ALERT: Southeast Asia's Burning Rainforests and Peatland Threaten World's Climate
TAKE ACTION: On November 6th governments from all over the world will be meeting in Nairobi for the year's most important United Nations climate change talks. To date international policy discussions have largely ignored the destruction and burning of Southeast Asia's rainforest peatlands [search]. These wet, swampy rainforests are drained to be cleared for agricultural plantations, and as they dry their peat filled soils are highly susceptible to long burning, carbon and methane rich fires. Peatland fires have for years been one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions - accounting for the equivalent of some 15% of all global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. Hundreds of peat and forest fires are once again burning across Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Unless the international community acts quickly, Southeast Asia's emissions of carbon and methane from burning peatlands alone may lead to dangerous climate change including massive sea level rises and mass extinctions. Expansion of oil palm plantations, illegal logging and timber plantations have been identified as the main drivers of the destruction.
Comments
You guys rock. While I have been aware of the matter for sometime, few environmental groups are making the connection between biofuels and rainforest destruction. Keep it up!
Posted by: Tony | October 8, 2006 8:29 PM
The irony of burning peatland rainforest to grow 'carbon neutral' biofuels is sheer madness. I hear it would take 60 years just for the amount of carbon stored in the trees to be replaced by that grown in oil palm. We cannot allow this to happen.
Posted by: Alex | October 9, 2006 7:20 AM
Do you think maybe the US is contributing carbon via consuming 27% of the planet's wood products?
Posted by: Anonymous | October 9, 2006 3:54 PM
I've heard similar warnings about corn being used for fuel. Less and more expensive food being just one result.
I think it is time to take biofuels off the table and concentrate on solar, wind, and other technologies.
Posted by: Derek | October 9, 2006 5:53 PM
What are some ways that this could be stopped?
Posted by: Brian | October 9, 2006 7:21 PM
See..
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:DlvUmVTAg-IJ:www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/9C6/3A/9C63A003-BCDC-D4B3-14D323C892ACBE55.pdf+biofuel+companies&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a
Posted by: sheena | October 10, 2006 6:24 AM
By and large we are generally uninformed aren't we. Keep going ... will add you to my blogroll. Barbara
Posted by: Barbara J Gill | October 11, 2006 5:45 PM
"Obviously, Indonesia's goverment, run as it is by the owners of it's biggest companies (note to self; many rupees make election light work) has a vested interest in appeasement of it's neighbours with gestures of civility, while continuing it's corporate, profit-led, slash-n-burn economy.
CAPITALISM (at the root of all evil is the love of money) is the threat to this planet, not humanity.
Capitalism has made us greedy (USA, 5% earth pop, consumes 25% of earth resources. What's that all about??);
it traps us and our families into Mortgage Slavery, and it's true bondage now, with the new multi-generation mortgages (slaves, selling their own babies);
it's economics encourage ecosphere pillage by seeing degradation and pollution as being 'outside forces' instead of 'overheads' (external to the polluter, so not a cost and "somebody else's problem");
and it views the sick and the poor as examples of personal failure and lost potential, thereby keeping the rest so fearfull for their income that they overide their own common sence.
What we need is a benevolent dictatorship, but I don't know whom I'd trust with it. We need a true egallitarian, like Lovelock, to become World President (Gore is still a self-publicist at heart, and that worries me. Surely the first disqualification from weilding the power of such high office should be the desire to attain it).
The Indonesian peoples need an alternative in their politics that, above all, don't get shot like the founders of the Tamil opposition were."
Posted by: Jon | October 14, 2006 10:38 PM
Save the rainforest! Buy rainforest products instead of clearcutting!
I use the acai berry on a regular basis and it's called a superfood. If we dont' purchase foods like the acia berry, instead of picking fruits, the heart of the acai palm will be harvested.
Learn more.
mymonavie.com/midwestmonavie
Posted by: Lauri | October 26, 2006 8:55 PM