Rainforest Loss Redux

A recent report issued by the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil, discussed the expected potential demise of the largest remaining rainforest region. The report, “The Future Climate of Amazonia” penned by Dr. Antonio Nobre, examines the interaction of human society and its destructive path into the Amazon with fire and deforestation practices for farming. The resulting effect is significant detriment to the climate, as the loss of the jungle is felt throughout the environment.

The report’s main premise is that due to the conditions of the Amazon and its continued destruction, our future environment is already here. With one-fifth of the Amazonian jungle already and effectively eliminated through deforestation, the remaining 80 percent is suffering resulting damage effects in a number of ways. Based on projection analysis, Nobre found that a deforestation of two-fifths of the Amazon would effectively change the area’s indigenous tropical climate into a “savannah” type region, drying up the lush jungle and turning the land into something more reminiscent of the African Serengeti. No surprise, Nobre’s report is not in agreement with the Brazilian government’s claim that the trend of deforestation is decreasing.

Within the report and commentary, Nobre posits that instead of a decrease as expected with the passage of a new Brazilian statutory code for forestry in 2011, the trend of deforestation continues to jump higher and higher annually, and Nobre believes that only a significant amount of popular pressure can peacefully redirect this trend. He has developed a five-step approach to implement this strategy:

1. Make Forest Science Popular: Forestry science is critical for the awareness needed to elicit a positive change in the basic behavior of people. If users in an environment have a better understanding of the effect of their actions before taking them, they will likely protect the environment more often.

2. Stop Deforestation: Clearcutting and burning practices must be stopped entirely. There are too many loopholes in Brazil’s current legal system that allow for plenty of gaps for further encroachment into the jungle. Each new farm plot is another piece of forest gone for decades.

3. Stop Wanton Burning: Clearing out zones with fire adds significant pollutants and carbon into to the environment, as well as smog and particulates to clouds and rain. The reduction of burning allows a build-up of cleaner air, a reduction of particulates in the atmosphere regionally, and a cleaner return of water back to the existing forest and plant base without chemicals, carbon and soot.

4. Help the Forest Recover and Regrow: There is no question that a forest can regrow. Evidence has been seen repeatedly as jungle has taken over old civilizations; however, this kind of growth took centuries to occur. To allow a jungle and forest to heal, the trend of damage has to be stopped and growth has to be allowed to occur to maturity again. Too much old stock forestry has already been decimated, which will take centuries to replace again. An immediate cessation of stock termination will allow the remaining forest to stabilize and stop drying out.

5. Make the Environment a Top Priority: Governments had no issue moving within two weeks to save global markets and banks, sinking hundreds of trillions of dollars into failing institutions to keep them afloat. Yet no such efforts are made, even one-tenth of such activity, to save forests and environmental assets.

The pending reality of a failing climate has been seen multiple times in localized regions. In the 1960s, smog was so bad in England that the particulates began to seep into homes. Theaters closed because no one could see clearly the show being performed. A clean-air act restored the local environment after it was obvious that something needed to be done. Los Angeles in the 1970s was considered one of the filthiest cities in the world with air. It took 30 years of regulation before the trend reversed. Los Angeles still has visible smog today, but at least people can see mountains around the L.A. basin. China is another modern example of runaway environmental damage to a local regional climate. Sandstorms, massive smog banks, polluted rivers and poisoned pits have all become hallmark symbols of Chinese irresponsibility. Now, the Chinese government is making efforts to save its forests given their ability to restore air despite challenging pollutants.