Global Forest Watch Interactive Map

Posted on February 25, 2016 by GarryRogers

GarryRogers These interactive maps show carbon emissions associated with clearing of above ground live woody biomass across the tropics. You can use the map layers to create custom maps of forest change, cover, and use. This is a great resource! Recommended.

rainforest-fire “GFW Climate provides interactive and high resolution (30 meter) maps of both the carbon stored in forests and the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere when forests are cleared. It also offers a customized user experience through the creation of on-the-fly maps and analysis, interactive country dashboards, customized reports and data downloads. The result is decision-relevant information that is transparent, easy to understand, and available to all who want to mitigate climate change through the implementation of better forest policies and programs. The entire GFW platform is free to use and follows an open data approach.

“At this time, GFW Climate focuses only on estimating emissions from tropical deforestation, and does not include emissions or removals from other land use activities such as forest degradation or carbon stock enhancements from forest gains. Methods and data for these activities are generally less developed than those for deforestation. Given the recent momentum behind global and regional restoration initiatives, future versions of GFW Climate may expand to include other activities as new data become available.

“GFW Climate is supported by a diverse partnership of organizations that contribute data, technology, funding, and expertise. The GFW partnership is convened by the World Resources Institute. See a full list of partners below.” —Global Forest Watch.

Eye on the Ball– #ClimateChange, #Biodiversity, #NatureConservation, & #SarahPalin

Posted on January 25, 2016 by GarryRogers

Nature Conservation

The excellent article introduced below is about nature conservation from the human viewpoint. The argument is that the current mass extinction of wild plants and animals has harmful consequences for the future of the human species. It most certainly has, but the author’s desire to inform his audience misses its target because it gives a biased view of the problem. The article does not consider the rights of other species. This “homocentric” view of nature assumes that disappearance of other creatures is only important if it endangers humans.

Aldo Leopold and other conservationists realized that this viewpoint is unsustainable. Unless we accept the equality of all Earth’s species, including our own, our conservation efforts will always fail. With its runaway enthusiasm for untested proposals, our species will take chances with the lives of other species. Experiments aimed only at benefiting our species, experiments that do not respect the rights of other species, experiments that will sometimes have unforeseen consequences, will gradually nibble away at nature until our ecosystems collapse and wash into the sea (carrying us with it).

Unless we begin to respect the rights of all species, we will exert constant damage on the Earth and ourselves.

Our real Sarah Palin nightmare: We debate sideshows and phony problems — while this very real threat looms undiscussed

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, right, endorses Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally at the Iowa State University, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

“It’s an amazing fact that the contemporary world is marked by a growing number of problems that are genuinely global in scope. Some of these problems even have existential implications for the survival of human civilization — yet instead we spend too much time discussing smaller threats, including North Korea, ISIS, Oregon militias and even Sarah Palin. One such problem is anthropogenic climate change — a catastrophe whose effects are anticipated to be “severe,” “pervasive” and “irreversible.”

“But climate change isn’t the only problem of this sort. In fact, for many who spend their lives studying environmental issues, it can be frustrating to see climate change — a highly contentious issue among non-experts, despite a scientific consensus about its reality and causes — dominate the public discussion. The fact is that biodiversity loss constitutes an equally worrisome (albeit related) threat to the future of humanity.

“Consider some cold hard facts. According to the 3rd Global Biodiversity Report (GBO-3), the total population of vertebrates — a broad category that includes mammals, birds, reptiles, sharks, rays and amphibians — living within the tropics declined by a shocking 59% from 1970 to 2006. Take a moment to let this sink in. In only 36 years, more than half of the vertebrate population between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer disappeared.”— Read More: Phil Torres, Salon.

Links:

Population

Conservation

Alexander Archipelago Wolf Population Crashes On Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island…

Posted on June 6, 2015 by GarryRogers

Save the forest, the wolves, and much more.

Howling For Justice

Romeo – Alexander Archipelago wolf

The population of Alexander Archipelago wolves on Prince Wales Island/Tongass National Forest has declined 60% in 0ne year. The plan to log old growth forest on the island must be halted to save these wolves.

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Imperiled Wolf Population on Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island Crashes

From Center for Biological Diversity

For Immediate Release, June 5, 2015

SITKA, Alaska— State and federal authorities are reporting a “dramatic decline in the wolf population on Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest.” A new report records a 60 percent drop in the number of Alexander Archipelago wolves in just one year, reinforcing conservationists’ arguments that plans to log old-growth forests on the island should be halted to protect the wolf and other wildlife.

An Alaska Department of Fish and Game draft report estimates a total of only 89 wolves in the area — including 60 on…

View original post 651 more words

Prevent Road Development from Harming Animals

Posted on April 6, 2015 by GarryRogers

Target: Prime Minister of Malaysia Perdana Menteri.
Goal: Implement regulations in Malaysia for road development to protect animals.
It is estimated that up to 48 percent of mammals native to Southeast Asia may be extinct in the next 85 years.

Source: forcechange.com

GR: Roads play a major part in deforestation. Prevent roads and preserve forests. Please sign the petition.

Developers Attempt to Strip Tasmanian Forest Protection

Posted on April 3, 2015 by GarryRogers

GR: Australian developers are interested in short-term profit, and they are willing to sacrifice ecosystems, wildlife, and their country’s future to get it. Wait. . . did I say Australian? How small of me–it’s developers everywhere. My neighbor Canada has caved in, let’s hope Australia can find the strength and pride to resist.

The following from the Guardian:

“Leading conservationist says Australia needs to understand the importance of leaving carbon-dense forests standing.

“The WWF analysis used 40 years of satellite imagery and land use mapping to find that nearly half of 5,815 Australian terrestrial ecosystems, covering an area of approximately 257m ha, would be listed as threatened under IUCN criteria because of land clearing and degradation.

“This vast number of threatened ecosystems, primarily due to the clearing of land for agriculture, dwarfs the 66 ecological communities officially listed as threatened by the Australian government.” Source: www.theguardian.com

GR: Thinking about the Tasmanian parrots endangered by deforestation, repeating this Guardian article seemed appropriate: “The WWF analysis used 40 years of satellite imagery and land use mapping to find that nearly half of 5,815 Australian terrestrial ecosystems, covering an area of approximately 257m ha, would be listed as threatened under IUCN criteria because of land clearing and degradation.”

Deforestation Changes Climate Via Albedo

Posted on April 3, 2015 by GarryRogers

Results show that tropical forests have a strong cooling effect throughout the year; temperate forests show moderate cooling in summer and moderate warming in winter with net cooling annually; and boreal forests have strong warming in winter and moderate cooling in summer with net warming annually. The spatiotemporal cooling or warming effects are mainly driven by the two competing biophysical effects, evapotranspiration and albedo, which in turn are strongly influenced by rainfall and snow. Implications of our satellite-based study could be useful for informing local forestry policies. Source: www.reportingclimatescience.com

GR: As stated in the article, “models cannot accurately reproduce local climate effects due to their coarse spatial resolution and uncertainties, and field observations are valuable but often insufficient due to their limited coverage.” My advice is to make more field observations, many more. Satellite imagery can tell us very few things. Quantifying albedo changes due to deforestation is hardly valuable enough to justify the cost of the satellites. Spend the money on the ground. We need surveys of plant and animal species so we can judge their health and safety. We can’t get these from space.

Find more climate news here.

Major study shows biodiversity losses can be reversed

Posted on April 1, 2015 by GarryRogers

“The study is the first global analysis of human impacts on local biodiversity. It is a major collaboration between the Natural History Museum, United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), and British universities.

“Scientists submitted data from more than 70 countries and considered 26,593 species, adding more than 1.1 million records to the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) survey database.

“The team’s figure of a 14 per cent drop in species in local ecosystems is a global average. So local biodiversity in some areas is still quite intact, but others – including Western Europe – have had losses of 20-30 per cent.” Source: www.nhm.ac.uk

GR: Making projections requires assumptions about what we are going to do. Reviews of this research try to be optimistic by emphasizing positive projections. However, if we make the most likely assumption that we will do nothing substantive to stop global warming, deforestation, and human population growth, the red areas will spread. As stated earlier, everyone that cares needs to begin making local efforts to preserve biodiversity.

Subsidies to industries that cause deforestation worth 100 times more than aid to prevent it

Posted on March 31, 2015 by GarryRogers

Brazil and Indonesia paid over $40bn in subsidies to industries that drive rainforest destruction between 2009 and 2012 – compared to $346m in conservation aid they received to protect forests, according to new research Brazil and Indonesia spent…

Source: www.theguardian.com

GR: Forest health is a global land-use problem. For example, the U. S. Forest Service within the U. S. Department of Agriculture subsidizes livestock grazing and timber companies. Though the land is not shifted from forest to another use, the health and productivity of the land and the forest is seriously diminished through the efforts of the Forest Service. The losses are greatest in soil quality and biodiversity. Learn more about forest health and deforestation here.

Deforestation in Myanmar threatens biodiversity and communities

Posted on March 14, 2015 by GarryRogers

As Myanmar opens for business, a new report has found forest conversion for commercial agriculture is spreading at an alarming rate with devastating results for the country’s ethnic minorities and biodiversity.

Source: www.dw.de

It continues everywhere.