Nature Amazon destruction speeds up

Maciamo

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Amazon destruction speeds up

New satellite information from Brazil has revealed a sharp increase in the rate of destruction of the Amazonian rainforest.

2002: 9,840 square miles (25,476 sq km) lost
2001: 7,010 square miles (18,166 sq km) lost

The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and is home to 30% of all animal and plant life on the planet.

In the last 15 years, 243,000 square kilometres have been deforested, the equivalent of 5% of the Brazilian Amazon.

Every year, an area almost as big as Belgium (or Shikoku in Japan) is destroyed in the Amazon. In the last 15 years, that is an area exactly the size of the UK that has vanished.

Brazil's population is 3 times that of the UK or 1,3 times that of Japan. However, only about a quarter of Japan is used for agriculture (once mountains, forest and urban areas removed) and still, Japan produces most of it rice and soya (need confirmation though). How can Brazilian farmers be so unproductive, with such a favourably hot and wet climate. They should have huge surpluses. Not only do they cultivate an area 2/3 of Japan taken on the Amazon, but another much larger area, East and South of the country, far from the Amazon. With so much land (maybe more than China's arable land) and a relatively moderate population (8 times less than China's). Brazil should already be the breadbasket of the world. Why do they need to destroy more of the Amazon ?:mad::angryfire
 
I'm not sure, but there was something on the news recently about one of the main culprits being Brazil's ban on genetically altered crops. Since most of southern Brazil farmland is seen as having already been "contaminated" by transgenic seeds smuggled in from Argentina, farmers wishing to grow legal, non-GM soya (ironically enough) are vying to push further into protected rainforest areas.
 
That is exactly why I refuse to eat at McDonald's. One reason why so much natural forest is being cleared in South America is that it is used for grazing cattle that eventually end up as beef in fast food restaurant hamburgers. I read a few articles about this a couple years ago and it absolutely sickened me, which put me off of fast food for good. They slash and burn a lot of forest to create this grazing land, I'm not sure how much but if you consider how many hamburgers get sold in the world every day it must be quite a lot. I'll try to find some links to the original articles.
 
In Brazil there are so many corrupt politicians...Everything works with money...If you have money U can do whatever u wanna do....That's a pitty, since Amazon it's the most important rain forest in the world...Did u know that American, English and scientists from others countries goes to Amazon, live with indians, learn about some medicinal plants goes to their countries and says that those plants grows in their countries?And we cant use those plants anymore for any kind of researches....Well....
 

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