The Amazon Rainforest Facts – Visualising What The Numbers Really Mean
There are plenty of facts about the Amazon rainforest, some good, and some quite devastating. But the trouble with such facts is that all too often the numbers are so huge they can become almost impossible to comprehend, and certainly very difficult to visualise.
For example, the Amazon rainforest covers an area of two and a half million square miles. That’s a big number, but you can’t really visualise it can you? All you see is a lot of trees.
To put it slightly into perspective, Australia is around 2.8 million square miles, so the Amazon rainforest is only a little smaller than the entire Australasian continent.
Even more astonishing is the estimate that there are still around 50 Indian tribes living in the Amazon rainforest that have never been discovered and never had contact with the outside world. But it isn’t just the big numbers which are impressive – it’s the actual contribution of the Amazon rainforest to the survival of the planet that needs to be understood.
Nestle Corporation Under Fire from Greenpeace
The world’s largest food company, Nestle, has been at the centre of some growing and very heated controversy over the past few weeks with environmental organisation Greenpeace sparking a crusade tying Nestle to the annihilation of rainforests in Indonesia through one of its palm oil suppliers.
The controversy is based on the fact that Nestle gets its palm oil from the Sinar Mas company in Indonesia who destroys the natural forests in order to have room to plant the tropical palm plant. Once Nestle was convinced that the activists at Greenpeace were correct in their allegations about the forest destruction, it has dropped their association with that company. The problem has not gone away for the big corporation however, as it still buys its palm oil from Cargill, which in turn, also gets its supply from Sinar Mas.
Nestle was successful in the removal of one of Greenpeace’s videos from the popular YouTube site relating to the issue, but the video spread over the Internet, while Facebook and Twitter were soon flooded with massive messages of protest. In the beginning, Nestle’s top personnel dismissed the activity which only made things worse, resulting in the Swiss food giant receiving nearly a quarter of a million emails regarding the issue.
Easy ways to "U" go green
If you’ve not heard the news concerning the warming of the Earth and man’s contribution to it, then you’ve probably been living under a rock somewhere. And while people all have an opinion on it, one thing remains true: it certainly wouldn’t hurt – in fact, it may even help – to do your bit to slow the degradation of the environment. With this in mind, there have sprung up a plethora of energy saving products designed specifically to reduce the carbon emissions people churn out, and generate green energy. These products are easily available and cost only fractionally more than standard products (if they cost more at all).
By installing even just a few of these products, you can be assured that your carbon footprint will dramatically reduce and you won’t only feel better in yourself, you’ll notice the difference in cleaner air and less pollution. It’s not just about reusable bags (although that’s it, too). It’s about buying smartly so you get more for your money, and contribute less to the Earth living longer.
Rainforest Destruction
As our fragile planet travels on through space we are beginning to understand that everything that is alive is in interconnected harmony, and that damage to one part of our biosphere, for example Rainforest destruction, can have damaging ripple effects in other parts of our fragile ecosystem, including further deforestation and global warming.
Accelerating deforestation is particularly alarming. This is because the destruction of the last few remaining great forests is the result of our own deliberate effort, as opposed to climate change or some other convenient alibi. Setting aside the more obvious consequences of ozone depletion and global warming, rainforest destruction is especially worrying because it irrevocably extinguishes unique sub-biospheres that are unlikely to be rebuilt within the time frame left, according to some more sober global warming predictions.
Every deliberate act of rainforest destruction is a bizarre rehearsal for the global warming that will follow if the custodians of the earth cannot mend their ways. Deforestation destroys not just a piece of forest canopy, but also a portion of our fragile world. This is because the smaller trees and plants that the canopy previously sheltered cannot survive the direct rays of the sun, and so wither and die. By an ironic quirk of nature, young forest giants, too, do not survive without the initial protection of that lesser canopy. As a result an entire ecosystem vanishes forever, as do the human families, the mammals, the birds and the insects that once lived in harmony within it, leaving our planet a shamefully poorer place.
Rainforests: Their Part in Global Climate Change
Though there has been a lot of discussion and awareness about the deleterious effects of rainforest destruction, the true impact of such devastation has still not been fully understood by a majority of the world population. The fact that the Amazon rainforests and the savannas harbour more than seventy percent of the world flora, and are thus very crucial to planet Earth, is yet to be recognised.
As part of a new international project to save the rainforests, researchers belonging to the Leeds Earth and Biosphere Institute are studying the impact of global climate change and warming on these savannas and rainforests. They are of the opinion that the world may be witnessing the beginning of a cycle wherein global warming may be leading to the shrinkage of rainforests which in turn releases more amount of carbon into the environment. This automatically raises the temperature of the atmosphere and the cycle continues on its destructive path causing more and more virgin rainforests to disappear.
Buying Organic Baby Clothes Online
It’s not just adults who can be environmentally friendly with their clothing, ‘green’ baby clothes are readily available and there are some great reasons to go organic with your infant’s clothing. Organic baby clothes are more than just a fashion trend, they can help keep your baby healthy, safe and comfortable with the added knowledge that you’re reducing your environmental impact on the planet.
Choosing organic baby clothes
One of the great reasons to go organic with your infant’s clothing is down to the natural materials and fibres used in the manufacturing process. Many materials used in baby clothes contain dyes, pesticides and metals which are potentially harmful to a young child, particularly if they suffer with allergies. Not so with organic materials which can actually help to eliminate this risk. Child care experts also recommend organic clothing for children who suffer with skin conditions as the natural materials can significantly reduce irritation.
Healing Problem Houses
We’ve all heard someone say ‘that’s a sad house’. Either more than one person living in the house has passed on, or people become sick. Perhaps the house has seen more than its fair share of divorces or arguments. It may be known locally as a ‘haunted house‘. The atmosphere surrounding the house is negative, and no-one seems to know why. Maybe you own such a house and want to sell. Or maybe you’re tired of being sick all the time. The good news is: there is a cure, and it will work.
Hybrid Mail Could Save Businesses, and the Environment…
In the current economic climate if someone advised your business how to save on postal costs whilst reducing CO2, would you just laugh or take them seriously? If you did choose to take them seriously, you could be about to make a very wise decision.
Hybrid Mail has launched in the UK with several providers able to offer both colour and mono mailing solutions. The service allows small and medium companies to reduce costs by up to 40 percent, and almost unbelievably it is also up to 80 percent greener.
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