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Amazon Rainforest Deforestation 'Worst in 10 Years', Says Brazil (bbc.com)
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has hit its highest rate in a decade, according to official data. BBC reports: About 7,900 sq km (3,050 sq miles) of the world's largest rainforest was destroyed between August 2017 and July 2018 -- an area roughly five times the size of London. Environment Minister Edson Duarte said illegal logging was to blame. The figures come amid concerns about the policies of Brazil's newly elected president, Jair Bolsonaro. During the 2018 election campaign, Mr Bolsonaro pledged to limit fines for damaging forestry and to weaken the influence of the environmental agency. An aide for the president-elect has also announced the administration will merge the agriculture and environment ministries, which critics say could endanger the rainforest. The latest government data says most of the deforestation occurred in the states of Mato Grosso and Para, and marked a 13.7% rise over last year's figures. Mato Grosso is the top producer of grains in Brazil, and critics say expanding agriculture is also encroaching on the rainforest.
It's pretty bad. There are critics who say some species would literally have died out had the environmental agency not taken the limited steps it took over the past couple years
The first step in deforestation is removing the trees - so the logging companies are the initial scapegoats. Once the land is cleared, they can start raising cattle for beef sales - which is what 90% of the deforested Amazon is used for.
Beef eaters are funding the deforestation one purchase at a time: -
https://www.globalmeatnews.com/Article/2018/01/18/Brazilian-beef-exports-keep-on-growing
Deforestation under the previous regime is now blamed on the new President who won't be seated until January 2019. Got it.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
in a year, 79% of one wildfire in California over a few days in terms of destruction of areas.
Biomass lost should be compared and contrasted.
Seems like a double whammy, burning, plus loss of plant life.
Is there a carbon tax on Brazil?
The Amazon's new danger: Brazil sets sights on palm oil
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jun/29/brazil-palm-oil-amazon-rainforest-deforestation-temer-farming-para-cerrado
Brazil’s ambition to become a palm oil giant could have devastating social and environmental impacts if the move is not carefully managed, say experts
Jorge Antonini takes a palm kernel in his hands and slices it open. Squeezing it between his fingers, the kernel oozes the oily liquid found in hundreds of everyday products, from cakes to chocolate spread.
The scientist is standing on a government-owned farm near the Brazilian capital of Brasília. Here, he and a small group of colleagues from Embrapa, the powerful state-owned agricultural research agency, are trialling different methods of growing oil palms to improve yield.
30+ years of "THE SKY IS FALLING!" consistently proving false, and people waking up to the realities that life really isn't that bad, we're not DOOMED!, and it sucks to have someone else dictate every part of your life. Consider it a bit of a "we want freedom" breakout. Worry about the results, not the "optics" of the action.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
20% of the Amazon rain forest is said to have been cleared in the past 50 years. Map that one.
The issue is the illegal logging and clearing.
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
The most advanced nations of the planet mostly deforested their nations too. Europe has basically nothing left of the old growth forests outside of some small preserves. The US has a smaller percentage of forest than Brazil and two third of that is fucking timberland ...
So lets not be sanctimonious here, they are in economic dire straits and they need the agricultural land and timber. It's not like anyone is standing up and offering them a couple trillion dollar to buy up most of the Amazon as an official preserve.
Oops, I I guess I didn't realize that either :/
I'll just blame it on coming from a small country :) It is indeed insignificant.
No one is above nature. If you destroy nature, you destroy us all. If you fail to understand this, your life should be taken from you.
the US screwing with the economic stability of the region is the biggest problem. Want folks to care about the environment? Give them a strong enough economy they can think about something besides tomorrow's meal. The US keeps butting their heads in (it's become pretty clear our CIA was responsible for the scandal that let Brazil's right wing depose their left, then there's the crap we did in Honduras, and the entire drug war, and "Banana Republics"....). Meanwhile the US voters keep looking the other way.
Doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing, fix the economy first and folks'll take care of the environment.
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This seems to be a world-wide trend. What is driving it?
The usual: Greed and profit
A handful of worthless people will get mega-rich, the planet (and everybody's future) will get a lot poorer.
No sig today...
-1 Stupid
No sig today...
30+ years of "THE SKY IS FALLING!" consistently proving false
Ever think the regs in place slowed "the sky is falling" ? But if you are young enough you may very well see it happening as these regs worldwide weakened
I remember coal soot covering the all houses in my town once per week when the chimneys of the mills were cleaned overnight. Many kids could not breath the following day and most of these kids were kept in, and yes that was in the US. Imagine how things would be if that was allowed to continue ?
The figures come amid concerns about the policies of Brazil's newly elected president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro is so evil that he traveled in time and has been causing deforestation for decades!
Why do you hate poor Brazilians?
Has your nation reserved 80% of its land as nation wilderness?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
All of which is another red herring from you Crimson Tsunami/Caffinated Bacon.
What matters is that Brazil is clearing their forest and they are doing it because Hong Kong, China and Europe are buying so very much.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
What matters is that Brazil is clearing their forest and they are doing it because Hong Kong, China and Europe are buying so very much.
No, they are doing it because they are corrupt. They could say "no". Instead their politicians are saying "pay me". Brazil is well-overdue for a revolution.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
So like the bullshit over the Y2K supposed problem. All that money and effort put in and then nothing happened, what a waste of resources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
here is your map, as you can see deforestation plummeting since 2003...
so, no problem
https://imgur.com/a/6wNGzsZ
America imports NO beef from Brazil. They have ZERO impact on Brazil;s meat market. OTOH, Hong kong, China, and Europe import HUGE amounts from them.
Yet, you continue to blame America for this????? PLEASE.
Even earlier you pointed to America's per capita eating, while ignoring the fact that Hong Kong has DOUBLE what America consumes.
Caffeinated Bacon, you are a true idiot and a liar, to boot.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
you're going to tell me somebody is illegally chopping up 3 times the size of London without it being noticed?
that's not a few trees here and there they just secretly drag off, something of that size surely must be noticable and you should be able to act on it.
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.