Can Life Coaching Stop Global Warming? Guidance For Those Who Desire A Healthy, Sustainable World By Glenn Many disasters occurring, from environmental disasters such as global warming, terrorist attacks, massive fires, bridge collapsing, campus shootings, riots. This article shows how GPS tracking will Read more...
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The Positive And Negative Consequences Of Deforestation nathfiset
Earth and the lives of everything that depends on it – from the smallest bacteria to the largest sea creatures – rest on a delicate matter and that is balance. A single, seemingly harmless disturbance in this balance has consequences that are both beneficial and disadvantageous. One of these is deforestation.
Deforestation has always been a practice of many developing communities and has contributed greatly to civilization as we know it today. Unfortunately, much of the ill effects of deforestation is caused by greed, bad agricultural practices and government neglect.
Why forests are important Other than for their beauty, forests are highly responsible in keeping and sustaining global ecosystems. In fact, much of the quality of life we enjoy, we owe to the forests. It is also the home of more than half of all creatures and organisms in this planet. From food to life-saving medicines, forests give mankind a variety of gifts that contribute much to our quality of life.
The positive consequences of deforestation Depending on the needs of the social group concerned, deforestation has made it possible for communities to be built. Forests make way for residential houses, office buildings and factories. Governments are able to build roads to make trade and transport easier and therefore more convenient to residents.
Deforestation can also mean the conversion of forest land to productive land for agricultural uses. This results in better and more abundant production of food and materials, virtually eradicating periods of want and lack. Economically, deforestation has contributed much in giving many communities the opportunity to make positive changes in their lives.
The negative consequences of deforestation Unfortunately, the negative consequences of deforestation far outweigh its positive effects. Here are a few of them:
1. Exposing soil to heat and rain. When forests are cleared, soil cover, which consists mainly of vegetation, is removed as well. This exposes the bare soil to extreme conditions produced by the sun's heat and rainwater.
With these activities alternating, the soil quickly compacts. As rainwater flows, it will wash out the nutrients and other organic materials that make the soil rich and fertile. Add to that the frequent activities of tilling, cropping and grazing which gradually results to the degradation of the soil's quality.
These practices are specially a concern in areas where forest zones are drier. Agriculture practice on top of deforestation can result to the desertification of many areas. Desertification is also a direct result of the demand for the soil to produce more (as a consequence of the increase in human population), thereby decreasing to a significant degree the land's carrying capacity.
2. Flooding. Deforestation can result to watersheds that are no longer able to sustain and regulate water flows from rivers and streams. Trees are highly effective in absorbing water quantities, keeping the amount of water in watersheds to a manageable level. The forest also serves as a cover against erosion. Once they are gone, too much water can result to downstream flooding, many of which have caused disasters in many parts of the world.
As fertile topsoil is eroded and flooded into the lower regions, many coastal fisheries and coral reefs suffer from the sedimentation brought by the flooding. This results to negative effects in the economic viability of many businesses and fatalities in wildlife population.
3. Non-suitability of deforested areas for conversion. Most of the areas that have undergone deforestation are actually unsuitable for long-term agricultural use such as ranching and farming. Once deprived of their forest cover, the lands rapidly degrade in quality, losing their fertility and arability.
The soil in many deforested areas is also unsuitable for supporting annual crops. Much of the grassy areas are also not as productive compared to more arable soils and are therefore not fit for long-term cattle grazing.
4. The displacement of indigenous communities and their traditional way of life. When governments decide to offer forests for deforestation mainly to open up areas for 'civilized' communities, access to forest resources by indigenous peoples are ignored. In fact, indigenous peoples are hardly included in economic and political decisions that directly affect their lives. This encroachment ignores their rights as much as it takes away the resources that their ancestors have bestowed upon them.
5. The loss in the number of biodiversity. This is probably the most serious consequence of deforestation. Put simply, it means the destruction and extinction of many plant and animal species, many of whom remain unknown and whose benefits will be left undiscovered.
Each year, as deforestation continues, much of the wilderness from which we benefit and would have continued to benefit from will be lost forever. With it are the millions of chances in the form of plants and wildlife that could bring us many economic and medical solutions to pressing problems we currently face.
While it's true deforestation has brought with it opportunities to improve our lives, we have not mastered the right kind of responsibility that goes with having control over our planet's resources. As a result, we and all the other creatures on this planet suffer greatly from the consequences of our actions.
Electricity from Trash
Capturing methane from rotting garbage will help reduce climate change due to greenhouse gases.
Waste Management is creating electricity from rotting garbage at 100 of its landfills, and plans more such projects. This is a double win, as the methane gas produced by the garbage has a 21 times worse greenhouse gas effect than carbon dioxide. But now it can be captured to create energy rather than being emitted into the atmosphere.
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Astrologer Fails to Predict Cyclone
It wouldn't be important that an astrologer failed to predict the Myanmar cyclone if astrology weren't important there.
Continuing on the theme of what can and cannot be predicted, the weather is the next logical topic and evidently a noted Burmese astrologer has publicly apologized for his failure to predict Cyclone Nargis. But in a country like Myanmar where they take astrology seriously, evidently the citizenry depends on their astrologers for this kind of thing:
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Climate Analysis
From a post on calculating CO2 impacts correctly.
?m using this as an example of the kind of armchair analysis I would love to see more consumers and voters do on their own when faced with any buying or voting decision that has significant energy and/or environmental implications. Does this candidate?s claim make sense? How much money can I save by adjusting my thermostat a couple of degree or car pooling? How much CO2 can I avoid by signing up for 100% green electricity?
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Angelo's Is Back
Angelo's Restaurant in St. Marks was swept away by Hurricane Dennis.
Angelo?s was washed away by Hurricane Dennis in 2005 and just recently reopened this winter. It?s a beautiful place, lovely view and great food, but not the place to grab a quick and cheap bite to eat. We had enjoyable meal, though, sitting on the deck and watching the boats and birds over the bay.
The big question is where do you draw the line and say that this company is carbon neutral/negative and this one is not when they all rely heavily on carbon positive support?
Of course, no one knows what?ll happen to the suburbs we have now. Will they become the slums of the future? At least one expert in the film predicts a scarier scenario where we may not even have time to build new ?hoods with new urbanist design principles; we may just need to salvage what we have left in the face of global climate change.
Yet another hot button topic these days is climate change and the environment. On the surface, you wouldn't think that this should be a conservative vs. liberal topic. After all, climate change is either happening or it isn't. And yet this is an issue that divides conservatives from liberals as much as any other.
The best deals on lodging aren?t necessarily found in the hotels, but the low-rise condos. Thank Hurricane Ivan for that, she says. Many hotels were damaged by the 2004 storm, and have recently been repaired and reopened. So if you don?t mind staying in a condo, low season ? at least when it comes to saving money ? may last longer than a season. It could extend months, or longer.
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We Interrupt This Program
Has the federal government lost all credibility in natural disaster recovery?
Excuse me, while I open a space in the political discussion to point out something beyond the primaries on Tuesday - a powerful series of thunderstorms ripped through the Mid-South with tornadoes that killed at least 54 people and injured hundreds. They have been promised help by George W. Bush, which I can tell you as someone who lives in an area struck by hurricane Ivan in 2004 and knows what the Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas Gulf Coast still looks like after Katrina and Rita in 2005, is not going to happen any time soon.
Back in 2005, when Hurricane Wilma was about to smack the Naples area, our news organization made a commitment that when it came to real-time coverage, we were not going to get beat on this story by CNN or The Weather Channel or any other news organizations.
The Nicaragua coast is experiencing powerful winds and surge at this time, as the wrath of a catastrophic monster category 5 hurricane Felix with winds of 160mph and gusts close to 190mph moves inland over Nicaragua very close to Punta Gorda and Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. Felix is the second category 5 hurricane to make landfall this year, and before Hurricane Dean a week or so ago, there were no land falling hurricanes at category 5 status for 15 years.
Everybody?s talking about the hurricane and now everyone?s saying that it looks like it?s going south. We?re continuing our preparations (and so is everyone else, apparently), but we?re less worried. We?re reminded that with both Hurricane Emily and Hurricane Wilma, it barely even rained in Merida. It?s good to keep in mind that what happens on one end of the Yucatan Peninsula, doesn?t necessarily effect the whole peninsula.
Installation artist Spencer Tunick and Greenpeace Switzerland present a living sculpture: hundreds of naked people symbolise the vulnerability of the glaciers under climate change.
However, China is preparing for climate change induced disasters and plans 24 hour response with food and water for any emergency. Too bad the US isn?t doing the same.
Additional Resources Ever Thought Of Buying A Piece Of Eco Or Ethical Household Furniture? By Davis Green Ask yourself this - Do you own any eco friendly furniture, or anything that is made from an ethical source or bought from an ethical retailer? The majority of Western consumers may say they don’t, Read more...
Additional Resources Global Warming And You By Astute The word “environmental” encompasses a great number of specialities and sub-fields within the international economy. Environmental jobs deal with a range of climates from office health and safety to Read more...
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