General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThey are cutting the lungs out of our planet! It will kill US.
Satellite data shows Amazon deforestation rising under Brazil's Bolsonarohttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-environment-deforestation-idUSKCN1T52OQ
According to the Brazilian space research institute INPE, the DETER alerting system registered deforestation of 739 square kilometers (285 square miles) in May, the first of three months in which logging tends to surge following the regions rainy season.
That is up from 550 square kilometers in May 2018 and more than double the deforestation detected two years earlier.
If this upward curve continues, we could have a bad year for the Amazon forest, Claudio Almeida, head of INPEs satellite monitoring program, said on Tuesday. It will depend on how much policing there is in the next two critical months, he added.
The data adds to concerns from environmentalists who warn that Bolsonaros five-month-old government has dismantled conservation agencies, shown skepticism about fighting climate change and cut the budget to enforce environmental laws.
Brazils environmental protection agency IBAMA, which has been starved of funds in recent years, lost authority when he took office in January, and the forestry commission was moved to the Agriculture Ministry, which is run by farm industry allies.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)The gov is also going after the uncontacted tribes
Fucking with living history + destroying all life form in the forest with logging
https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3601-Bolsonaro%20uncontacted%20genocide
riverine
(516 posts)Of course the Orange Idiot won't do it.
Initech
(100,102 posts)rusty quoin
(6,133 posts)Beringia
(4,316 posts)I was just making a joke about Cousin Itt the other day and then I noticed your screen name today. Funny.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,494 posts)Readings from Hawaii observatory bring threshold of 450ppm closer sooner than had been anticipated
Fiona Harvey, Environment correspondent
Tue 4 Jun 2019 16.58 BST / Last modified on Wed 5 Jun 2019 01.05 BST
Snip....
As recently as the 1990s, the average annual growth rate was about 1.5ppm, but in the past decade that has accelerated to 2.2ppm, and is now even higher. This brings the threshold of 450ppm closer sooner than had been anticipated. Concentrations of the gas have increased every year, reflecting our burning of fossil fuels.
Apparently, the world's oligarchs won't be happy until our entire native biosphere is sold off and consumed for profit....
Duppers
(28,127 posts)The planet's oxygen is not isolated to one region.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,494 posts)I believe they think they will always be able to escape to a place with low pollution, low crime and populated only with their favorite flavor of human - typically gated communities, remote islands and wooded retreats, yachts, perfect-air penthouses and exclusive resorts. Unfortunately for them, the clock is running out to the day those places will become scarce rather than plentiful and even that world will become extremely cutthroat. Life will not be pretty for us commoners at that point.
Hate to sound fatalistic, but I don't think we will have time to evolve beyond extreme greed and selfishness, rampant consumerism, wastefulness, or psychopathy. We are a messy, destructive species.
roamer65
(36,747 posts)CousinIT
(9,257 posts)We're well and truly f*cked.
How much do oceans add to worlds oxygen?
https://earthsky.org/earth/how-much-do-oceans-add-to-worlds-oxygen
Scientists believe that phytoplankton contribute between 50 to 85 percent of the oxygen in Earths atmosphere. They arent sure because its a tough thing to calculate. In the lab, scientists can determine how much oxygen is produced by a single phytoplankton cell. The hard part is figuring out the total number of these microscopic plants throughout Earths oceans. Phytoplankton wax and wane with the seasons. Phytoplankton blooms happen in spring when theres more available light and nutrients.
Oceans Are Losing Oxygen, Just As They Did 94 Million Years Ago
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/08/10/oceans-losing-oxygen-94-million-years-ago/#9062b647235e
A number of factors are likely influencing the decrease in oxygen levels in oceans. However, the key culprits are likely an increase in fertilizer use and a warming planet.
Humanity has drastically increased the amount of fertilizer we use to produce ever higher crop yields. However, when that fertilizer runs off into our waterways it eventually makes its way to the ocean. When that happens, microbial communities and algae all of a sudden receive a massive delivery of food. Bacteria and algae colonies exponentially increase to feed on the newly delivered food and when that happens they respire, same as humans. As in, they take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, removing dissolved oxygen from the ocean.
The second culprit to declining oxygen levels is a warming planet. This one is fairly straight forward. Basic principals of chemistry and physics dictate that colder liquid can hold more dissolved gas than a warmer liquid. You can witness this by opening two Coke cans, then leaving one out on your counter and the other in the fridge. Come back the next day and I bet the one in the fridge has more dissolved carbon dioxide (carbonation).
SamuelTwain
(28 posts)Mr. Evil
(2,856 posts)And it's costing him virtually nothing.
Duppers
(28,127 posts)It will eventually cost Russians their lives too. Oxygen production and depletion is world-wide. These insane assholes are killing everyone.
Mr. Evil
(2,856 posts)When one person (usually a man) has, for all intents and purposes, nearly unlimited power they tend to disregard the long term effects of their actions so long as they're pleased with a constant stream of instant gratification. They tend to believe they're immune. He's instigating and manipulating world events at his pleasure and his (as he sees it) personal gain while barely lifting a finger and at minimal expense. Look how easy it is to manipulate people these days. It was an inevitability that someone would take advantage of it. Since he's KGB trained to ratfuck everything and everyone that can be ratfucked I'd say he's been quite successful so far. And there are plenty of unscrupulous people in this country that are corrupt enough and more than ready to help him.
One thing's for certain. They don't give a diddly damn about the climate as long as the money flows and the power increases. The question is, can we stop them?