http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Earth_Nature-and-Climate_Deforestation_18_149_617.html Press Review of the Earth from the most relevant websites. Keep in touch with the Earth and your future ! fr-FR http://www.earth-stream.com/logo-stream-Earth.png http://www.earth-stream.com Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:45:37 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/A-new-world-Social-media-protest-against-Nestle-may-have-longstanding-ramifications_18_149_617_233563.html Mongabay: Protest could change the palm oil industry and wake the world up to the power of 'social media'. The online protest over Nestle's use of palm oil linked to deforestation in Indonesia continues unabated over the weekend. One only needed to check-in on the Nestle's Facebook fan page to see that anger and frustration over the company's palm oil sourcing policies, as well as its attempts to censor a Greenpeace video (and comments online), has sparked a social media protest that is ... Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:45:37 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Brazil-WWF-hopes-to-find-$60-billion-growing-on-trees_18_149_617_233562.html Telegraph: If the world's largest, richest environmental campaigning group, the WWF -- formerly the World Wildlife Fund -- announced that it was playing a leading role in a scheme to preserve an area of the Amazon rainforest twice the size of Switzerland, many people might applaud, thinking this was just the kind of cause the WWF was set up to promote. Amazonia has long been near the top of the list of the world's environmental cconcerns, not just because it includes easily the largest and most ... Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:33:05 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Saleska-Responds-green-is-green-_18_149_617_233526.html In a recent post here at RealClimate, Simon Lewis wrote regarding a 2010 paper by Samanta et al. on the effect of single-year drought conditions on the Amazon. Samanta et al. claimed to have contradicted a 2007 paper by Scott Saleska et al., and to have thereby overturned some IPCC conclusions. Lewis showed why Samanta’s [...] Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:01:28 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Indonesia-Customary-laws-protect-forest-better-than-govt-does-Study_18_149_617_233510.html Jakarta Post: Research shows customary laws that were implemented by a number of local communities were far more effective than government policies to preserve forest in efforts to deal with climate change. For local communities, obliging traditional laws means respecting their ancestors. Preliminary research says communities of Baduy in Banten province, Kampung Kuta people in Ciamis, West Java province and Dayak people in Kalimantan are among local communities that issue unwritten laws to ... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:19:00 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Editorial-Double-talk-betrays-where-real-mining-hysteria-lies_18_149_617_233455.html The Prime Minister, John Key, labelled as "hysterical" the news coverage at the beginning of this week that quoted Forest and Bird revealing Government intentions for mining sensitive Crown land. He and his Government claimed... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:04:15 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Scientists-new-study-does-not-disprove-climate-change-threat-to-Amazon_18_149_617_233441.html Mongabay.com: Recently, Boston University issued a press release on a scientific study regarding the Amazon's resilience to drought. The press release claimed that the study had debunked the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) theory that climate change could turn approximately 40 percent of the Amazon into savannah due to declining rainfall. The story was picked up both by mass medai, environmental news sites (including mongabay.com), and climate deniers' blogs. However, nineteen of the ... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:53:04 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Amazon-Offering-Kindle-App-For-Apple-Users_18_149_617_233439.html Amazon said on Thursday that it has a Kindle electronic books application ready for Apple Mac Computers, as well as the upcoming iPad.The move by Amazon is believed to be an attempt to cement its leading position as the top maker of e-readers and distributor of e-books.  The company said in a statement that it has released a free program that allows its electronic books to be read on Apple's computers.  The "Kindle for Mac" application can be downloaded in over 100 countries. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:41:27 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Scientists-There-are-multiple-consistent-lines-of-evidence-from-ground-based-studies-published-in-the-peer-reviewed-literature-that-Amazon-forests-are-indeed-very-susceptible-to-drought-stress--Major-amplifying-carbon-cycle-feedback-is-not-a-myt_18_149_617_233413.html Up to 40% of the Amazonian forests could react drastically to even a slight reduction in precipitation; this means that the tropical vegetation, hydrology and climate system in South America could change very rapidly to another steady state, not necessarily producing gradual changes between the current and the future situation. This statement [...] Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:25:56 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Indonesia-to-review-forest-carbon-laws-official_18_149_617_233371.html Reuters: Indonesia has launched a review of laws governing a U.N.-backed carbon trading scheme aimed preserving rainforests, a forestry ministry official said on Friday. Indonesia in 2008 became the world's first country to design a legal framework for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), a scheme that would allow rich countries to pay developing nations not to chop down their trees. Forest preservation is seen as an important step in slowing global warming ... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:25:56 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Protected-forests-may-slow-climate-change_18_149_617_233368.html United Press International: A U.S.-led study involving scientists from 13 organizations, universities and institutions suggests forest protection is effective in slowing climate change. The research, led by the World Wildlife Fund, recommends incorporating protected areas into overall strategies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses from deforestation and degradation. "Deforestation leads to about 15 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the cars, trucks, trains, ships and ... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:25:56 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Ecuadoreans-appeal-allowing-of-Chevron-arbitration_18_149_617_233367.html Reuters: Ecuadorean plaintiffs have appealed a U.S. judge's decision to allow Chevron Corp to seek arbitration of a case of alleged pollution in the Amazon rainforest with a potential $27 billion liability. The plaintiffs, indigenous Ecuadoreans, filed the notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on Thursday, a week after a judge ruled in favor of the second-largest U.S. oil company in its efforts to seek international arbitration. Chevron cites violations under ... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:27:39 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Protesters-Demand-Nestle-Give-Orangutans-a-Break_18_149_617_233352.html Protesters in London descended on the Nestle factory earlier this week, calling for the company to stop endangering the lives of Orangutans by using illegal Indonesian palm oil. Greenpeace released a report detailing Nestle’s use of palm oil, which is a vegetable oil, and how this is destroying the last rainforest habitat of the endangered orangutan. The report suggests that palm oil used in Nestle products has come from the biggest and most destructive palm oil producer – called the Sinar Mas Group. This company has been illegally destroying the Indonesian rainforest jeopardizing Orangutans' habitat and further contributing to carbon ... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:15:13 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Unforced-variations-3_18_149_617_233349.html Another open thread. OT comments from the Amazon drying thread have been moved over. As usual, substantive comments only please and no abuse. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:47:55 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Winters-Were-Colder-in-Your-Parents-Day-New-England-Trees-Get-10-Days-More-Growing-Season-Than-Pre-1970_18_149_617_233273.html A symptom of changing climate, Worldwatch shows us that not only are winters in New England averaging three degrees warmer than they did 100 years ago, trees have a ten day longer growing season than they did 40 years ago. And that's not it. According to the New England Society of American Foresters because of the warming, spring is arriving earlier and rivers are flowing at peak levels sooner than observed before. The ...Read the full story on TreeHugger Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:14:38 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Copenhagen-was-a-step-backwards-and-undid-good-work-done-since-Kyoto-|-Pablo-Solón-Romero_18_149_617_233233.html Bolivia will host an international meeting on climate change next month because it is not prepared to 'betray its people'In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate conference, those who defended the widely condemned outcome tended to talk about it as a "step in the right direction". This was always a tendentious argument, given that tackling climate change can not be addressed by half measures. We can't make compromises with nature.Bolivia, however, believed that Copenhagen marked a backwards step, undoing the work built on since the climate talks in Kyoto. That is why, against strong pressure from industrialised countries, we and other developing nations refused to sign the Copenhagen accord and why we are hosting an international meeting on climate change next month. In the words of the Tuvalu negotiator, we were not prepared to "betray our people for 30 pieces of silver".Our position was strongly criticised by several industrialised countries, who did their brazen best to blame the victims of climate change for their own unwillingness to act. However, recent communications by the European Commission have confirmed why we were right to oppose the Copenhagen accord.In a report called International climate policy post-Copenhagen (pdf), the commission confirmed that the pledges by developed countries are equal to between 13.2% and 17.8% in emissions reductions by 2020 – far below the required 40%-plus reductions needed to keep global temperature rise to less than 2C degrees.The situation is even worse once you take into account what are called "banking of surplus emission budgets" and "accounting rules for land use, land use change and forestry". The Copenhagen accord would actually allow for an increase in developed country emissions of 2.6% above 1990 levels. This is hardly a forward step.This is not just about gravely inadequate commitments, it is also about process. Whereas before, under the Kyoto protocol, developed countries were legally bound to ... Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:16:59 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/China-and-India-Neighbors-need-to-collaborate-for-sake-of-global-environment_18_149_617_233221.html With large and growing economies and populations, China and India will strongly influence the quality of the global environment for years to come. While their political relationship is strained, it's critical the two countries work together to slow global warming, deforestation, water shortages and other environmental issues, say scientists. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:16:35 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Rapid-increases-in-tree-growth-found-in-US_18_149_617_233220.html Rapid increases in tree growth in the US, slower tree growth in the tropics, new ideas about biodiversity, new methods for monitoring forest carbon stocks: These are among the mid-term results from the HSBC Climate Partnership. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:10:05 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Review-Squishy-Repo-Men-Sticks-Shiv-in-Organ-Extraction-Action_18_149_617_233181.html Even with Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and a perfect sci-fi setup, this movie sputters a bit in the middle, and the whole bloody affair suffers from a lack of black humor. But that's one hell of a knife fight that first-time director Miguel Sapochnik pulls out of his bag of tricks. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:43:13 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Climate-Action-Burning-Forests-to-Avoid-Megafires_18_149_617_233132.html Yale Environment 360Prescribed burns in the forests of the western U.S. will prevent larger wildfires and significantly cut the nation’s carbon footprint, according to a new study.... Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:58:30 GMT http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Nature-and-Climate/Deforestation/Storms-threaten-butterflies-winter-rest-in-Mexico_18_149_617_233115.html Reuters: Dense clouds of migrating monarch butterflies used to snap branches and cast shadows across the forests of central Mexico, but severe weather is posing a new threat to the annual phenomenon. The yearly 2,000-mile journey, which takes four generations of butterflies to complete, starts in Canada and ends in the Mexican state of Michoacan, which normally enjoys mild weather from November to March. Millions of the insects swarm to these arid hills each year, their orange-and-black ...