Forests: More Than Carbon Sinks

Good article-but this person also forgets that-even just in terms of climate stability-forests are more than carbon sinks. They serve as sponges, slowing the hydrological cycle & cooling the planet. Biodiversity itself also contributes to climate stability…

We need to connect ALL these dots-especially where ecosystems are concerned…some of us KNEW the damn timber beast was going to start arguing for liquidation of old-growth stands as a “green” capitalistic false solution…

Selective logging in old-growth stands as acceptable? Maybe-i have my doubts…but if it is to happen, we don’t need to big timber firms to move into Brazil, Indonesia, or Cascadia to do it.

ASW

—————————- Original Message —————————-
Subject: Indonesia: more than just a carbon sink
From:    “Lance Olsen” <lance@wildrockies.org>
Date:    Tue, May 13, 2008 3:25 pm
To:      “cmcr-outreach” <cmcr-outreach@vortex.wildrockies.org>
————————————————————————–

—————–
“They must not convert good-quality natural
forest into tree plantations. …. Natural forest
stands in conservation forest areas must be
preserved …. Forests have many functions, one
of which is preserving biodiversity. In our rich
natural forests exist a great multitude of living
things.”
————

JAKARTA POST
May 13, 2008

Opinion

Indonesian forests should be more than just carbon sinks
Wiryono, Bengkulu

In the last five decades, environmental awareness
among people has increased worldwide, but the
focus of attention has shifted from time to time.
In the 1960s and 1970s, pollution got the most
attention from the public, especially in Western
countries.

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Links: NASA Earth Observatory

The latest from NASA’s Earth Observatory (13 May 2008

******************

– NASA Satellite Captures Image of
Cyclone Nargis Flooding in Burma (Myanmar)

* Media Alerts:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/

– Researchers Forecast 59 Percent Chance
of Record Low Arctic Sea Ice in 2008
– Scientists Discover New Ocean Current
– Before Fossil Fuels, Earth’s Minerals Kept CO2 in Check
– Northern Lights Glimmer with Unexpected Trait
– Stratospheric Injections to Counter
Global Warming Could Damage Ozone Layer
– Better Regional Monitoring of CO2
Needed as Global Levels Continue Rising
– Ozone Hole Recovery May Reshape Southern Hemisphere Climate Change
– Sierra Nevada Rose to Current Height Earlier Than Thought

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Spain Importing Drinking Water; Reservoirs Drying, Ruins Emerging

Medieval church re-emerges as Spain ships in water
Wed May 14, 2008 11:14am EDT

Barcelona ships in water supplies

By Martin Roberts

BARCELONA (Reuters) – Perhaps the most striking image of Spain’s drought, so severe it has forced Barcelona to ship in water, has been that of the underwater church which emerged from a drying dam.

For most of the past four decades, all that has been visible of the village of Sant Roma has been the belltower of its stone church, peeping above the water beside forested hills from a valley flooded in the 1960s to provide water for the Catalonia region.

This year, receding waters have exposed the 11th-century church completely, attracting crowds of tourists who stand gazing around it on the dusty bed of the reservoir.

Neighboring Vilanova de Sau is enjoying a tourist boom, its mayor Joan Riera says.

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International Paper Threatens to Violate Own Policy by Expanding Into Indonesian Rainforest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2008  5:40 PM

CONTACT: Rainforest Action Network
Sam Haswell, Communications Director
(415) 659-0519
Cameron Scott, Communications Manager
(415) 659-0541
Nell Greenberg, Communications Manager
(415) 659-0557
media@ran.org

International Paper Threatens to Violate Own Policy by Expanding Into Indonesian Rainforest

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – May 12 – Rainforest Action Network and ForestEthics today condemned a proposal by U.S.-based International Paper to build a pulp mill and establish 1.2 million acres of plantation forest in the heart of the Indonesian rainforest. The groups urged International Paper, which is holding its Annual General Meeting today, to not violate its own paper policy and to abandon its plans to expand into Indonesia, a global warming and biodiversity hot spot.

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