The demand for palm oil is burning Indonesia, quite literally. These annual infernos, according to experts, have ignited a “climate bomb.” And until Western consumers say stop, the fires will continue to burn.
This was a very detailed article by Wade Anderson who wanted to highlight how the Musks have embraced the challenge of climate change. With the help and support of his friend, Jim Lehrman, Wade breaks down the three deadly C’s that contribute to climate change: Cars, cattle, and chainshows and explains how the Musks have taken on these challenges. Many people see the challenge of climate change as an obstacle that they can do nothing to stop or as something that isn’t happening. The issue is real. The Musks and many others are doing something.
Preserving and restoring forests is an effective step toward mitigating climate change, and comes with a host of other benefits.
The tropics lost 12 million hectares of tree cover in 2018, the fourth-highest annual loss since record-keeping began in 2001. Of greatest concern is the disappearance of 3.6 million hectares of primary rainforest, an area the size of Belgium. The figures come from updated data from the University of Maryland, released today on Global Forest Watch.
Indonesia’s recent socioeconomic performance has been impressive. Over the past two decades, the country has cut extreme poverty in half and doubled per capita income.
One hundred years ago, 1919 was a really big year: Countries signed the Treaty of Versailles to end World War I, Mahatma Gandhi began his nonviolent resistance against British rule, the Grand Canyon became a national park. And on a lighter note, pop-up toasters entered kitchens for the first time!
An individual tree has roots and, of course, it doesn’t move. But trees, as a species, do move over time. They migrate in response to environmental challenges, especially climate change. Surprisingly, they don’t all go to the Poles, where it is cooler. As it turns out, more of them head west, where it is getting wetter.
In a potentially very important legal decision, the top court in Columbia has ruled that the government there is required to take effective action to protect the Amazon rainforest from further deforestation.
Let’s look at the big picture of how many trees are needed globally to suck up all the excess carbon we’re adding to our common biosphere, which potentially leads catastrophic climate change.
The looting and destruction of the Amazon region appears to be accelerating by the year — with it looking increasingly likely that the Amazon forest may be largely gone by the time the youngest of those reading this kick the bucket.
