July 7, 2007: Rain forest to charcoal

[Undertoad]

xoB finds this wire service image of what the caption says is virgin Amazon rain forest logs, and the mud hut ovens they'll be put into to create charcoal. Charcoal!

It's all in Brazil, and it turns out this is one of the biggest consumptions of the rain forest there.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Turning those logs into charcoal is like turning cows into McBurgers... quick and easy for the consumer, but so much wasted along the way.

[Coign]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Turning those logs into charcoal is like turning cows into McBurgers... quick and easy for the consumer, but so much wasted along the way.

Except you can re-plant the cows for McBurgers. You can't replant the rainforest at any cost effective method.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Coign

Except you can re-plant the cows for McBurgers. You can't replant the rainforest at any cost effective method.

Well actually all you have to do is leave it alone and wait, but that's not very time effective.
I wonder if they just planted a few common types of trees, using the same methods the lumber companies do here, if the diversity would return in time? By making a home for the critters and birds that spread seeds, it might. Of course, as I mentioned before, the soil is so poor it would take some time.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Coign

You can't replant the rainforest at any cost effective method.

People are betting you can.

Environmental investment funds such as Quadris invest in projects to regenerate forests that have been destroyed by logging or farming in the developing world. Smaller companies such as Bournemouth-based group Oxigen Investments are taking advantage of the demand for sustainable investment opportunities. It uses investors' money to create hardwood plantations in Costa Rica - when the wood is harvested, it reduces pressure on natural rainforests and protects thousands of acres more of previously threatened rainforest. Meanwhile, the scarcity of certified sources of hardwood drives the price up, increasing the benefit to investors.

[skysidhe]

when you think you've seen it all....

[deadbeater]

At least the logs don't become single toothpicks like an old Disney cartoon...but it's still a waste.

[Sheldonrs]

I remember when I was a kid that the Amazon loses 1 football sized area per day to human destruction.
I don't care if global warming stories are true or not. If you KNOW something is bad for the planet, DON'T DO IT!

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs

I remember when I was a kid that the Amazon loses 1 football sized area per day to human destruction.
I don't care if global warming stories are true or not. If you KNOW something is bad for the planet, DON'T DO IT!

That's it I am calling into work today. I refuse to consume or drive my car... wait, wait, how will I pay the bills, feed the wife and children, heat the house, keep the beer cold, water the flowers, oh hell, forget that.

[Tomtheman5]

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs

I remember when I was a kid that the Amazon loses 1 football sized area per day to human destruction.

Given that the square footage of a football is probably about 1 square foot... I think we're doing alright!


Seriously though, Wikipedia says that it's more than that - they give estimates of up to 120,000 km a year... That's more than 125 square miles a day. So sad that reforestation costs so much...

[busterb]

I'm wondering if this is waste, by-products?? Of the real rape.

[xoxoxoBruce]

From the Washington Post.

Logs cut from virgin Amazon rainforest lie next to the nearly 1,200 ovens used to turn the wood into charcoal in Ulianopolis, Brazil. The cutting of trees for the charcoal industry is one of the main causes of the destruction of the world's largest rainforest.

It doesn't sound like the byproduct of logging/lumbering.

[Elspode]

Next time you pick up that bag of Kingsford, make sure you thank the gods for it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Much of the charcoal is used to carbonize iron ore to create pig iron, both in Brazil and elsewhere. Another big market is lump charcoal in Europe.
Another bone of contention, is that much of the rain forest clearing is done by slave labor.

[richlevy]

Maybe it's the recent Live Earth coverage, but the rain forest site (http://www.therainforestsite.com/) would not load for me this morning. I had the same problem with the hunger site (http://www.thehungersite.com/). I wonder if it's because of all the attention the environment and the problems it is causing with famine are getting in the news.

The breast cancer, child health, animal rescue, and literacy sites loaded ok. Of course, these are the lesser known sites and may never have been as popular.

I've put all of the click-a-day-for charity sites in one bookmark group in Firefox. Every day when I use my home computer it only usually takes 10 seconds to open all in tabs and click on and donate a few square feet of rain forest, part of a bowl of animal food, etc. The donation is paid for by the sponsors. All I invest is 10 seconds of my time assuming I'm on the computer anyway.

If the hunger and rain forest sites are down because of volume, that's both a good and bad thing.

P.S. The hunger site finally came back. The rain forest site is still unavailable.