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Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

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Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#131

Post by aaomidi »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #32

I have seen interactive data representations over time using NASA satellite databases: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147075/a-new-tool-f... It was amazing seeing the effect of political action on the satellite data: e.g. areas that were deemed okay (or not) to cut down were almost immediately protected (with lit borders to stop law-breakers) or destroyed. If Brazil becomes a failed state, of course the Ama…

Mate we still have patent protections for refigerents that have a GWP of less than 1. Stuff that can replace the nasty stuff were using.

Maybe we should start fixing problems within our own borders first before resorting to fucking weapons.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#132

Post by PsylentKnight »

RGamma wrote: post #49
travisjungroth wrote: post #6

I spent the last 10 days in a hut on the edge of the Amazon and am in a hotel in Lima, waiting for my flight out of Peru. Seeing this story, I thought I'd add one brief first hand account. The jungle was noticeably cut down since I had last been there 7 months ago. What had been just a hiking trail to our camp had been widened to the size of a road by all the tree clearing. The trees are pretty thin and not the best…

> I'm sympathetic to the tree-clearing locals. You're living in poverty, there are some trees sitting over there you can cut and sell, but you're not supposed to. Might this be solved with direct financial subsidies of the locals and/or other investment? What is the COL and population count there?

Cool Earth more or less does that.

https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/report/cool-earth/#2-what-do...

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#133

Post by betwixthewires »

psadri wrote: post #99

I’ve been wondering if climate change could disturb the environment enough to deplete/reduce the oxygen in the atmosphere. For example, if large enough tracts of forests/grasslands turn into deserts?

Not likely, since increased carbon dioxide would eventually result in more plant biomass, you'd wind up with a subsequent increase in atmospheric oxygen, and subsequently an increase in animal biomass.

If something catastrophic happened that suddenly killed an existing ecosystem and the air and water vapor currents in the local climate changed enough to prevent new growth you could wind up with something like that.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#134

Post by mrfusion »

maCDzP wrote: post #80
mrfusion wrote: post #24

Why should it ever have been a carbon sink? I thought forests were neutral as they release carbon when old growth decomposes?

If they were neutral we wouldn’t have fossil fuels. Oil, coal and peat are made of old forests, wetlands and what not.

I thought they were made before life had figured out how to digest cellulose.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#135

Post by redpiller »

titzer wrote: post #77
redpiller wrote: post #9

Carbon dioxide is good for trees. This will continue the planetary greening which has been occurring over the past few decades thanks to human activity. Trees are very good at adapting to and compensating for additional carbon dioxide. I look forward to further decentralization of forests and an overall greener planet. BTW, the science behind planetary greening is that higher carbon dioxide helps plants to be more wa…

> Carbon dioxide is good for trees. Literally the first hit on Google for this phrase is exactly about this [1]. [1] https://theconversation.com/yes-more-carbon-dioxide-in-the-a... You're repeating easily debunked denialist talking points and claiming insight when people have studied this problem for decades and discovered that no, on balance, abrupt changes in CO2 are not good for our biosphere.

Every single point in that article reinforces my point... Aside from some hand-wavy warnings which try to appeal to people's emotions that it's not a reason to be complacent.

I don't know how you can read that article and come up with the conclusion that it's 'debunked denialist talking points' - That is 100% emotional appeal. There is no logic behind it. There are financial incentives on both sides. At the end of the day, you have to look at the facts.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#136

Post by supercheetah »

odopodo wrote: post #68
travisjungroth wrote: post #6

I spent the last 10 days in a hut on the edge of the Amazon and am in a hotel in Lima, waiting for my flight out of Peru. Seeing this story, I thought I'd add one brief first hand account. The jungle was noticeably cut down since I had last been there 7 months ago. What had been just a hiking trail to our camp had been widened to the size of a road by all the tree clearing. The trees are pretty thin and not the best…

Except the bulk of deforestation is not caused by locals needing space to live, but by big entrepreneurs investing in wood trafficking, soy plantations and livestock production. Things like this: https://twitter.com/Diogotapuio/status/1395723721369919488

I don't think that was the point of the OP though. It was more that even with people trying to protect the forest through legal means of property ownership, there's an apathetic, and sometimes antagonistic government that won't enforce that, and will even go so far as to help those entrepreneurs against owners trying to protect the forest.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#137

Post by b0tzzzzzzman »

ricardobeat wrote: post #48

You can thank the current right-wing government for letting deforestation get completely out of control, just after the country had finally got it down to okay-ish levels around 2012-2016. They’ve been systematically reducing funding, relaxing laws and enforcement, and pushing international preservation fund backers away. The rate at which things have degraded is insane. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/12…

Yes, blame will solve this. This is just political baiting.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#138

Post by ricardobeat »

b0tzzzzzzman wrote: post #137
ricardobeat wrote: post #48

You can thank the current right-wing government for letting deforestation get completely out of control, just after the country had finally got it down to okay-ish levels around 2012-2016. They’ve been systematically reducing funding, relaxing laws and enforcement, and pushing international preservation fund backers away. The rate at which things have degraded is insane. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/12…

Yes, blame will solve this. This is just political baiting.

Taking responsibility for what ideas you support, promote, and how you vote, does solve a lot of things. I hope that's not surprising to most people.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#139

Post by blooalien »

mnowicki wrote: post #117
pantalaimon wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon should just buy the Amazon.

Instructions unclear, now the largest e-commerce website is owned by some trees

Hmmm… This could work. Then cutting trees there is attempted murder against the owner of Amazon.

Re: Humanity Has Flipped the Amazon Forest from Carbon Sink to Source

#140

Post by ricardobeat »

justshowpost wrote: post #122
saiya-jin wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't claim Bolsonaro is right wing, he is just an arrogant corrupt scumbag who got to power. Unfortunately the world has seen quite a few of those recently, and the results are dire to say at least.

[flagged]

Maybe you're not familiar with where he stands on the political spectrum, this might help:

- pro guns, open carry, stimulates violence often

- prejudice against the poor, believes in 'meritocracy' (aka they deserve it)

- believes in 'traditional family & church values'

- wants to privatize whatever he sets his eyes on

- wants to deregulate everything

- pro death penalty (a good criminal is a dead criminal)

- prejudice and violence against women (has threatened to rape a colleague in parliament, but would leave it alone cause she's ugly)

- prejudice against non-whites

- prejudice against LGBT (said he would pound his own son to death if he turned out gay)

- against all kinds of environmental protection measures (it hurts business!)

- still believes communists are around and trying to take over the country

- praises the military coup that terrorized the country from the 60s-80s, denies any wrongdoing at the time (thousands of deaths documented)

- publicly praised military personnel who have been convicted for torturing the country's last president during that time, said they should have done a better job

- would be happy to have the military back in charge, and runs the presidency like he has absolute power

- said the country should 'stop being faggots' when going against coronavirus measures

Not making any of this up. Sounds pretty 'right' to me.

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