Rainforest Deforestation

Deforestation has become a growing concern amongst environmentalist. Forests are measured in hectares. Each hectare is 10,000 sq. meters or approximately 2.47 acres. As of 2005 there were approximately 1,442,819,000 hectares of forest on earth. The average deforestation rate from 2000 to 2005 was 6,855,997 hectares a year. At this rate of deforestation we could eliminate all natural Forest within 200 years. Eight thousand years ago 40% of the world’s land area was covered in forest or 6,000 million hectares. This was more four times the amount of remaining forest on earth today. The process of deforestation accelerated to alarming proportions in the last half of the 20th century.

In addition to deforestation reducing the earths ability to cool itself by converting CO2 to oxygen and their canopy effect, it is estimated that deforestation generates between 25 and 30% of the greenhouse gases on earth. This is greater than carbon emissions caused by planes and automobiles. Along with threatening the earths ability to heal and cleans itself, Deforestation also threatens our access to medicines.

According to some reports 70 to 80% of Brazil’s and Indonesia’s carbon emissions are caused by deforestation. From 2000-2005, almost half of the worlds deforestation happened in these two countries. What most people ignore is that the most notorious agents of deforestation were the ranchers taking advantage of government subsidies to expand the cattle industry. It makes one wonder what the effects of billions of people being introduced to fast food hamburgers will have on changing our world’s climate and ability to sustain the biodiversity of life as we know it today.

Some statistics show the US gaining 159,000 hectares of forest per year. These numbers are a bit deceiving since this includes plantations added to the picture. These are not natural forest. They are managed for growth and have environmental ramifications such as use of fertilizers, pesticides and destruction of balanced ecosystems.

Twenty five percent of prescription drugs are derived from plants. For example, Aspirin originally came from willow bark. One of the concerns of pharmaceutical drugs formulated in a laboratory is that they are mostly based on a single compound. Naturally occurring herbs and plants work in a different way and tend to have a low risk of side effects. As we unconsciously continue to exploit our natural environments we destroy cultures and with them hidden knowledge and wisdom which could be offer solutions to much of the suffering experienced by mankind.

A growing concern is that we no longer have wild forest but managed eco systems. Assuming that this is so, the question becomes how to manage our ecosystems in a sustainable way. There are many creative and hopeful approaches being taken by responsible conscious individuals. Below are three videos which address some of these methods.

Harvesting dead trees after forest fires:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSf5pwu-yEM

Full vigor forestry – growing trees intelligently – select timbering – sustainable forest management:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAwta5O2EAQ

Proper forest management for sustainability:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8o9ON9iSgQ

If the forests are the lungs of our planet, which I sincerely believe they are, then it is the source for maintaining a healthy heart because without the breath the heart fails. Maybe if we shift our perception just a little to be more holistic and see that just maybe there could be a message hidden in all of what nature does.

In the ancient Hindu culture Green was the color of the Heart energy. When the forest is healthy and flourishing it is very green and able to give to humanity naturally. When we are in our heart, we care and love. When we love and care we take care of that which we love. We can nourish and preserve forests. In other words the hidden message I see is to love the forest – it will love us back ten fold.

Compressed air powered car

Sounds a little strange right – an air powered car – why isn’t this big news I wonder…

There’s a great company in France operated by a former Formula 1 engineer now producing cars running on compressed air.

They’re not great to look at, super fast, or I’m guessing really comfortable, but they’re in production, and it seems to me this company has a great business model – they’ve just sold a batch of vehicles to the airline KLM who are now operating them at Amsterdam airport.

Not only do they have a great product which I believe could have dramatic effect on the future of car manufacturing in the ‘carbon reducing’ age, but their business model is also quite extraordinary. They’re proposing what they call ‘micro production factories’ where it is envisaged that vehicles are manufactured and sold in the same location, with numerous locations globally, dramatically reducing transportation costs, and benefiting local economies more effectively.

Instead of carbon fuels driving the pistons, they are driven by compressed air, stored in a tank. This tank is replenished by an air compressor similar to one found on a garage forecourt for pumping up vehicle tires. This compressor could be powered by wind or solar meaning that this could in reality be a emission free car. This, combined with the more ecologically friendly manufactoring process means that this car could have a truly small carbon footprint.

Read more about the company behind this great development here

I for one don’t get why they’re not having investment thrown at them for development – Tata in India – who recently bought up Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford are one of their major investors – this kind of technology has to be where at least some of the smart money is going…?

Compact Efficient Eco Houses

Here’s a great company doing inspiring work www.tumbleweedhouses.com

The company creator, Jay Shafer started off making a super small mobile home for himself measuring  just 89 square feet!

Their video is a testament to less being more – they’re now selling ready made mobile cabins and the plans for regular small and eco friendly houses through their website.

Most importantly, they’re showing that bigger is not better – most certainly not for the environment – and by getting creative with space, and creative our own ideas of what we want from life, we can reduce our impact on the planet, and increase our contentment – an experience with real value.

Until now standards were restricted to boilers, computers and televisions. Moving forward showers, taps, windows and home insulation will have to conform to the same standards.

The goal of the EU is to cut carbon dioxide emissions to below 1990 levels by the year 2020. One initiative for example aims to replace at least 30% of all windows with double glazing – this would save the amount of power generated by two to three nuclear power stations.

Read more of the article by Peter Harrison.

Here’s a great video from a Cambridge University Physicist David Mackay. He’s discussing practical ways of measuring domestic power consumption, ways of producing energy, and he debate about replacing traditional fossil fuels based methods of producing electricity with more sensible options…

Here’s how he measures domestic consumption… in light bulbs – even I can understand that…

If you leave a 40 watt standard light bulb on for a day, this is 1 unit of measurement – the ‘light bulb’… (In fact it roughly equates to 1kw hour / day)

• You leave you cell phone charger in – this is just 1 / 100th of a lightbulb
• Taking a hot bath equates to 5 light bulbs
• Driving your car 30 miles – about 40 light bulbs (yikes!)

On average in the UK, each person consumes about 125 light bulbs in their typical day!

Reducing our home thermostat by 2 degrees F reduces this figure only by 10% – clearly we need some more radical solutions…

Currently the UK generates 90% of the energy requirements from fossil fuel based power stations with the government having given permission for 4 light bulbs per person for Wind Turbines. There’s nuclear power and all the environmental issues relating to this – it takes 2000 wind turbines to produce as much electricity as 1 nuclear power station!

The maths are clear – unless we dramatically – in a revolutionary way reduce our energy consumption, we’ll need to realize a 10 x increase in alternative forms of  energy in order to replace fossil fuels… where are the revolutionary policies – at home – in the government…?

Anyway, a great video, the guys behind it also have a great website…

Her story is at certainly inspiring, although sometimes uncomfortable to read about… who said revolutionizing our wasteful lifestyles was meant to be comfortable?!

Her English blog is here, read about her efforts at reducing, re-using and recycling…

Some examples of how she is Reducing

• Solar Oven
• Efficient Heating
• Condensing Gas Boiler for heating water

Some examples of how she is Re-using

• Lamps made of old cans
• Second Hand furniture
• Numerous used household items throughout her home

Some examples of how she is Recycling

• Harvesting worm compost
• Recycled car tire plant pots
• Recycled bathroom tiles

Not all of the options would perhaps be adopted by every house throughout the land, but in her inspiring example, and in all the detail she has gone into in her sincere pursuit, we should all be able to find ways we can reduce our carbon footprint…?

Read the full story of the carbon neutral life here…