The extensive deforestation that has occurred and is still occurring
across the planet is widely reported in the press, often accompanied by emotive
images of ravaged and frequently charred and fire-scarred landscapes. People
know that it is a problem. However, it can sometimes be hard to envisage the
scale of the destruction. We’re talking about more than a few football pitches
here. These images show the extent of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in
Rondônia, western Brazil. The picture on the left was taken in 1975 and the
picture on the right in 2012, both captured by NASA’s Landsat satellites.
Trees are cut down for timber and fuel and land is cleared to make way
for agriculture and settlements. The consequences of habitat destruction on
such a large scale will not only affect the forest inhabitants, although the
consequences for biodiversity are acute. Deforestation may account for 12% of
annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions according to Van der Werf et al
(2009), and the IPCC put the figure as high as one third. Either way, it is
clear that if we are seriously going to try and limit global climate change
deforestation cannot be ignored.
Finally I want to say a few words about Barry Commoner, an inspirational
environmental scientist who died a few days ago, and someone, I am sorry to confess, I had
not heard about until today. A pioneer of modern ecology,
Commoner was early to recognise the harm that human activities are having on
the planet and made it his life’s work to bring environmental issues to the
forefront of public and political consciousness. I think we can all learn
something from Commoner’s life philosophy which I think is summed up with this
gem from The Independent: “He did not
bother to iron his shirts, to save electricity”. Sounds like a legend.
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