Google Inc. is joining forces with space agencies around the world and the conservation organization Group on Earth Observations (GEO) to monitor deforestation rates using satellite imagery. Among the space agencies working on the program are NASA, the ESA, and the national space agencies of Japan, Germany, Italy, India, and Brazil.

The GEO is a global partnership of 80 governments and more than 50 organizations. Internet company Google currently collects satellite images for use in its Google Earth application, and will be providing satellite images to the project.

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The nostalgic bear that educates the public on the dangers of wildfires turns 65, today! Smokey Bear’s first public poster release was August 9, 1944. In case you don’t know, Smokey Bear is one of the most recognized symbolic images of the United States Forest Service.

According to Wikipedia, Smokey Bear is often unofficially referred to as ”Smokey the Bear” after two songwriters added the word “the” for rhythm purposes. Smokey Bear vigilantly reminded us with his popular slogan “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires”. It wasn’t until April of 2001 that his message was updated to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” which included all unwanted, unplanned fires in natural areas.

When I think of campfires, I envision the fictional character, Smokey Bear. Growing up, there were posters of “Smokey the Bear” plastered on every classroom wall. I can even remember the commercials. A recent study proved 95% of those surveyed could finish the sentence when given the first words of his famous slogan.

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Those folks at Nissan have been keeping us busy lately, but the latest development really is a first - an air-conditioning system specifically designed to mess with our brains!

Earlier this week the Japanese number three announced the development of a new “Forest AC” air conditioning system, “which systematically controls cabin temperature, ventilation, aroma and humidity to create an optimal interior environment.”

But there’s more, the system is based on the results of a research study on the effects of aroma on human mental activity meaning it can “influence the physiological state and senses of the driver and passengers.”

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Nike has stopped all imports of leather from the Amazon region of Brazil, after a Greenpeace report claimed that its shoes and trainers could be speeding up the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest and contributing to global warming.

The report, published last month, revealed how cattle hides from deforested areas were entering the supply chains of global brands including Nike, Clarks, Adidas and Reebok.

According to the NGO, deforestation for cattle ranching in Brazil alone is now the biggest driver of deforestation anywhere in the world.

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For almost exactly 20 years now, Trees for the Future has been coaching farmers on sustainable agroforestry techniques. That’s a fancy way to say farmers can improving their soil and crop quality by planting trees around the farm. The trees help by holding in soil moisture and drawing water back to refill water tables, preventing erosion and improving soil fertility.

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The Xingu River — home to some 600 species of fish — is one of the largest tributaries running through the Amazon. But not if the Brazilian state power company has their way.

What would be the world’s third largest dam, called the Belo Monte, would flood over 200 square miles of tropical rainforest; about the size of Tucson, AZ. It would also flood the homes of 19,000 people.

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Seven miles of walls, reaching a height of three metres (10ft) will be built around sections of at least 11 slums this year, Icaro Moreno, the president of the state’s public works department, said.

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The WWF has called for a halt to Indonesian deforestation in light of the recent tiger maulings that have left 6 people dead in less than a month.  The last three victims all appeared to be working at illegal logging camps in protected forests.

The Sumatran tiger (the worlds most endangered tiger subspecies) is having a hard time coping with a diminishing habitat.  Forest destruction and fragmentation have led the tigers to lay claim to woods near populated areas.

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There’s a claim being made by at least one wood pulp processing company that the Swedish Forestry Management system could not only supply the world’s need for wood, but also counteract rising CO2 levels.

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Climate change, developers, and logging are blamed

Since the winter of 2006, when a state of emergency was declared for 18 counties in the state, Western Washington has experienced increasingly dramatic annual flooding episodes creating a state of emergency in growing numbers of counties each year.

For the past three years here, the number of roads, farms, buildings, and houses damaged or destroyed increased—helped along by the landslides that usually follow in the wake of such flooding. Although with this year the number of landslides has been somewhat constrained, the total area of flooding has increased from the previous two years (several sections of Interstate 5 remained shut down as of Saturday night, Jan. 10), and tens of thousands of people have had to be evacuated over the past 10 days. The governor declared a state of emergency in late December, which has only abated in the past couple of days.

It would seem that a “trifecta” of reinforcing factors is to blame: climate change (an extra heavy dose of snow, followed by several days of heavy rains), upland forest clear-cutting (leaving less vegetation to soak up water and hold the soil in place), and over-development in flood plane areas (leaving too many people’s houses too low in the face of rising rivers) …all of which set the stage for the current state of emergency. The damage is still being tallied, and although the heavy rains have largely abated, repairs to roads and highways will take months if not a full year (and with state budgets so tight) or more.

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Those early, enjoyable hiking trips set the stage for my environmentalism and decision to live in a remote, natural setting.

Into the Trees is the story of Mini G’s first walk into the woods. In the forest, Mini G discovers many natural wonders:

Gurgle. Gurgle. Bubble. Bubble.

Mini G had found quite a surprise.

“Look, Dad!  Look!  Look what I’ve found!

There’s water bubbling up right from the ground!”

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The latest comes in a one-two punch. First of all experts are labeling the fight to save the Florida Everglades as a “losing battle,” while Brazil’s Environment Minister is blaming upcoming elections and increasing food prices for another rise in Amazon deforestation.

So no matter which way you look at it, the simple fact of the matter is, humans are irreversibly stupid.

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In his series of “Museum of Nature” photographs, Finnish artist Ilkka Halso blends nature with aspects of man-built life. The serenity of such an infrequently touched oasis of nature interrupted by an apparatus we all associate with arm-waving, screaming, raucous amusement? Halso’s series presents a number of such thought-provoking conundrums.

via: Ode Magazine

Luckily, under Brazil’s Constitution Indians must be heard if government changes will affect their land, which gives them veto power over the Belo Monte. Of course, who needs veto power when you have a machete?

Indigenous natives from many tribes attacked an engineer during a protest in Altamira last May, leaving him shirtless and with a bloody gash in his shoulder. After the bloody executive was led away, the protesters danced in celebration, waving their machetes.

“It was a shocking and regrettable act,” said Glenn Switkes, the Brazil-based representative of International Rivers, a California-based nonprofit group. “But it defines what’s at stake and shows that the determination and resistance by indigenous people is likely to be strong.”

The World Wildlife Fund-Brazil says that government officials could meet the growing needs of country by upgrading current systems. In one study they reported that Brazil loses 16-percent of the power it generates, compared with an international rate of about 6-percent. Rapid development of wind, solar and biomass facilities could also reduce the need for building dams.

Belo Monte would be built in the heart of Para, a state that’s home to an explosive mix of poor settlers, cattle ranchers, loggers and scammers who fake land titles. And of course business and political leaders in Altamira support Belo Monte because of the development it will bring.

“With the dam, we’d have more income to improve infrastructure,” said Altamira’s mayor, Odileida Sampaio.

The dam would cost $10 billion and wouldn’t open until 2014 at the earliest. Jose Antonio Muniz, the president of gigantic state power company Eletrobras, said he expected to win approval to let construction bids in October and begin work on Belo Monte next year.

“It’s the best site in the world for a dam,” he said during an hourlong interview. “It will produce a lot of energy and have a minimal impact on people and the environment.”

Eletrobras submitted its environmental impact statement on Feb. 27 to Brazil’s environmental agency. It has yet to be made public.

Muniz said the government would minimize the environmental impact and the impact on its indigenous people. He also promised to compensate those affected, even those without land titles.

I don’t know about you, but my money’s on the guys with the machetes!

Source: PhysOrg.org

Image credit: fishbone1 via Flickr, under a Creative Commons license.

This week from our friends at ZapRoot: The FDA needs to have their heads examined. We respond to the numerous Chinese comments. Explore the world through Google Earth’s Environment section.

This week’s show links:

Eco Child’s Play - CA Fails to Pass Chemical Ban in Baby Products
Eat Drink Better - FDA Allows Producers to Irradiate Spinach & Lettuce
BPA Opinions
Corn Syrup All Natural
Google Earth Environment

Luckily, under Brazil’s Constitution Indians must be heard if government changes will affect their land, which gives them veto power over the Belo Monte. Of course, who needs veto power when you have a machete?

Indigenous natives from many tribes attacked an engineer during a protest in Altamira last May, leaving him shirtless and with a bloody gash in his shoulder. After the bloody executive was led away, the protesters danced in celebration, waving their machetes.

“It was a shocking and regrettable act,” said Glenn Switkes, the Brazil-based representative of International Rivers, a California-based nonprofit group. “But it defines what’s at stake and shows that the determination and resistance by indigenous people is likely to be strong.”

The World Wildlife Fund-Brazil says that government officials could meet the growing needs of country by upgrading current systems. In one study they reported that Brazil loses 16-percent of the power it generates, compared with an international rate of about 6-percent. Rapid development of wind, solar and biomass facilities could also reduce the need for building dams.

Belo Monte would be built in the heart of Para, a state that’s home to an explosive mix of poor settlers, cattle ranchers, loggers and scammers who fake land titles. And of course business and political leaders in Altamira support Belo Monte because of the development it will bring.

“With the dam, we’d have more income to improve infrastructure,” said Altamira’s mayor, Odileida Sampaio.

The dam would cost $10 billion and wouldn’t open until 2014 at the earliest. Jose Antonio Muniz, the president of gigantic state power company Eletrobras, said he expected to win approval to let construction bids in October and begin work on Belo Monte next year.

“It’s the best site in the world for a dam,” he said during an hourlong interview. “It will produce a lot of energy and have a minimal impact on people and the environment.”

Eletrobras submitted its environmental impact statement on Feb. 27 to Brazil’s environmental agency. It has yet to be made public.

Muniz said the government would minimize the environmental impact and the impact on its indigenous people. He also promised to compensate those affected, even those without land titles.

I don’t know about you, but my money’s on the guys with the machetes!

Source: PhysOrg.org

Image credit: fishbone1 via Flickr, under a Creative Commons license.

With a constant need to look out for the planets ecosystems, it is always saddening to see that some governments simply are not. So when I saw the news that, over the past 12 months, deforestation in the Amazon rain forest had jumped 69%, I was literally shocked.

According to the National Institute for Space Research, or INPE, which monitors destruction of the Amazon, since August 2007 a total of 8,147 square kilometers (3,145 square miles) was destroyed within the Amazon. This is the first such increase in 3 years, and saw a 69% jump over the 4,820 square kilometers (1,861 square miles) felled in the previous 12 months.

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One of the principal sinks for the carbon we do produce, or that exists naturally, are trees. Naturally, as intelligent humans, we’ve decided to cut down as many of those trees as possible. We cut them down, we burn them, and we destroy entire ecosystems while also destroying our own future.

However a novel idea has been raised by Fritz Scholz and Ulrich Hasse from the University of Greifswald, and has been published in the journal ChemSusChem.

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Asia

Working the land the natural way: Organic farming in China

It’s been almost four years since the project was launched, and of the nine households who have tried organic farming, only four are still at it. The others decided it just wasn’t worth it. Organic farming requires much more labor, the yield can be half or less of that of conventional farming, and besides, hardly anyone in Chengdu is eating organic. Our stock broker-turned-farmer estimates their customer base to be only 0.01% of Chengdu’s population.

Anlong farmer Gao Shengjian believes there’s a link between the use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms and the growing incidences of various diseases among the rural population.

Source: Crossroads China. Vote for this article in social media: StumbleUpon.

China down to 12 days worth of coal

China only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the alarm bells over the nation’s most important source of energy.

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To be published online in the open access journal Carbon Balance and Management, new research shows that, while planting trees alone may not be the only solution to solving our climate problems, planting new forests or managing existing forests or agricultural land could help us in the long term.

How? By encouraging the land to work as the natural carbon sink it has been for so long. \

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This time we will visit the second largest natural reserve of the American continent, a jungle known as Selva Misionera or Paranaense (also called Mata Atlántica in Brazil, and Atlantic Forest in english). This jungle has an enormous biological diversity, with more than 2000 floral species, 150 vegetal species per hectare, 400 bird species and a great variety of mammals, reptiles and insects.

Only one hundred years ago, the jungle enlarged over a million square kilometers covering different lands of the Paraguayan , Brazilian and Argentinean territory.

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But, with age came wisdom, and with wisdom came a shift in my view of the world.

I say that, because in an MSNBC article entitled ‘Yukon Flats wildlife refuge eyed for its oil,’ this sentence appears; “A controversial land swap proposal could open portions of an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, dividing Alaska natives and stoking opposition from environmentalists seeking to protect the bears, moose and birds that live there.”

The moment I read “moose,” I knew that my perspective on the world had changed. A part of my mind, long since dormant, by instinct reared up and said “It’s a moose! Who cares?!” But it was immediately overridden by the new me which realized the overall importance of sustaining various ecosystems and species.

The plan is a land trade, which would give 110,000 acres of hydrocarbon-prone uplands within the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, plus mineral rights to another 97,000 acres, to Fairbanks-based Doyon Ltd. The Refuge lies just south of the ‘always-in-the-news’ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In exchange, and definitely a plus to the deal, the Refuge would acquire 150,000 acres of bird-friendly wetlands, currently owned by Doyon, as well as 56,500 acres on which Doyon currently has pending land claims.

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