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It's no secret that our environment is being abused at an alarming rate. Everyday our rain forests lose approximately 2.47 acres (1 hectare) per second: equivalent to two U.S. football fields. 214,000 acres (86,000 hectares) per day: an area larger than New York City 78 million acres (31 million hectares) per year: an area larger than Poland. In Brazil 5.4 million acres per year (estimate averaged for period 1979-1990). 6-9 million indigenous people inhabited the Brazilian rain forest in 1500. In 1992, less than 200,000 remain. Species Extinction Distinguished scientists estimate an average of 137 species of life forms are driven into extinction every day, or 50,000 each year. Projected Economic Value of One Hectare in the Peruvian Amazon $6,820 per year if intact forest is sustainably harvested for fruits, latex, and timber. $1,000 if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested) or $148 if used as cattle pasture. |
| While you were reading the above statistics, approximately 150 acres of rain forest were destroyed. Within the next hour approximately six species will become extinct.
While extinction is a natural process, the alarming rate of extinction today, comparable only to the extinction of the dinosaurs, is specifically human-induced and unprecedented. Experts agree that the number-one cause of extinction is habitat destruction. Quite simply, when habitat is reduced, species disappear. In the rain forests, logging, cattle ranching, mining, oil extraction, hydroelectric dams and
subsistence farming are the leading causes of habitat destruction. Indirectly, the leading threats to rain forest ecosystems are unbridled development, funded by aid-lending institutions such as the World Bank, and the voracious
consumer appetites of industrialized nations. If deforestation continues at current rates, scientists estimate nearly 80-90 percent of tropical rain forest ecosystems will be destroyed by the year 2020. Source: Deforestation Rates in Tropical Forests and Their Climatic Implications |
 
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And the rain forest is just the tip of the iceberg. As pollution changes our environment we are faced with devastation unparalleled in history. Amphibians in all parts of the globe are vanishing or mutating. Coal miners took a canary into the mines with them to alert them to poisonous gases. If the canary croaked, they quickly exited the mine. Unfortunately, we can't exit the planet. Songbirds also are fading from the scene of everyday life. Reduction in their habitat, pollution, weather changes that affect migration patterns...Have you noticed how fewer songbirds there are in your neighborhood? |
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Weather. The world's climatological regions are becoming less predictable every month. Most climatologists now agree that all the world's glaciers are receding. Sea levels around the world are rising. Swings in heat, cold, rainfall, drought are becoming more drastic world wide. It's as though the world's weather is a quickly rotating wheel, out of balance, ready to fly apart. |
| Has the weather where you live been wetter? Dryer? Hotter? Colder? There is a reason for the change. The environment is not made up of isolated parts. It is a system. Ancients called it Gaya...it is our planet. A living organism. And right now our planet is sick. Some would say Earth is like a dog shaking and scratching to rid itself of fleas. Mother Earth is trying to rid herself of the problems Mankind has created. |
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No one can say how bad things will get in our environment before things get better. But there are certain things that each of us can do to insure that a change, no matter how small, will be done for the best. Recycle your household throwaways. Stop excessive use of paper and wood products. Carpool whenever possible And hundreds of other things. Let common sense and your Spirit within be your guide. Check out Earthmama's site! |
Physical. Mental. Spiritual. Emotional. Environmental. Social. You can search below for good books that deal with all forms of survival.
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