Everglades while saving cypress trees. (Melaleuca trees were planted by the Army Corps of Engineers around the edges of the Everglades in the early 1920s as a way of drying the "swamps." This tree has become a pest because it proliferates at an enormous rate and can overtake native vegetation). And of course, there are always the leaves that fall in the driveway or the grass clippings from your yard.
The Gulf Restoration Network is proud to be working with Florida Defenders of the Environment to spread the word about protecting cypress forests. FDE has signed on to a Save Our Cypress campaign letter, and recently hosted a meeting of local activists in Gainesville who are working together to stop the sale of cypress mulch. Together we can protect rivers like the Withlacoochee and the Ocklawaha, and ensure the cypress-filled banks are there for future generations.
Please take a moment on your next shopping trip to tell the store manager that you don't want the company to sell cypress mulch, and visit www.healthygulf.org to send a message directly to the CEOs of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe's.
To learn more about the campaign and to get involved in this effort please contact Joe Murphy at 352-583-0870, or joe@healthygulf.org.Cypress trees belong in the ground, not in plastic bags!
A Florida cypress forest... more
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Survival International
Indigenous people from south-east Peru are suing Repsol-YPF and US company Hunt Oil over their plans to explore for oil on their land.
Local indigenous organisation FENAMAD has filed a lawsuit asking for an injunction to be placed on both the companies’ activities. The suit argues that the government did not consult with local people before giving the companies permission to work there, as is required under international law, and oil exploration would violate local peoples’ fundamental human rights to ‘enjoy a balanced environment’.
Hunt and Repsol-YPF own the rights to explore in an area known as ‘Lot 76’, which includes land belonging to the Yine, Matsigenka and Harakmbut tribes. At the heart of the Lot is the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, used by many villages in the region and the source of six rivers that are the only fresh water supply for an estimated ten thousand people.
‘FENAMAD hopes that this legal action will paralyze any activity inside the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, as otherwise the very existence of Madre de Dios’s indigenous peoples would be put at risk,’ said FENAMAD spokesperson Jaime Corisepa.
Representatives of villages potentially affected by the exploration met with two Hunt employees at a recent meeting organised by FENAMAD http://fenamad-indigenas.blogspot.com/2009/09/native-communities-of-madre-de-dios.html
The representatives told Hunt they rejected the company’s presence on their land.
Watch a film of the meeting with Hunt http://fenamad-indigenas.blogspot.com/ (in Spanish), entitled ‘See how the Peruvian Amazon’s indigenous peoples say ‘NO’ to Hunt Oil company’.Survival International
Indigenous people from south-east Peru are suing Repsol-YPF... more
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Fast isn’t always good. Species, for instance, are estimated to be heading towards EXTINCTION at a rate of about ONE EVERY 20 MINUTES. That’s a pace a THOUSAND TIMES FASTER than the norm during Earth’s history. That’s not just fast, that’s OUT OF CONTROL. And it’s definitely not good.
Our clock is based on the best science. It considers the two primary and interlinked causes of species extinction: HABITAT DESTRUCTION, which already affects 90% of threatened species, and CLIMATE CHANGE, which will become just as dangerous.
The easiest way to calculate extinction rates is to look to the past, but this significantly underestimates current patterns. Extinctions often occurred without being recorded, especially among less well-known species, and threats to species are now far more widespread and severe. This is why we use predicted extinction rates.
Predictions are always subject to uncertainty, due to use of different information, assumptions, and techniques. Our predicted extinction rates estimate the number of species that will face extinction between 2000 and 2050. We say “faced with extinction” because there is a delay between the onset of threats and the actual death of the last individual of a species, causing an “extinction debt.”
Some 5% to 50% of species are predicted to face extinction due to habitat destruction alone between 2000 and 2050.[3] Independent studies on climate change effects predict 15% to 37% of species may face extinction over the same period.[4] The midrange estimate for each scenario is about 25%. Overlap between the 25% of species imperiled by each of these factors is likely, which gives us a midrange predicted extinction rate of around 25% of species by 2050.
Given a conservative estimate of 4 million to 6 million species on Earth today,[5] and incorporating best- and worst-case extinction scenarios, we can estimate how many species will be faced with extinction between 2000 and 2050:
Midrange estimate: 25% of 5 million species = 1.3 million species, or roughly 1 every 20 minutes.
Low estimate: 15% of 4 million species = 0.6 million species, or roughly 1 every 44 minutes.
High estimate: 50% of 6 million species = 3 million species, or roughly 1 every 9 minutes.
Links -
Climate Change:
http://www.conservation.org/learn/climate/Pages/overview.aspx
http://www.conservation.org/LEARN/CLIMATE/Pages/overview.aspx
Species Survival/Extinction Rate: http://www.conservation.org/act/get_involved/Pages/stop-the-clock-methodology.aspx
How you can help: http://www.conservation.org/act/get_involved/Pages/default.aspxFast isn’t always good. Species, for instance, are estimated to be heading towards... more
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Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's nonprofit environment projects in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Vote for the story by Donna Kumpula about the EarthKeeper Initiative and the Zaagkii Project
It was weekly winner in April but now its competing against about 19 others for the big prize . Money that would help fund the projects for a year.
You'll need to register - or login if you have voted before.
Its entitled:
Creating numerous environment projects that bring together diverse groups, students, American Indians
Link to story is near end of list on lower right hand side of pagfe.
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends.asp?action=register
Or go directly to story – and register or log-in:
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/SingleSensations.asp?action=readStory&story=70
Brief summary of projects your vote would support:
The interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative:
The interfaith EarthKeepers planted twelve thousand (12,000) trees across northern Michigan for Earth Day 2009 thanks to over 100 churches/temples from 12 religions.
During past Earth Day projects, the EarthKeepers have recycled or properly disposed over nearly 400 tons of waste including cellphones, computers (and related equipment), printers, car batteries, poisons, pesticides, oil-based paint, pharmaceuticals and much more.
The Zaagkii Project:
This summer Native American youth and at-risk teens are repairing the ecosystem along a Lake Superior beach, built dozens of Mason Bee houses including some to be placed at the U.S. National Gardens in D.C.; Native American teens this month are helping build a greenhouse for native species plants on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.
Last summer the teens built dozens of butterfly houses for migrating Monarchs.Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's... more
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-- 2006 Compromise Betrayed as Oil Rigs Allowed as Close as 45 Miles --
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted today to remove Florida’s unique and critical protections against offshore oil and gas drilling. The amendment, offered by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), revokes long-term protections against Eastern Gulf drilling within 125 miles of Pensacola and 250 miles from Tampa Bay and replaces it with a buffer just 45 miles from Florida’s coastline, effective immediately.
“We’re deeply disappointed that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee broke its promise to Florida,” said Environment Florida Advocate Adam Rivera. “This is a cautionary tale not to compromise with oil companies and their allies in Congress, since such compromises will not be upheld for long.”
The 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act put in place current protections for Florida’s federal waters, which last until 2022. The Dorgan Amendment, which was adopted by a margin of 13-10, also opens the “Destin Dome,” long sought after by oil and gas interests, a mere 25 miles from the coast of Pensacola.
Florida would bear huge risk from increased drilling, while receiving a negligible reward. Based on the experience of other Gulf drilling operations, small spills—like the 500 gallon spill off a Louisiana rig in June 2006 that killed hundreds of endangered pelicans in a National Wildlife Refuge—would be common if Florida’s coastal and marine waters were opened to drilling. A catastrophic spill, one that could spoil the ecology and economic value of Florida beaches for generations, would be a real possibility.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the impact on gasoline prices in both the near and long terms from offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf is “insignificant”—a mere fraction of the savings America could achieve from a slight increase in automobile fuel economy standards or smart investments in urban planning and better public transit.
“Environment Florida thanks Senator Bill Nelson for fighting for our coastal environment and economy. We urge all U.S. Senators to join him in focusing on creating a clean energy economy and stopping global warming, rather than pursuing false solutions that jeopardize our natural heritage,” said Rivera.-- 2006 Compromise Betrayed as Oil Rigs Allowed as Close as 45 Miles --
WASHINGTON... more
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Oil companies are salivating over the supply of black gold beneath Ecuador's rainforest.
The South American country is pledging to keep the oil in the ground -- if the international community provides compensation. Now Germany has taken a leading role in raising the necessary cash.
There are many attributes which make the Yasuni National Park special: IT IS ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE PLACES ON THE PLANET, it is home to indigenous tribes which hunt and gather in its remote interior, and there's a unique breed of small bat. But the national park also has a geographic curse: It sits atop Ecuador's largest known oil reserve, thought to contain hundreds of millions of barrels.
And this potential fortune threatens its very future. In response, Ecuador has come up with an unusual plan to safeguard the UNESCO biosphere Reserve. The cash-strapped South American country has pledged to leave the oil in the ground forever -- something unheard of among oil nations -- if the international community compensates for some of the lost income.
The scheme, which was first mooted by Ecuadorian President Raphael Correa more than a year ago, got off to a slow start. By the end of the year the country extended its self-imposed deadline, in a last ditch bid to rally international support.
Meanwhile, international oil giants were queuing to exploit the supply of black gold.
But now, all of a sudden, the ball seems to be rolling. Following a two-day visit by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Fander Falconí to Berlin, Germany had positioned itself at "the forefront of the initative," the Ministry for Economic Cooperation said.
He stressed that Ecuador's idea had caught Berlin's imagination: "It offers a new approach to rainforests and, from the perspective of development politics, it is very promising," Bethe said. "Combining climate protection and fighting poverty will play a growing role in the future."
Ecuador estimates that by leaving the oil untouched, some 410 MILLION TONS of CO2 will be averted. Oil is Ecuador's most important export, generating around a third of its income. With the value of the untapped supply under the Yasuni National Park estimated at some $6 billion, the country argues it has little option but to approach international donors, hat in hand.
Environmentalists welcomed the plan as a way to save Ecuador's rainforest from destruction. Preventing forests from disappearing is a vital element in the fight against climate change as they absorb huge quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Still, doubts lingered about the Ecuador model.
Tobias Riedl from Greenpeace Germany's Forest Campaign warned that the scheme was far from perfect. "It is a double-edged sword. While we welcome moves to save this unique environment, the fact is that ALL RAINFORESTS NEED TO BE SAVED, regardless of whether they lie on valuable natural resources or not.
Greenpeace estimates that €30 billion are needed to secure the future of the rainforests worldwide. And with 80 percent of all ancient forests (including rainforests) worldwide already gone, the clock is ticking. And Ecuador knows it.Oil companies are salivating over the supply of black gold beneath Ecuador's... more
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KINIGI, Rwanda (AFP) — Rwanda "baptised" 18 rare baby mountain gorillas at what has become an annual event to highlight the plight of the endangered species.
The baby gorillas, however, were not physically present at the colourful ceremony at the edge of a national park where the primates live.
Eighteen masked people represented the gorillas at the event, which included songs and dances, attended by senior government officials including Prime Minister Bernard Makuza.
Tourism Minister Monique Nsanzabaganwa said government was expanding the the size of the volcanic park by 10 percent by the end of the year in a bid to promote the conservation of the gorillas.
"This campaign is to encourage gorilla conservation initiatives and to promote the local tourism industry," she said.
"Tourism remains one of Rwanda's key sectors," she added.
The ceremony was the fifth of its kind in Rwanda in as many years. A total of 103 gorillas have been baptised and officially received a name so far, according to AFP count.
The world's last mountain gorillas are concentrated in the mountains straddling the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
They number around 700 in all, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).KINIGI, Rwanda (AFP) — Rwanda "baptised" 18 rare baby mountain gorillas at what has... more
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Congress is debating a bill that would open up oil and natural gas platforms just 10 miles from portions of Florida's Gulf and Atlantic coasts. It's putting pressure on state lawmakers to decide how close is too close to search for new energy sources.
As it stands, oil and natural gas exploration is limited to dozens of miles away from Florida's beaches and some in the state worry that allowing access just ten miles away, in Federal waters, puts Florida at risk environmentally without any of the financial windfalls.
Florida's Petroleum Council argues lawmakers should open up state waters, the first 10 miles of ocean and gulf waters beyond the shoreline, to oil exploration. Analysts estimate such a move could generate more than $1.5 billion a year in lease agreements and jobs.
"We know it's out in the eastern Gulf of Mexico," Council spokesperson Eric Hamilton says. "And we can get to that with a very small footprint."
Governor Charlie Crist has remained open-minded on the offshore drilling debate, provided platforms were largely out of sight and environmental risk was small.
"It's such an important issue that all the aspects of it, particularly if it would mean any revenue for Florida," Crist said Wednesday. "I understand that it may not. That would be a deal breaker."
Ultimately, voters could decide if near-shore drilling is in Florida's future. A push is on to put the question of opening up Florida's waters for oil and natural gas leases on the 2010 ballot.
"We've got this beautiful economy that every other state would envy," Audubon of Florida spokesperson Eric Draper says. "Why would we put that at risk for a little bit of oil that's not even going to bring that much money into the state of Florida."
Recent polling by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Institute find a majority of Floridians support drilling off Florida's coasts, if safety was guaranteed.
I CAN NOT IMAGINE ANYONE BEING IGNORANT ENOUGH TO BELIEVE ANY "GUARANTEE' (OR ANYTHING ELSE) BY BIG OIL AND/OR CORRUPT POLITICIANS THAT SUPPORT IT!
$1.5 BILLION WOULD NOT COVER THE LOSS INCURRED BY 1 MAJOR SPILL. THE DAMAGE TO MARINE WILDLIFE, ENDANGERED COASTAL HABITAT AND ALREADY FRAGILE MARINE ECO-SYSTEMS WOULD NOT BE REPLACEABLE.
IT IS STRANGE HOW NATIONAL AND LOCAL MEDIA FAIL TO REPORT ALL OF THE OIL SPILLS HERE ALONG THE GULF COAST AFTER A HURRICANE...
PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THE DESTRUCTION OF FLORIDA'S DELICATE ECO-SYSTEMS!
NO MORE DRILLING! WE NEED REAL ENERGY ALTERNATIVES THAT ARE SUSTAINABLE AND RENEWABLE NOW!
OUR GROTESQUE CONSUMPTION OF EARTH'S NATURAL RESOURCES HAS NOT BEEN REDUCED BY EXTINCTION, POLLUTION, STARVATION, WAR, POVERTY, HABITAT-LOSS, DISEASE... WHAT MORE WILL IT TAKE?Congress is debating a bill that would open up oil and natural gas platforms just 10... more
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International Experts Issue Frankfurt Declaration to Call for Better Protection of Gorillas
Under the title 'Gentle Giants in need” 160 government officials, experts, corporate representatives and conservationists from 20 countries attended a conference in Frankfurt, 9-10 June to mark the UN Year of the Gorilla, a global campaign to help implement the gorilla agreement.
In the “Frankfurt Declaration” they highlighted major threats to gorillas and their habitats, as well as the strategies available for the conservation of the second closest relative to
humankind.
In the Declaration delegates appeal to governments, the international community and industrial companies to enhance activities to reduce threats to the remaining gorilla populations in the wild, which can contribute to peace-making and prosperity in Central Africa.
Why are the gorillas threatened with extinction? Humans.
An omnipresent yet invisible threat to gorillas and their habitats, as well as to countless other species, is the ever-growing human demand for energy and its consequences.
Human encroachment, "bushmeat" hunting, the destruction of their habitat for charcoal, and coltan mining.
Charcoal production is a major threat to gorilla forests in many areas, not least the Mountain Gorilla habitat in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. To reduce this threat, solar cookers, tree-planting on farms and the spread of fuel-efficient stoves are needed.
The Year of the Gorilla (YoG) is supporting a project in the Mountain Gorillas’ range which enables local residents to purchase highly fuel-efficient stoves for a low price, thereby enabling them to use less firewood, which is often taken from the very same forests that are home to the gorillas.
For more information:
'GRASP' - Great Ape Survival Partnership http://www.unep.org/grasp/International Experts Issue Frankfurt Declaration to Call for Better Protection of... more
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Has the recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened the populations of lowland gorillas? How many are left?
The short answer is yes, dramatically.
Not to be confused with Western Lowland Gorillas, which are thriving in significant numbers in neighboring Congo (a recent census counted 125,000).
Today fewer than 5,000 Eastern Lowland Gorillas are estimated to remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. Some 17,000 inhabited the region as recently as 1994, but today habitat loss, hunting ('bushmeat'), and war and violence are combining to push them over the edge.
Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, an influx of refugees, along with bloodthirsty militias, moved across the border into the neighboring DRC. These militias set up training grounds in the very forests the gorillas call home, making conservation work impractical to say the least. Park rangers, game wardens and wildlife researchers either fled their wooded beats or were removed at gunpoint.
In the wake of this, civilian populations in the affected areas still had to make ends meet somehow. So hunting for so-called “bushmeat,” and cutting down the forest for firewood, charcoal and space for agricultural plots became the means for day-to-day survival, and continue to this day.
Some 91 percent of the human population in the region practice subsistence agriculture. This means that large swaths of gorilla habitat throughout the region have been converted to farms. At the same time, 96 percent of the locals rely on firewood as their main supply of energy for warmth and cooking. “Forested parks are for many of them the last remaining source of fuel,” reports the Year of the Gorilla website.
*please follow link for the rest of this story*Has the recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened the populations... more
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Scientists have rubbished logging industry claims that deforestation in the Amazon brings long-term economic benefits to local communities.
Impoverished Brazilian communities living within the rainforest have long been said to gain from logging with increased life-expectancy, income and literacy rates.
But a study of 286 Amazon communities by Cambridge University and Imperial College London found the wealth is short-lived because development plummets when the loggers move on.
As a result deforestation is not just damaging for the climate, but also for humans, causing a ‘boom and bust’ cycle of misery.
Each year an area of rainforest eight times the sizes of Wales – 69,500 square miles – is cut down for timber, burned, or cleared for agricultural use.
The deforestation frontier advances by a staggering rate of more than four football fields every minute.
Much of the land cleared was claimed by economic migrants who moved to the area from the south in the 70s and 80s.
When the trees are gone local communities turn to less lucrative cattle grazing and crop growing which swiftly degrades their land.
Comparative quality of life dwindles and land is often abandoned.
Dr Rob Ewers of the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, author of the report, said deforestation in the Amazon causes ‘boom and bust’.
“In areas that are currently being deforested, the process needs to be better managed to ensure that for local people boom isn’t necessarily followed by bust,” he said.
“Because when the trees are gone communities are left with next to nothing. They lose their health care, their education and roads and infrastructure falls into disrepair.
“Timber is highly lucrative whilst cattle grazing is not and crops are only efficient for three to five years.
“Industry and local government heralds the benefits to local communities to justify logging but this simply isn’t the case.”Scientists have rubbished logging industry claims that deforestation in the Amazon... more
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The astonishing collection of everyday plastic items swallowed by a single albatross.
At first glance this collection of bright plastic toothbrushes and bottle tops looks like a colourful mosaic.
But astonishingly all these pieces were found in the stomach of a dead fledgling Laysan albatross.
The stark image is on the cover of today's special issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, which highlights the effect plastic has on the environment and human health.The astonishing collection of everyday plastic items swallowed by a single albatross.... more
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Researchers, who have studied the 24 large mammals that once moved from area to area in their hundreds of thousands, found that six of the migrations have stopped while the rest have been severely diminished.
Springbok and the spectacular scimitar-horned oryx are among the animals whose treks have ceased, according to the research published in the current issue of the journal Endangered Species Research. Bison and caribou have also all been badly affected.
Migrations evolved to take animals from areas where food was scarce to those where it was abundant, and grazers particularly seek out young grass, which is more digestible and has higher levels of protein. Grass quantity and quality depends on the availability of water, either from rainfall or melting snow, which varies from place to place according to the time of year.
In turn the migrants' dung increases the productivity of the areas they visit, so much so that the scientists – from the US Government's Fish and Wildlife Service, the American National Museum, the Polish Acadamy of Sciences, and the Universities of Montana and Aberdeen – say "losing migrations may result in ecosystem collapse".
But converting land to agriculture, fencing it, and building roads and railways block the traditional routes, while hunting has slashed populations, which also reduces migrations.
The scientists are particularly worried by the "devastating effects" of increasing measures to stop diseases from wild animals spreading to livestock, by erecting long fences and culling wildlife.
Numerious species have simply been hunted into extinction for their horns or hide.
Many other animals are in trouble as well. Bison, which once thundered through the North American grasslands MidWest, are now so depleted that they only migrate within the Yellowstone and Wood Buffalo National parks.
Mass movements of the Siberian roe deer have stopped in the Ukraine, as have those of the eland in the South African Karoo and Highveld. And caribou routes are disrupted by fencing and the oil exploitation.Researchers, who have studied the 24 large mammals that once moved from area to area... more
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Florida's Manatees and the 2009 Florida Legislative Session
Please Help Safeguard Florida's Environment!
There are multiple bills in the legislature this year that threaten Florida's ecosystems, including the manatee's aquatic ecosystem. The nation's current economic difficulties are being used by the development community and their allies as an excuse to relax environmental safeguards in Florida.
These are a few of the damaging proposals coming out of Tallahassee:
Closure of 5 Department of Environmental Protection Aquatic Preserve Offices: Closure will eliminate services including monitoring, resource protection and restoration, permitting assistance, volunteer coordination, emergency response and cleanup, education and outreach activities and coordination with other agencies on potential impacts to these sites from adjacent alterations of habitats.
Dismantling of the Department of Community Affairs: The DCA provides oversight of the state's development by reviewing proposed amendments to county comprehensive plans and other laws. Bills proposed in both the House and Senate would weaken growth management provisions by either abolishing or reorganizing DCA and cutting staff that provide review of proposed local comprehensive plan amendments.
Wetlands Permitting: Proposals in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee would weaken the Environmental Resources Permitting process by providing opportunities for developers to avoid wetlands mitigation commitments and sufficient storm-water treatment.
Transformation of Stan Mayfield Working Waterfronts Program into a Boat Ramp Development Program: Representative Trudi Williams (R- Ft. Myers), chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Committee proposed an amendment to transform this Florida Communities Trust program into a mechanism for building boat ramps.
You can help: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5215/t/3145/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1325&key=0
PLEASE HELP THE MANATEE!
THIS WILL ALSO HELP SAFEGUARD OTHER SPECIES OF WILDLIFE INCLUDING TURTLES, TORTOISES, BLACK BEARS...Florida's Manatees and the 2009 Florida Legislative Session
Please Help Safeguard... more
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Many Orang-utans and gibbons are are kept in zoos in appalling conditions.
Illegal-trade devastates Sumatran orangutan population.
Lack of law enforcement against illegal trade in Indonesia threatens the survival of orangutans and gibbons on Sumatra, a new study by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC shows.
Despite considerable investment in wildlife conservation, numbers of the critically endangered orangutans captured, mainly for the pet trade, exceeded the levels of the 1970s. A lack of adequate law enforcement is to blame, TRAFFIC says.
Just 7,300 orangutans left on Sumatra -
Records of orangutans and gibbons put into rehabilitation centres serve as an indicator of how many of these animals were illegally held. Meanwhile numbers continue to decline in the wild, with the most recent estimate of just 7,300 Sumatran orangutans surviving.
Orangutans, which can weigh up to around 90 kilograms and reach 1.5 metres in length, end up in such centres after they become too old and big to be held as pets. But owners of the reddish-brown coloured apes do not face any legal consequences.
"Confiscating these animals without prosecuting the owners is futile," said Chris R Shepherd, Acting Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
"There is no deterrent for those committing these crimes if they go unpunished. Indonesia has adequate laws, but without serious penalties, this illegal trade will continue, and these species will continue to spiral towards extinction."
Other threats -
The report recommends that the root causes of trade be examined and that laws be better implemented for the protection of orangutans, gibbons and the island's other wildlife. Sumatra's wildlife is also threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation, logging, land conversion, encroachment, and forest fires.
WWF is working to reduce the destruction of wildlife habitat in Sumatra by working with industry to ensure High Conservation Value Forests are not converted for agriculture, empowering local communities to manage natural resources in a sustainable way, and providing alternatives.Many Orang-utans and gibbons are are kept in zoos in appalling conditions.... more
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Imagine the year 2065. Two-thirds of Earth’s ozone is gone. The infamous ozone hole over Antarctica is a year-round fixture with a twin over the North Pole.
People living in mid-latitude cities like Washington, D.C., get sunburned after five minutes. DNA-mutating UV radiation is up 650 percent, with likely harmful effects on plants, animals and human skin cancer rates.
Such is the world we would have inherited if 193 nations had not agreed to ban ozone-depleting substances, according to atmospheric chemists at NASA, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency in Bilthoven. The researchers have unveiled new computer simulations this week of a worldwide disaster that humans managed to avoid.
In retrospect, the researchers say, the Montreal Protocol was a “remarkable international agreement that should be studied by those involved with global warming and the attempts to reach international agreement on that topic.”
PHOTO: The ozone layer over the far northern hemisphere -- once robust compared to the Antarctic concentrations -- would have developed a similar ozone hole by the 2020s without the Montreal Protocol. Reds represent healthy ozone concentrations; blues show depletion. Credit: NASA GoddardImagine the year 2065. Two-thirds of Earth’s ozone is gone. The infamous ozone hole... more
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Since the 1890s, surface temperatures on Earth have risen faster in the Arctic than in other regions of the world. Usually, discussions on global warming tend to focus on greenhouse gases as the culprit for the trend. But new NASA research suggests about half the atmospheric warming measured in the Arctic is due to airborne particles called aerosols.
Aerosols are emitted by both natural and human sources. They can influence climate by reflecting or absorbing sunlight. The particles also affect climate by changing cloud properties, such as reflectivity. There is one type of aerosol that, according to the study, reductions rather than increases in its emissions seem to have promoted warming.
The research team, led by climate scientist Drew Shindell of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies used a computer model to investigate how sensitive different regional climates are to changes in levels of carbon dioxide, ozone, and aerosols.
They found that Earth’s middle and high latitudes are particularly responsive to changes in aerosol levels. The model suggests aerosols likely account for 45 % or more of the warming measured in the Arctic since 1976.
Though there are several types of aerosols, previous research indicates two in particular, sulfates and black carbon, play leading roles in climate. Both are products of human activity. Sulfates, which come mainly from the burning of coal and oil, scatter sunlight and cool the air. Over the past three decades, the United States and European countries have passed clean-air laws that have halved sulfate emissions.
...Since the 1890s, surface temperatures on Earth have risen faster in the Arctic than in... more
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BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Video
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