I know, it's depressing. So I'll just cut to the chase. Environmental news, drive-by style.
New research shows the Amazon rainforest or at least half of it is in dire peril of being transformed into barren savannah. Scientists have worked out that if the Amazon loses 20% of its forests, nature will do the rest. Right now it's at 17%, 3% to go.
Nope, no link. You can Google it yourself.
The only surprise learned from your post Mound is that its only 17% loss, our trees and forests are what provides our oxygen and yet we constantly reduce that source not only in the amazon but here in our own back yard. Plant a tree today, plant several folks!
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ReplyDeleteAs Brazilians learned in the last major drought when the city of Sao Paulo nearly went dry, the deforestation is disrupting the Amazon's natural hydrologic cycle that provides the rainfall necessary to fill the reservoirs that Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro depend upon. Sao Paulo has a population of 12 million. It's almost impossible to supply that many people with emergency (i.e. bottled) water. If the Amazon, or perhaps half of it, went into dryland savannah, it could have a catastrophic impact on Brazil.
The Amazon forests cannot regenerate.
ReplyDeleteOnce they have been logged they will never return.
The rest of the world doesn't fare too well either.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/
TB