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THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
THE CRIMINAL DESTRUCTION OF THE PLANET

THE TWILIGHT OF THE OLD ORDER

IN THE SHADOW OF THE COMING STORMS


MAIN   EXTINCTION   CLIMATE CHANGE   TOXIC CHEMICALS   THE OCEAN   GLOBAL WATER CRISIS   FORESTS   CHINA


People have the clocks but nature controls the time.

The storms clouds are growing but today's political and economic systems are not responding.  Nature will do what they cannot do.

We believe there is still time for nonviolent reform.  We have our solutions

However, we are thinking realistically and creatively about the future.   What will happen if democracy and capitalism fail?  Such thoughts are heresy in America but they are beginning to be discussed around the world.

There is a primordial will to live.  We predict a death toll in the billions but this is a smaller percentage death toll than the Black Death or the Thirty Years War.  So life could go on.

Read and be enlightened.

Portrait of Our Planet: A Collection of Charts and Pictures (World Future Fund) (PDF)

America and the World 2030 - A View in Pictures (World Future Fund)
A real look at the future that lies ahead if drastic reforms are not made.

World Future Outlook (World Future Fund)
A study of where we are at in History

Creative Videos on the State of the Planet (World Future Fund)

The Failure of the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (World Future Fund)

2014 UN Scientific Panel On Climate Change Sounds Alarm (Huffington Post, 3-30-2014)
This report states that if action is not taken soon, global warming could spiral out of control. The author of the climate report has said, "We're now in an era where climate change isn't some kind of future hypothetical...We live in an area where impacts from climate change are already widespread and consequential." (Read The Report Here)

NASA 2014 Model Shows Possibility That Industrial Civilization Could Experience a Collapse
This new study has highlighted the prospect that global industrial civilization could experience a collapse due to unsustainable resource exploitation and unequal wealth distribution. The Roman Empire, The Han Civilization, The Mauryan and Gupta Empires are all a testimony to the fact that advanced and complex civilizations are capable of falling apart. READ THE STUDY HERE (PDF)

OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050 Report (PDF)
Humanity has undergone tremendous growth in the last few decades. The world population has increased by over 3 billion since 1970. Yet this growth has brought climate change, environmental destruction, resource depletion and mass pollution. Will our planet be able to handle this continued growth and consumption? What will the next four decades bring? The outlook for 2050 does not look good. Also see Club of Rome: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years (paperback)

2012 World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Report (PDF)
"Our natural capital is declining and our Ecological Footprint is increasing. Urgent action is needed to ensure that we can live in harmony with nature."

TOTAL COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION

None of the world’s top industries would be profitable if they paid for the natural capital they use (Grist, 4-17-13)
Businesses create costs for the public that they themselves do not pay for. For example, a business will put pollution into the air, but the public has to pay the price for that pollution. If the public was not forced to pick up the tab for the world's most profitable businesses via tax payer funded subsidies, a majority of these businesses would not actually be profitable.

Read the Report: Natural Capital at Risk (PDF)

The staggering annual financial cost of environmental destruction. (BBC 10/10/2008) 
An EU study shows that annual cost of environmental destruction is greater than current credit crisis.

See Study Here: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity


SPECIES EXTINCTION

Humans are currently causing a level of extinction in the natural world that has not been seen since the Permian Extinction, 250 million years ago. Throughout history there have been 5 major extinctions. Yet scientists today agree that the world is currently undergoing a sixth massive era of extinction, an extinction caused by human beings. This will not only be a disaster for non-human life. This is going to be a crisis for human beings if we cannot get our act together, since we rely on other life forms to live. The following articles detail the severity of these extinctions.

The IUCN Red List of Endangered Species
The International Union for Conservation Red List is widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive sources on the conservation status of plant and animal species. Currently the list has data on 45,000 different species.

Extinction Threat, A Call to World Leaders at Rio Earth Summit: (CNN World News, 6-20-12)
According to the article above: 41% of amphibians, 25% of mammals, 13% of birds, 30% of conifers and 20% of all plants are all threatened with extinction.

Read IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species 2012.

One in Five Mammals Threatened With Extinction (Common Dreams, 11-3-09)
The survival of 17,921 species is in jeopardy.

(Article gathered information from Red List of Threatened Species)

Almost 50% Of The World's Primates Are In Danger Of Extinction (CNN, 8-5-08)
Habitat destruction as well as hunting are the greatest threats to primates today.

Read 48% of All Primates Now Threatened from IUCN's Primate Specialist Group.

Humans Spur Worst Extinctions Since Dinosaurs (Planet Ark, 3-21-06)
A report released in March 2006 by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity concluded that "the current pace of [animal and plant] extinctions was 1,000 times faster than historical rate] thanks to the activities of human beings. 

Read the "Global Biodiversity Outlook 2 Report"

The State of the World? A Grim Warning from 1,300 Leading Scientists (By The Independent posted on Information Clearing House, 3-30-05)
This is the considered opinion of 1,300 leading scientists from 95 countries, who conclude that environmental degradation, if continued at its current pace will irreparably damage the global ecosystem to such an extent that it will not recover for thousands of years.

Read the "Millennium Assessment Reports"

DEATH OF THE WORLD'S FISH

World's Fish Supply Will Run Out by 2048
A recent scientific study concluded that unless changes are made, current fishing practices and ecological destruction caused by pollution of the world's oceans will result in the extinction of fish caught to provide food.  This will provoke a crisis among the world's population as a critical source of food for human beings disappears.
(Washington Post, 11-3-06)

Read the report "Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services"

Only 10 Percent of Big Ocean Fish Remain
According to a study published in Nature in 2003, 90% of the world's largest species of fish have already been killed by humans. 
(CNN News, 5-14-03)

Read the report "Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities"

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BEES

In the United States, Beekeepers around the nation say that they've lost 40-50 percent of their hives on average. Honey bees are necessary for replenishing our food systems, about one third of our food depends upon bees for pollination. Without the bees, there could be a drastic collapse of the world's food supply. Many of these bee deaths are linked to a pesticide group called Neonicotinoids. This chemical was introduced to the global market place in the 1990's. Farmers no longer spray their crops with chemicals, they infuse their plants with neonicotinoids instead. While the chemical has been very successful in killing pests, it has also succeeded in killing off large numbers of bees.

The following study connects low doses of exposure to Neonicitinoids to a damaged immunity in Honey Bees: 
Interactions between Nosema microspores and a neonicotinoid weaken honeybees (Apis Mellifera) PDF

Pesticide blamed for declining bee population (CBS News, 4-9-13)
An interview with a beekeeper who describes how beekeepers around the nation have been losing half of their hives due to pesticides.

Insanity: US Approves Bee Death Pesticide as EU Bans It (Natural Society, 5-12-13)
The EU has already taken the necessary steps to ban the pesticides responsible for bee deaths, yet America lags behind.

Pesticide Lobby Spends Millions To Defend Chemicals Tied To Bee Deaths (Huffington Post, 3-29-13)

Bat, Bee, Frog Deaths May Be Linked (News Discover, 6-1-12)

POISONING OF THE BATS

Bat Disease, White-Nose Syndrome, May Increase U.S. Farm Pesticide Use: Study (Huffington Post, 4-13-11)

POISONING OF THE FROGS

Frog Deaths Are A Harbinger of "Sixth Mass Extinction" on Earth (iO9, 8-12-08)


MAIN   EXTINCTION   CLIMATE CHANGE   TOXIC CHEMICALS   THE OCEAN   GLOBAL WATER CRISIS  FORESTS   CHINA


CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: The Cost of Global Reform (World Future Fund)

The Failure of the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (World Future Fund)

A Carbon Tax Would Cut The Deficit By $1 Trillion (Climate Progress, 11-14-13)

The 10 Cities Most At Risk Of Being Hit By Natural Disasters (Business Insider, 3-28-14) There are many high population cities around the world that are a sitting duck for a natural disaster. Tehran for example is a city with 15 million people and it sits on one of the most dangerous fault lines in the world. Many of the other cities mentioned are also situated on top of dangerous fault lines or are right next to large rivers, which makes them a potential target for heavy floods.

14 U.S. Cities That Could Disappear Over The Next Century, Thanks to Global Warming (Huffington Post, 8-27-13)
Thanks to Climate Change, sea levels are rising. Many populated cities like Miami may not make it over the next century due to rising tides.

300,000 People a Year Are Already Being Killed by Climate Change
In May of 2009 the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum launched a report intended to document the impact of climate change on human society. Its conclusions: More than 300,000 people die annually due to the deteriorating environmental situation. The report further found that over 500 million people live at extreme risk, their existence threatened daily by climate change. The report also found that more than 20 million people are currently climate refugees and that climate change itself costs the world economy more than 100 billion dollars annually.

Click here for a PDF copy of the report or visit its website.

World on Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse (Lester R. Brown, Book)
Lester Brown's solution for dealing with an imminent climate change and the resulting economic collapse. Can we go in the right direction before we go over the edge? Lester Brown is also the author of Plan B.

A Carbon Tax Would Cut The Deficit By $1 Trillion (Climate Progress, 11-14-13)

INFORMATIVE SITES ON CLIMATE CHANGE

IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Gateway to the United Nations System's Work on Climate Change

Pictures of Impact of Climate Change  BBC Version  

Inconvenient Truth Web Site    Al Gore 2007 Nobel Prize Speech and Video  (Official Nobel Prize Site)  Official Transcript    Al Gore Official Web Site

THE SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Climate Change as a Matter of Public Health (Phys Org, 4-8-14)
For a long time, Climate Change was perceived only as an environmental issue. Yet Scientists since the 90's have stated that climate change is also a global public health issue. These scientists have stated that climate change is likely to bring more exotic, tropical diseases to areas like Europe and North America. Diseases like malaria could reemerge in temperate areas where they have long been under control.

Climate Change and Infectious Diseases (Harvard School of Public Health)
Many prevalent human infections such as malaria, dengue fever and cholera are climate sensitive. Many of these diseases are spread by mosquitoes who thrive in warmer temperatures. As the temperature begins to rise globally, more mosquitoes and climate sensitive diseases will spread as a result.

Climate Impact on Human Health (EPA)

More frequent and longer heat waves could increase the number of heat-related illnesses and deaths. Warmer temperatures could also increase the concentration of unhealthy air and water pollution, which will certainly have an effect on human health.

NEWS FROM THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC

Ice in Antarctica and Greenland Melting at Alarming Rate (NBC Report)
Most people around the world live in coastal cities. Even most Americans live within 50 miles of the coastline. Enough ice is melting to raise ocean levels to dangerous levels - dangerous enough to cause constant storms for those who live on the coastline. We are living through climate chance in real time and massive storms like Katrina and Sandy are about to become a regular part of life.

Greenland and Antarctica ' May be Vulnerable to Rapid Ice Loss Through Catastrophic Disintegration' (Think Progress, 7-30-13)

Why Greenland’s melting could be the biggest climate disaster of all (Grist, 2-24-13)

Read the report: "Greenland ice sheet albedo feedback: thermodynamics and atmospheric drivers" (PDF)

Greenland's Ice Cap is Melting Three Times Faster than Five Years Ago
Citing evidence accumulated by a University of Texas at Austin team of scientists, the article demonstrates that the Greenland ice cap, which holds an estimated 2.85 cubic kilometers of fresh water ice (See New Scientist), is melting away more rapidly than scientists had previously thought.  This melting process is raising sea levels around the world, which will in turn place coastal areas underwater within 50 years. (By San Francisco Chronicle posted on Common Dreams, 8-11-06)

Arctic Death Spiral Bombshell: CryoSat-2 Confirms Sea Ice Volume Has Collapsed (Think Progress, 12-14-13)

Read the report: "Geophysical Research Letters"

METHANE IN THE ARCTIC

Scientists estimate that there are hundreds of millions of tons of methane gas locked away beneath the Arctic permafrost. Methane is a greenhouse gas much more powerful than carbon dioxide - 23 times more powerful. One of the greatest fears that many scientists have is that when the Arctic sea ice disappears (due to global warming), the trapped methane will be released into the atmosphere leading to severe and rapid climate change.


Arctic Methane: Why The Sea Ice Matters (Envisionation VIDEO)
The ice in the Arctic now is half of what it was 30 years ago. So far it hasn't collapsed, but it will.

The Giant Methane Monster That Can Wipe Out the Human Race (Alternet, 7-4-14)

"Vast methane plumes escaping from the seafloor" discovered in Siberian Arctic Sea (Daily KOS, 7-28-14)

Arctic Ocean Leaking Methane At Alarming Rate, Researchers Say (The Seattle Times, 11-29-13)

More Arctic Methane Bubbles into Atmosphere (Scientific American, 11-25-13)

Vast methane 'plumes' seen in Arctic ocean as sea ice retreats (Independent, 12-13-11)

See International Arctic Research Center

Scientists Find New Global Warming "Time Bomb"
"Global warming gases trapped in the soil are bubbling out of the thawing permafrost in amounts far higher than previously thought and may trigger what researchers warn is a climate time bomb.  Methane - a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide - is being released from the permafrost at a rate five times faster than thought, according to a study being published today in the journal Nature."  (By The Associated Press posted on Common Dreams, 9-7-06)

OCEAN ACIDIFICACTION

Ocean Acidification: A Critical Emerging Problem For the Ocean Sciences (PDF Report)
Ocean acidification is a change in seawater chemistry due to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide in the air transforms into carbonic acid in the sea. These changes have dire effects on ocean life. According to this report, "the current rapid rise in atmospheric CO2 is as much as 30 times faster than natural rates in the geological past, and present levels are higher than at anytime in at least 850,00 years and likely several million years."

FRACKING AND METHANE

U.S. Methane Study Says Emissions 50 Percent Higher Than EPA Estimates (Huffington Post, 11-25-13)
This means that Methane may be a greater environmental threat than formerly thought. Much of this methane comes from the keeping of livestock in factory farms as well as the release of gas from the practice of hydraulic fracking.

Fracking Flares in North Dakota Bakken Shale Equal 1 Million Cars Each Year (Popular Resistance, 8-31-13)

Former Mobil VP Warns of Fracking and Climate Change (Truth Out, 7-19-13)
Oil scholar Michael Klare calls fracking the "race for what is left." Louis Alstadt, the former VP of Mobil himself, states "The fracking that's going on right now is the real wake-up call on just what extreme lengths are required to pull oil or gas out of the ground now that most of the conventional reservoirs have been exploited - at least those that are easy to access." He goes on to discuss the reality that fracking releases Methane, a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

Drill Baby Drill: They tell us we're on the cusp of an oil and gas revolution, but what if it's all just a short term bubble? (Shale Bubble Report, February 2013)

RISING USE OF COAL AROUND THE WORLD

IEA predicts coal will grow by as a share of world energy between 2005 and 2030.  This means the world's worst form of energy will grow in demand by 73%. (International Energy Agency)  (Click here for report.)

Europe consuming more coal (The Washington Post, 2-7-13)

Coal set to rival oil as world’s primary energy source by 2017 (Deep Green Resistance, 12-18-12)

HYDROPOWER

Why Hydropower is Not Clean Energy (Alternet)

Not-so-Clean Hydropower is Damming Us All

 


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POISONING THE PLANET

DANGEROUS EFFECTS OF CHEMICALS ON ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH

In America, many of the chemical companies have very loose regulations about what kinds of chemicals they can release into the public. As a result, hundreds of untested or low tested chemicals have been released into the environment that have questionable effects on human health, as well as the health of other life forms. Many of these chemicals, such as some of the newer pesticides used for farming, have killed millions of other life forms, such as bees and bats. Check out the World Future Fund Site links below for more on this chemical crisis.

Failure of U.S. Chemical Testing: Poison in The Blood(World Future Fund)
America's track record on testing poisonous chemicals has been one of complete neglect to public health and safety. Most Americans assume that chemicals in everyday products such as shampoos and detergents have been tested. In this assumption, they are dead wrong. In its entire history, the Environmental Protection Agency has only succeeded in banning five substances (New York Times). America clearly does not take the regulation of hazardous chemicals very seriously.

EPA and EU Sites Concerning Chemicals and Human Health (World Future Fund)

Chemicals and Health Organizations (World Future Fund)

Green Revolution (World Future Fund)

Indoor Air Report (World Future Fund)

From fertiliser to Zyklon B: 100 years of the scientific discovery that brought life and death (The Guardian, 11-2-13)

A LACK OF EPA REGULATION

The Huge Drop in America's Commitment to a Safe Environment: EPA Budget as a Percent of Total Federal Budget (World Future Fund Report)
America's commitment to a safe and clean environment has declined drastically since the 1980's. There has been a 75% spending drop (as a percent of the federal budget) for the EPA in the last 3 decades. In Obama's recent budget proposal for 2014, funding for the EPA has been decreased 5% below 2013 levels. Clean air, water and the management of hazardous chemicals are a serious matter that deserve real funding. Not pocket change.

U.S. Methane Study Says Emissions 50 Percent Higher Than EPA Estimates (Huffington Post, 11-25-13)

Methane is a potent heat trapping gas that is 20 times more potent than Carbon Dioxide. It ends up that the United States is spewing 50% more methane than the federal government estimates. Much of this methane is coming from three states: Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Much of this methane is coming from oil and gas extraction as well as livestock. (Read the Study Here)

White House Looks To Trim EPA's Budget In FY2014 Request (GHGNews, 4-10-13)

Information from Official White House Budget Historical Tables. See table 4.1 for projected spending on different agencies (including the EPA). Or Read entire budget here (PDF).

POLLUTION

Indoor Air, Human Health and Chemicals: The Missing 90% of America's Air Pollution Problems (World Future Fund)

Water, Air and Soil Pollution Causes 40% of Deaths World Wide (Cornell University)

7 Million people die of air pollution in 2012. Air pollution was responsible for one in eight deaths (CNN, 3-24-14)

The Air We Breathe Definitely and Scientifically Linked to Cancer (Alternet, 10-17-13)

Newly Discovered 'Plastic Island' Shows Global Epidemic Worsening (Common Dreams, 1-18-13)
An entire island of human trash now exists in the Pacific Ocean. The large mass of garbage accumulating in the ocean has large implications on fisheries, tourism, marine ecosystems and human health.

Read the report: "Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre"

Drill Baby Drill: They tell us we're on the cusp of an oil and gas revolution, but what if it's all just a short term bubble? (Shale Bubble Report, February 2013)

Not-so-Clean Hydropower is Damming Us All Dam building in developing countries is occurring at an alarming rate. The public needs to know the truth about large dams. Large dams are a societal hazard, pollutants, non-renewable and economically unsound.

PESTICIDES

The Green Revolution: A New Debt Against The Future: (World Future Fund)
A report on harmful practices from the modern world of agriculture. This includes the modern use of pesticides that is launching a holocaust against the populations of bees, bats and frogs.

Pesticides Are Killing Our Sperm (Grist, 3-5-13)

THE POISONING OF THE BEES

In the United States, Beekeepers around the nation say that they've lost 40-50 percent of their hives on average. Honey bees are necessary for replenishing our food systems, about one third of our food depends upon bees for pollination. Without the bees, there could be a drastic collapse of the world's food supply. Many of these bee deaths are linked to a pesticide group called Neonicotinoids. This chemical was introduced to the global market place in the 1990's. Farmers no longer spray their crops with chemicals, they infuse their plants with neonicotinoids instead. While the chemical has been very successful in killing pests, it has also succeeded in killing off large numbers of bees.

The following study connects low doses of exposure to Neonicitinoids to a damaged immunity in Honey Bees: 
Interactions between Nosema microspores and a neonicotinoid weaken honeybees (Apis Mellifera) PDF

Pesticide blamed for declining bee population (CBS News, 4-9-13)
An interview with a beekeeper who describes how beekeepers around the nation have been losing half of their hives due to pesticides.

Insanity: US Approves Bee Death Pesticide as EU Bans It (Natural Society, 5-12-13)
The EU has already taken the necessary steps to ban the pesticides responsible for bee deaths, yet America lags behind.

Pesticide Lobby Spends Millions To Defend Chemicals Tied To Bee Deaths (Huffington Post, 3-29-13)

Bat, Bee, Frog Deaths May Be Linked (News Discover, 6-1-12) 

POISONING OF THE BATS

Bat Disease, White-Nose Syndrome, May Increase U.S. Farm Pesticide Use: Study (Huffington Post, 4-13-11)

POISONING OF THE FROGS

Frog Deaths Are A Harbinger of "Sixth Mass Extinction" on Earth (iO9, 8-12-08)


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THE OCEANS

Human Assault Pushes Ocean to Limit Unseen in 300 Million Years (Common Dreams, 10-3-13)

Midway (World Future Fund):
There is a garbage island in The Pacific Ocean that is now one of the world's largest continents. Birds and other forms of life are being killed by mountains of plastic, human trash in the ocean. Chris Jordan has made a poignant film about this recent level of human destruction.

Newly Discovered 'Plastic Island' Shows Global Epidemic Worsening (Common Dreams, 1-18-13)
An entire island of human trash now exists in the Pacific Ocean. The large mass of garbage accumulating in the ocean has large implications on fisheries, tourism, marine ecosystems and human health.

Read the report: "Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre"

First-Ever Global Map Of Total Human Effects On Oceans (Science Daily, 2-15-08)
Human impacts on the ocean can now be studied by a bird's eye view by using satellites to study ocean images.

A 'Dead Zone' Appears In The Gulf of Mexico At Record Size (Washington Post, 7-31-08)

Information from study: "Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia, AKA 'The Dead Zone'"

Ocean Acidification: A Critical Emerging Problem For the Ocean Sciences (PDF Report)
Ocean acidification is a change in seawater chemistry due to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide in the air transforms into carbonic acid in the sea. These changes have dire effects on ocean life. According to this report, "the current rapid rise in atmospheric CO2 is as much as 30 times faster than natural rates in the geological past, and present levels are higher than at anytime in at least 850,00 years and likely several million years."

DEATH OF THE WORLD'S FISH

World's Fish Supply Will Run Out by 2048
A recent scientific study concluded that unless changes are made, current fishing practices and ecological destruction caused by pollution of the world's oceans will result in the extinction of fish caught to provide food.  This will provoke a crisis among the world's population as a critical source of food for human beings disappears.
(Washington Post, 11-3-06)

Read the report "Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services"

Only 10 Percent of Big Ocean Fish Remain
According to a study published in Nature in 2003, 90% of the world's largest species of fish have already been killed by humans. 
(CNN News, 5-14-03)

Read the report "Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities"


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GLOBAL WATER CRISIS

Water Facts - Water Crisis Official Website

Water Demand for Energy to Double by 2035 (National Geographic, 1-30-13)

Water, Air and Soil Pollution Causes 40% of Deaths World Wide (Cornell University)

The Global Drinking Water Crisis That is Hitting Close to Your Home (Huffington Post, 2-21-14)

Why Global Water Shortages Pose Threat of War and Terror (The Guardian, 2-8-14)

The Price of Fracking: Earthquakes, Explosions and Water Contamination Included (Progressive Democrats of America, 1-26-14)

DISAPPEARING RIVERS

8 Mighty Rivers Run Dry From Overuse (National Geographic)

28,000 Rivers Disappeared in China: No Clear Answer About What Happened. (The Atlantic, 4-29-13)

Rivers: A Drying Shame (The Independent, 3-12-06)

HYDROPOWER

Why Hydropower is Not Clean Energy (Alternet)

Not-so-Clean Hydropower is Damming Us All



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FORESTS

WFF Map on Global Forest Destruction
Our map on the total destruction of forests that has taken place around the world.

Amazon Deforestation Video in Google Earth (Earth Outreach)
Google Earth's historical imagery animation of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon state of Rodonia, between 1975 and 2009.

Coming Soon: Global Forest Watch (World Resources Institute)
A powerful near real-time forest monitoring system that unites satellite technology, data sharing and human networks around the world to fight deforestation.

Half the Amazon Rainforest to be Lost by 2030 (Natural News, 7-22-08)

Read the report "Amazon's Vicious Cycles: Drought and Fire (World Wildlife Fund)," Note: Clicking the link will download a PDF onto your computer.  

Forests Face Global Extinction (By Toronto Globe & Mail posted on Common Dreams, 8-21-01)
A UN report released in 2001 stated it would "take a miracle -- and concerted international effort -- to save the healthy forests left in the world from obliteration". 

Read UNEP Publications. 

Grim news about the destruction of the world's forests 
"Worldwide, one-half of all forests we've lost in the last 10,000 years has occurred in the last 80 years. Half of that was destroyed in the last 30 years," says Scott Paul, Forest Campaign Coordinator for Greenpeace

Cambodia, for example, lost nearly 30 percent of its primary forests from 2000 to 2005, according to FAO.  Vietnam lost close to 55 percent of its primary forests, FAO found.  And Nigeria lost nearly 56 percent of its primary forests over the same period, the worst rate of forest loss in the world, according to FAO.  The destruction of the Earth's oldest and richest forests is not a new phenomenon, but the rate of destruction has increased in recent decades.  (CNN News, 7-12-07)



CHINA'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

China's massive industrialization and population growth over the last decade have been an environmental death sentence. Many Chinese lack access to clean drinking water and the industrial sector is producing record air pollution that can be seen from space.

28,000 Rivers Disappeared in China: No Clear Answer About What Happened. (The Atlantic, 4-29-13)

China's environment: An economic death sentence (CNN Money, 1-28-13)

China's record-level air pollution, as seen from space (The Verge, 1-14-13)

Article pictures from NASA's Earth Observatory