Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted February 5, 2008 article Tipping point near? New studies suggest the Amazon may be approaching a tipping point, at which the drier conditions caused by deforestation will reduce rainfall enough to transform the humid tropical forest into a giant savanna.If preserving the 80 percent of the Amazon still standing would help offset some greenhouse emissions, destroying it would almost certainly accelerate global warming, by releasing perhaps 100 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere — equal to some 10 years’ worth of total global emissions. “If you cut down all the tropical forests in the world you may increase CO2 concentrations by 25 percent,” said Brazilian climatologist Carlos Alberto Nobre. “It’s important to keep the forests intact because we are in a global warming crisis and it’s important not to reach a tipping point from which we can’t come back.” Deforestation — both the burning and rotting of wood in the Amazon — already releases an estimated 400 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, accounting for up to 80 percent of Brazil’s greenhouse gases, boosting this country to sixth place or higher among emitter nations. By contrast, each acre of rain forest that remains intact takes somewhere between 80 and 480 pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere each year through the process of photosynthesis. World fells trees at ‘alarming’ rate, experts say Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Myk JL 1,731 Report post Posted February 5, 2008 If only paper came from hemp... And crooked businesses didn't want to cut down trees... Those who fight deplorables should see to it that they themselves do not become deplorables. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
