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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These fires started naturally and are probably the kind of fires that occurred naturally before massive fire suppression efforts began in the west a hundred years ago. After a nice Memorial day soaking, the foliage here was pretty green when the lightning struck.  These fires have been smoldering and cleaning up the forest, except where they are threatening homes. Klamath-Siskiyou Wild explains it best:

Fire has been an integral component to the function of biodiversity for millennia. Fires burn in a diversity of patterns and intensities, and are influenced by numerous factors such as fuels, temperature, terrain and moisture. Many of these fires are close to communities and firefighters are doing their best to protect lives and property. Once the smoke has cleared, we may find that many of these fires in back country forests were ecologically beneficial as fire clears out understory vegetation, burns a natural mosaic pattern and leaves behind a healthier forest.

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A huge swath of Canada’s northern Boreal forest will be permanently protected from tree harvesting and mining as part of a plan to combat climate change, the Province of Ontario’s premier Dalton McGuinty announced Monday.

Canada’s Boreal forest forms a band of mostly coniferous trees almost 620 miles wide across the entire country, and has remained mostly undisturbed since the retreat of glaciers 10,000 years ago.

Growing foreign demand for Canada’s natural resources, like timber, wood pulp, hard rock, and fossil fuels, as well as ecological pressures from forest fires and insect infestations, are threatening the health and well-being of Canada’s Boreal forests.

Through this new arrangement, the future of Ontario’s northern Boreal lands and waters will be determined through an innovative land use planning initiative with Canadian First Nations. Under the plan, almost half of Ontario’s Boreal forest, or about 87,000 square miles, an area nearly equal to the entire United Kingdom, would be restricted to eco-tourism and traditional aboriginal uses, such as hunting or fishing.

The portion of the Boreal Forest that is protected, (encompassing nearly 45% of the province of Ontario), is home to billions of migrating birds, threatened species such as Woodland Caribou, Polar Bear and Lake Sturgeon. The massive ecosystem is also one of the globe’s most significant carbon sinks with the Ontario tract absorbing some 12.5 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, said McGuinty.

Conservation groups hailed the decision, both in terms of the land protection itself, and the land use planning model that was put in place to protect that land. In a statement, Janet Sumner, Executive Director of CPAWS Wildlands League said, “This is a visionary and unprecedented policy. Today’s announcement fulfills the Premier’s promise to protect the Boreal Forest by doing Land Use Planning before large scale industrial development.”

Other Posts on Forest Policy:

• “700 CA Wildfires: Why Don’t We Have Enough Firefighting Resources?” :: Red, Green, & Blue
• “The Nature Conservancy: 320,000 Acres Protected in Landmark Deal” :: Planetsave
• “Baltimore Plans for Urban Forest” :: Sustainablog

Terra Daily
Photo: © Andre Nantel | Dreamstime.com

Now — in one of the most significant conservation sales in history — The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land have preserved 320,000 acres of forestlands in western Montana that provide valuable habitat for species in the Crown of the Continent.

“There hasn’t been an animal extinction here since Lewis and Clark encountered it in the early 19th century,” explains Kat Imhoff, the Conservancy’s state director in Montana. “It’s the only such ecosystem in the Lower 48 states.”

The deal is part of the Conservancy’s large-scale efforts to protect forestlands around the world — the majority of which are working forests supplying sustainably harvested timber.

Over the past five years, the Conservancy has protected 3.5 million acres of forestlands — at a time when nearly one-half of Earth’s original forest cover is gone and global deforestation rates continue to rise.

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Just like in Peter Matthiessen’s classic book At Play in the Fields of the Lord, the gut reaction of several tribal members living in a remote area of the Amazon Rainforest was to shoot arrows at what was most likely the first plane they had ever seen passing by. You can see this yourself in one of the amazing photographs taken recently by the Brazilian government’s office of Indian Affairs.

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North American Environmental News

CANADA — Ontario Bans Lawn and Garden Pesticides

Canada has proven once again that it is way ahead of the rest of world with its progressive government. Ontario has banned the use and sale of lawn and garden pesticides for homeowners. Quebec instituted a similar ban on 20 some pesticide products back in 2006.

The new ban is set to take effect by spring of 2009. Home Depot has already agreed to stop selling the pesticides by the end of 2008! This is a huge victory for anti-toxic supporters all over the continent. If only someone in the United States government could take such affirmative action we could all be spared. Ontario will basically phase out some 80 different chemicals and over 300 products that contain them.

Continue reading this article at the Environmental Blog. Join the discussion about this article at Care2.

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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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Asia

Two “Extinct” Species Discovered

First there was Swinshoe’s softshell turtle, and then the Javan Elephant. Is this more commonplace than we might believe?

Frankly, no. Despite the occasional hubbub over an animal science has lost track of– say, the Coelacanth– we’ve witnessed something extraordinary. Swinshoe’s turtle was previously believed to be extinct in the wild, with only three remaining in captivity, and therefore every one of these 300-pound turtles is a critical find.

Continue reading: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in media: Stumble Upon.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2008/04/21/10-top-environmental-headlines-of-the-week-no-4/feed/ http://jenniferlance.greenoptions.com/2007/04/18/green-family-values-who-speaks-for-the-trees/ http://jenniferlance.greenoptions.com/2007/04/18/green-family-values-who-speaks-for-the-trees/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:07:00 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://jenniferlance.greenoptions.com/2007/04/18/green-family-values-who-speaks-for-the-trees/ Dr. Seuss wrote The Lorax, the original children’s book on conservation, the same year that Greenpeace was formed. His message, cleverly told with rhymes and silly words, forewarned my generation of the consequences of overusing resources.

I wish I could say we have learned from The Lorax and saved all the Truffula trees, but old growth forests are still being logged. In fact, Kleenex brand tissues logs old growth forests, including the Boreal Forest, in order that its customers can blow their noses. Remember handkerchiefs? My dad always had one in his pocket ready for our childhood runny noses. They are softer than tissues, and old growth forests do not need to be logged in their production. Of course, alternatives to Kleenex, such as Seventh Generation Tissues, exist.

The Lorax by Dr. SeussDr. Seuss does leave us hope that we have the power to correct the environmental problems humans have created. With the last Truffula seed, "Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back." Planting trees with your child is a wonderful activity. Every year, we manage to get leftover seedlings from tree planters. Just last week, 500 Douglas fir seedlings were left on our driveway. The US Forest Service has a policy of incinerating leftover seedlings, but if you find a kindly employee, you can receive contraband trees. Private tree planters often just toss their leftover seedlings off the side of a road, but they can give you trees without violating policy. At a cost of about $.75 a tree, it is such a waste not to plant these leftover trees. Not all species require tree guards, and I managed to score thousands of biodegradable tree guards at a local recycling center.

If you live in a city and want to plant trees, call a tree nursery and ask for a donation or purchase native species of trees. You can call the forest service and ask permission to plant, or you could find a spot on public land and plant away (not sure if this is against the law, but it is public land). In fact, why not organize a field trip for your child’s school to plant trees? When I was an elementary school teacher, we planted trees in a burn as part of our Adopt a Watershed science curriculum. The forest service assisted us and provided the trees. Returning in subsequent years to measure the trees and check for survival allowed the children to become stewards of the land. This year my daughter's school is performing The Lorax. We will be giving away tote bags made from recycled bottles filled with seedlings to the audience to encourage family tree planting expeditions.

Hope for the Future: photo courtesy of The Nature ConservancyIt is easy to despair in all the depressing news regarding global warming, and children can be especially susceptible to anxiety over environmental issues. Instead of going to see an eco-therapist, get off the couch and plant some trees with your children. It is fun to watch the trees grow along with your child’s body and mind. The redwood we planted in our yard when my daughter was four years old is definitely outgrowing her, and it will still be here when we are long gone!

In addition, planting trees is a nice way to memorialize someone who has passed on. We have planted a dogwood for every dog that has left our family. This helps our children deal with the loss and gives us a place to visit when we our missing our beloved pet. There are organizations that will plant trees for you, such as Trees for the Future, if you don’t feel like digging in the dirt. This also makes a great gift.

Although planting trees is a great family activity, it is not enough to save us from global warming. We must do more to offset our carbon emissions. Modeling green family values for our children involves making choices, in order that we leave the smallest footprint behind. Please visit Eco Child's Play to read more about When Planting Trees is Not Enough.

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