Amazonian Tribe Massacred by Loggers Dwindles to 5 Members
October 14, 2009
Deforestation has many prices – not the least of which is the loss of an entire Amazonian tribe, which will inevitably die out now that there are only five members left. The once-vibrant, ancient Akuntsu tribe of Brazil lost almost all of their numbers to a massacre by loggers intent on stealing their land in the 1990s.
From The Independent:
Much of the Akuntsus’ story is – for obvious reasons – undocumented. For millennia, they lived in obscurity, deep in the rainforest of Rondonia state, a remote region of western Brazil near the Bolivian border. They hunted wild pig, agoutis and tapir, and had small gardens in their villages, where they would grow manioc (or cassava) and corn.
Then, in the 1980s, their death warrant was effectively signed: farmers and loggers were invited to begin exploring the region, cutting roads deep into the forest, and turning the once verdant wilderness into lucrative soya fields and cattle ranches.
Fiercely industrious, the new migrant workers knew that one thing might prevent them from creating profitable homesteads from the rainforest: the discovery of uncontacted tribes, whose land is protected from development under the Brazilian constitution.
As a result, frontiersmen who first came across the Akuntsu in the mid-1980s made a simple calculation. The only way to prevent the government finding out about this indigenous community was to wipe them off the map.
The seven members of the tribe who escaped the massacre retreated deep into the wilderness to survive, and were not formally “contacted” until 1995. They include Konibú, the tribe’s elderly chief and shaman, Pugapía, his wife, their two daughers Nãnoi and Enotéi and a cousin, Pupak. Konibú’s sister Ururú, the sixth last member pictured at front left, recently passed away. Tribal custom does not allow outsiders to marry in.
A documentary of their struggle called ‘Corumbiara: they shoot Indians, don’t they?’ which was filmed over a period of twenty years, is now showing in Brazil. Campaigners hope that the story of the Akuntsu tribe will persuade the Brazilian public to strengthen government protections for indigenous people.
The Akuntsu represent yet another reason why we must make protecting the rainforests of the Amazon, and elsewhere in the world, a top priority. Not only are these forests five times more effective than carbon capture at combating catastrophic climate change, they also harbor so many wonders of the human, animal, insect and plant worlds.
Link [The Independent]
Amazon Deforestation Plummets 46%
September 8, 2009
Brazil pledged to slow down deforestation in the Amazon, and many environmentalists were highly skeptical – but new figures show that the logging rate did actually decrease dramatically between August 2008 and July 2009. Deforestation Detection in Real Time (DETER) and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) say that deforestation rates dropped by a remarkable 46%.
Increased policing probably has a lot to do with it – the Brazilian government initiated 650 probes into illegal deforestation and arrested 298 people. However, this lower figure probably has something to do with the state of the global economy as well. When things pick back up again, the rate of deforestation will likely go through the roof.
There are already signs that this will be the case. June 2009 saw a stunning increase in Amazon deforestation, with an area the size of Los Angeles cleared in a single month. Though demand for timber products is still part of the problem, the biggest cause by far is cattle ranching, responsible for 80% of deforestation in the Amazon. Most of that beef is exported to Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Though an appetite for meat is the main driver, vegetarians shouldn’t get too smug. Soybeans are the second leading cause.
Link [Treehugger]
Photo credit: The Guardian
Clean Renewable Energy, Courtesy of Rainforest Tree Fungus
February 12, 2009
As scientists, researchers and engineers work to push past the age of fossil fuels and into a new era of clean renewable energy, promising breakthroughs are being made practically every week. An especially promising discovery has been made at Montana State University that may revolutionize biofuels, making them more efficient and cost-effective – and it all starts with a fungus that grows on trees in the Patagonia rainforest of northern Chile.
From BionomicFuel.com:
A scientific research breakthrough concerning biodiesel from trees as a biofuel source may be the answer the world has been waiting for. Dr. Gary Strobel, a researcher at Montana State University, discovered a new fungus that grows on specific trees in the Patagonia rain forest. This fungus is unique, and the only one found to have such a big effect on biofuel. It is called Gliocladium roseum, and the fungus only grows on the the Ulmo tree, and it only develops under certain very low oxygen conditions. This fungus makes different molecules that consist of carbon and hydrogen, almost identical to the molecules found in traditional diesel fuel. When grown in the lab this fungus is even more identical to diesel. This breakthrough for fungus biodiesel has made some of the researchers at Montana State University, and at other colleges and research institutes, think twice about the possible origin of fossil fuels under the ground. If large amounts of this fungi have been present in the past, it is possible that this contributed to the fossil fuel reserves.
Fungus biodiesel could meet the world’s energy needs in a way that doesn’t harm the environment or cause fuel costs to go through the roof. Dr. Strobel and other Montana State University scientists are continuing to research this fungus to determine the best ways to produce fungus biofuel and to increase the diesel molecules created by the fungus. Experts say that if it can be produced in a cost-effective manner, it may become the number one biofuel source in the world.
Fascinating – who would have thought we could get fuel from tree fungus? It’s amazing how our eyes are being opened to the possibilities around us. Fossil fuels are the way of the past – we’re blazing a trail into a cleaner, greener future and it couldn’t be more exciting.
Link [Bionomic Fuel]
Agribusiness Threatens World’s Tropical Forests
December 26, 2008
The Rainforest Action Network is challenging one of the fastest growing threats to the world’s tropical forests: the rapid expansion of industrial agriculture. Fueled in part by the growing demand for biofuels, U.S. agribusiness giants ADM, Bunge and Cargill are establishing soy and palm oil operations in some of the planet’s most biodiverse forests.
Soy has become a major contributor to deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest and its surrounding wooded savanna, the Cerrado, while palm oil plantations are expanding at a rate of 2.5 million acres per year into the tropical forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.
RAN is calling on agribusinesses to protect these vital ecosystems by stopping industrial agriculture in these areas.
How can you help the world’s tropical forests? Join RAN’s Protect-an-Acre Program.
7 Environmental Problems That Are Worse Than We Thought
November 3, 2008
With as much attention as the environment has been getting lately, you’d think that we’d be further along in our fight to preserve the world’s species, resources and the beautiful diversity of nature. Unfortunately, things aren’t nearly that rosy. In fact, many of the environmental problems that have received the most public attention are even worse than we thought – from destruction in the rain forest to melting glaciers in the Arctic. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
7. Mammal Extinction
Image via National Wildlife Federation
One in four mammals is threatened with extinction. That’s 25%, a huge number that will totally change the ecology of every corner of the earth. We could see thousands of species die out in our lifetime, and the rate of habitat loss and hunting in crucial areas like Southeast Asia, Central Africa and Central and South America is growing so rapidly, these animals barely have a chance.
If you think the extinction of an animal like the beautiful Iberian Lynx is no big deal, and wouldn’t have that much of an effect on the planet, think again. Not only would we be losing – mostly due to our own disregard for our surroundings – so much of the awe-inspiring diversity of nature, mass extinctions like this would cause a serious imbalance in the world’s food chain. When a predator disappears, the prey will multiply. When prey dies out, the predator will see its ranks decrease as well. Many people fail to realize just how interconnected all species on this planet really are.
6. The Ocean Dead Zones
In oceans around the world, there are eerie areas that are devoid of nearly all life. These ‘dead zones’ are characterized by a lack of oxygen, and they’re caused by excess nitrogen from farm fertilizers, emissions from vehicles and factories, and sewage. The number of dead zones has been growing fast – since the 1960’s, the number of dead zones has doubled every 10 years. They range in size from under a square mile to 45,000 square miles, and the most infamous one of all is in the Gulf of Mexico, a product of toxic sludge that flows down the Mississippi from farms in the Midwest. These ‘hypoxic’ zones now cover an area roughly the size of Oregon.
Spanish researches recently found that many species die off at oxygen levels well above the current definition of ‘uninhabitable’, suggesting that the extent of dead zones in coastal areas that support fishing is much worse than previously thought. Robert Diaz, a Virginia Institute of Marine Science biologist, said “Everything is pointing towards a more desperate situation in all aquatic systems, freshwater and marine. That’s pretty clear. People should be worried, all over the world.”
As if that weren’t bad enough, global warming will likely aggravate the problem. A rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will change rainfall patterns, which could create an increase in runoff from rivers into the seas in many areas.
5. Collapsing Fish Stock
Image via Pew Environment Group
Millions of people across the world depend upon fish as a major staple in their diet. As such, commercial fishermen have been pulling such a huge quantity of fish from the oceans that we’re heading toward a global collapse of all species currently fished – possibly as soon as the year 2048. Like large-scale mammal extinction, the collapse of fish species would have a major impact on the world’s ecosystems.
It’s not too late – yet – if overfishing and other threats to fish populations are reduced as soon as possible. Marine systems are still biologically diverse, but catastrophic loss of fish species is close at hand. 29 percent of species have been fished so heavily or have been so affected by pollution that they’re down to 10 percent of their previous population levels. If we continue the way we are fishing today, there will be a 100 percent collapse by mid-century, so we’ve got to turn this around fast.
4. Destruction of the Rain Forest
Image via Encyclopedia Britannica
‘Saving the rain forest’ has been at the forefront of the environmental movement for decades, yet here we are facing huge losses in the Amazon all the same. You might have thought that, with all the attention the rain forest has gotten, it wouldn’t need so much saving anymore – but unfortunately, global warming and deforestation mean that half of the Amazon rain forest will likely be destroyed or severely damaged by 2030.
The World Wildlife Fund concluded this summer that agriculture, drought, fire, logging and livestock ranching will cause major damage to 55 percent of the Amazon rain forest in the next 22 years. Another 4 percent will see damage due to reduced rainfall, courtesy of global warming. These factors will destroy up to 80 percent of the rain forest’s wildlife. Losing 60 percent of the rain forest would accelerate global warming and affect rainfall in places as far away as India. Massive destruction to the rain forest would have a domino effect on the rest of the world.
The WWF says that the ‘point of no return’, from which recovery will be impossible, is only 15 to 25 years away.
3. Polar Sea Ice Loss
Image via National Snow and Ice Data Center
Polar sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. It’s perhaps the most dramatic, startling visual evidence of global warming, and it’s got scientists rushing to figure out just how big of an effect the melting is going to have on the rest of the world.
British researchers said last week that the thickness of sea ice in the Arctic decreased dramatically last winter for the first time since records began in the early 1990s. The research showed a significant loss in thickness on the northern ice cap after the record loss of ice during the summer of 2007.
Scientific American warns that “human fingerprints have been detected” on both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Antarctica had previously appeared to be the only continent on the planet where humanity’s impact on climate change hadn’t been observed. The collapse of the Larsen B and Wilkins ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula shows just how fast the region is warming.
2. CO2 Levels in the Atmosphere
The aforementioned polar sea ice loss is yet another sinister sign of carbon dioxide levels building up in the atmosphere – the main force behind global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by our modern way of life – vehicles, power plants, factories, giant livestock farms – will bring devastating climate change within decades if they stay at today’s levels.
Average temperatures could increase by as much as 12 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century if emissions continue to rise, a figure that would easily make the world virtually uninhabitable for humans. A global temperature rise of just 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit would cause a catastrophic domino effect, bringing weather extremes that would result in food and water shortages and destructive floods.
The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change represents “the final nail in the coffin” of climate change denial, representing the most authoritative picture to date that global warming is caused by human activity. According to the panel, we must make a swift and significant switch to clean, efficient and renewable energy technologies in order to prevent the worst-case scenario.
1. Population Explosion
Whether we like to admit it or not, our very own rapidly multiplying presence on this planet is the biggest environmental problem there is, and it’s getting bigger by the minute. We voraciously consume resources, pollute the air and water, tear down natural habitats, introduce species into areas where they don’t belong and destroy ecosystems to the point of causing millions of species to become endangered and, all too often, go extinct.
It took nearly all of human history – from the first days of man on earth until the early 1800’s – to reach a global population of 1 billion. In just 200 years, we’ve managed to reach 6.5 billion. That means the population has grown more since 1950 than in the previous four million years. We’re adding roughly 74 million people to the planet every year, a scary figure that will probably continue to increase. All of those mouths will need to be fed. All of those bodies will need clean water and a place to sleep. All of the new communities created to house those people will continue to encroach upon the natural world.
All seven environmental problems detailed above are very serious, and we’ve got to start treating them that way. We may not have easy solutions, but the fact is, we simply can’t continue living our lives as if everything is peachy. These problems aren’t going to magically solve themselves. We should have begun acting generations ago, but we can’t go back in time, and that means we have to step up our efforts. If we want to keep this planet a healthy place for humans to live – for our grandchildren to enjoy – it’s time to buckle down and do everything in our power to reverse the damage we’ve done.
Opportunists See Dollar Signs as Food Prices Spur Rainforest Destruction
May 2, 2008
What do you know, chaos and suffering is causing some folks in the position of power to take advantage of the situation. Will wonders never cease?
As people are starting to get worried about the future of our food sources, farmers in Brazil are getting excited about the prospect of making money by cutting down trees in the rainforest, burning the land and making way for pasture and crops.
Envirolink has it:
“At the very edge of the agricultural frontier, it’s very dynamic and that’s why you get statistics for deforestation that swing wildly from one year to the next,” said Roberto Cavalcanti of Conservation International.
“A small shift in food prices can have a big impact on whether it’s economical or not to move into the forest.”
The governor of Mato Grosso, one of Brazil’s biggest farming states, last week advocated more deforestation as a solution to the sharp rises in staples such as rice that are threatening to push millions of people into hunger.
“There is no way to produce more food without occupying more land and taking down more trees,” Blairo Maggi, also Brazil’s largest soybean producer and widely known as the “King of Soy”, told the Folha news agency.
This seems like a really stupid move… at the first sign of a food crisis, we start moving in on the rainforests, which we’ve been trying to protect for decades? Isn’t there a better way, people? I’m no expert, but in the times of climate change and worries over the future of the entire planet, cutting down trees in the rainforest appears to be a very bad idea.
Link [Envirolink]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Brazil Uses Local, Natural Condoms to Protect Rainforest, Prevent AIDS
April 14, 2008
In a move that confirms our belief that every other country’s government is smarter than ours, Brazil has begun using condoms made of locally-sourced natural latex to protect their rainforests. If that gives you a mental image of giant rubbers stretched over trees, let Reuters explain:
Environmentalists say tapping native rubber trees helps generate income for Amazon residents and reduces pressure to fell trees. More than 550 families will earn a total of 2.2 million reais ($1.3 million) annually producing condoms, the ministry said.
The intention is also to reduce Brazil’s dependence on imported condoms, which are distributed free as part of a national program to combat AIDS.
This government-run condom factory will use latex that comes from the Chico Mendes reserve, and will be the only ones made of latex harvested from a tropical forest. The Brazilian government is the self-proclaimed world’s largest single buyer of condoms.
What could be more awesome than preventing the spread of a deadly disease, protecting rainforests, giving jobs to locals, and reducing dependence on imported goods with condoms, of all things?!
Link [Reuters]
Photo: Flickr user celebdu
