We having been hearing about the effects of climate change and global warming in the media for some time and yet the destruction of the world’s rainforests which is continuing at an alarming rate is still not as widely talked about perhaps because it is not the subject of as much political attention and debate.

Conservation biologists have made the headlines recently with the news that previously undiscovered species, including a giant rat, have been found in a dense area of rainforest in Indonesia.

It is thought that half of the world’s wildlife live in the tropical rainforests and as deforestation continues, species are being eradicated before they have even been discovered.

Deforestation is cause for concern not just because of the loss of animals, birds, insects and plants. The sustainability of crops depends on the rainfall from moisture pumped into the atmosphere by rainforests.  In addition, a huge amount of carbon that is emitted by human activities (approximately 15%) is stored in the trees and the soil in the rainforest areas. The importance of preserving the rainforests that remain must be understood by us all.  We should unite in common agreement that this holds the key to saving the planet from the damage that humans have done and are continuing to do.

It is extraordinary that the rate of rainforest destruction is estimated at six million hectares every year which is why urgent action is required to stop this.

This will be high on the agenda at the forthcoming Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen later this year.  One of the aims is to reach a deal to financially reward and incentivise the developing countries for the carbon held in their rainforest.  This could take some time to implement so it has been proposed and supported by the Prince’s Rainforests Project among others for emergency action to be taken to provide funds of up to £25 billion between 2010 and 2015 to reduce deforestation by a quarter.  This would be paid to those countries proportionally depending on how much rainforest they save.

We will be following the summit in Copenhagen closely to see what progress is made in providing the developing countries with the incentive they require to save our precious rainforests.  There are large sums of money required to make this deal acceptable to those nations but if an agreement cannot be reached and we don’t take the necessary action now then a far greater price will be paid by mankind in the end.

Find out more at The Guardian website

According to the Gaia Theory, the Earth behaves like a living system, capable of looking after itself. We, despite our technological advances, still cannot predict whether it will resist the climate change or even enhance it. In his latest book, James Lovelock underlines the acute problem; we may not have enough time to save ourselves from the very damage we as overpopulated humans caused to the Earth’s biosphere.

James Lovelock calls for immediate action by governments to cut green house gas emissions and to prepare for a disaster in case we are already to late, providing for alternative food and shelter options; he warns us that the social and economic impacts of the climate change crisis may soon move masses of population from their current locations in the hope to find a suitable climate to survive.

The dramatic levels of our dependency on electricity in our current life style has resulted in the unprecedented deterioration of natural resources. In the search for a carbon-free alternative energy generation, the book analyses the current technologies for an answer. Special attention is given to renewable technologies such as wind, solar and nuclear power.

James Lovelock reveals the real carbon footprint of the wind turbines through a series of calculations, and states that to produce the cement for the wind turbines already involves a certain amount of carbon emissions that should be re-considered in our evaluations.

His conclusion is that renewable technologies need more time to work on and to make them carbon-neutral, with the exception of nuclear energy, which is already developed and ready to be implemented globally. James Lovelock revisits the safety and waste issues associated with the nuclear energy, and he explains the reasons for the negative public perception, and gives the reader an alternative and favourable view towards nuclear energy by re-examining these perceptions.

This book invites us to inquire into the reality of the energy technologies, more than the imposed opinion of the media. As our Earth has the capacity to regulate itself, the question is whether we will be able to survive the consequences of the climate change. The answer depends on quick and massive action.

A must read book for all of us.

Here is a link to a video about James Lovelock on The Guardian Online.

And here is a link to the book on Amazon in the UK.

The Guardian have produced a really useful Q&A article on Climate change, explaining all the terms and science involved.

Check it out here

There are lots of useful points raised, but he missed out the rainforest! How does deforestation impact climate change and carbon reduction? On a more positive nte, how could re-forestation impact the fight against climate change.

Nature.org say this

Every year, more than 15 million hectares of tropical forest — an area larger than the state of New York — are cut down, releasing millions of tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

Without action now, many of the world’s tropical forests will be lost by this century’s end. With these forests we will lose important species, natural resources and local livelihoods, as well as the opportunity to slow climate change.

In fact, recent studies show that activities to reduce deforestation are a highly cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

I know that climate change and the Green House effect can be a debated issue. Some believe the data of global warming shows the natural cycle of the Earths warming, others see our impact as the major cause of the temperature increase.

What ever the answer, preventing deforestation keeps the environments where forest exist stable and continues to absorb Co2 emissions.

Have a read of the two articles, and let us know your views.