oil globally produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia; but most of the time not using sustainable measures. The industry is linked to major issues such as deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses in the countries where it is produced, as the land and forests must be cleared for the development of the oil palm plantations. According to the World Wildlife Fund, an area the equivalent size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared each hour to make way for palm oil production. This large-scale deforestation is pushing many species to extinction, and findings show that if nothing hanges, species like the orangutan could become extinct in the wild within the next 5-10 years, and Sumatran tigers less than 3 years. In total, 50 million tons of palm oil is produced annually, supplying over 30% of the world’s vegetable oil production. This single vegetable oil is found in approximately 40-50%
A line of active volcanoes stretches along the north coast of the mainland and continues on the island of New Britain. To the north and south of this central mountain range on the main island lie vast stretches of mangrove swamps and coastal river deltas. /1/ Volcanoes and thermal pools are also found in the southeast of other islands. Papua New Guinea offers the greatest variety of terrestrial ecosystems in the South Pacific, including five types of lowland rainforest, 13 types of montane rainforest, five varieties of palm and swamp forest and three different mangrove forests. Two-thirds of the world's species of orchids come from New Guinea. /1/ Birds include 38 species of the bird of paradise, and the megapode and cassowary. Marsupials and mammals include cuscus, tree kangaroos, wallabies, bandicoots, spiny anteaters and, in the coastal waters, the dugong. There are between 170 and 200 species of frog and 450 species of butterfly. /3/ 4
There is also a concern for the sustainability of tropical crops, such as palm oil, which cultivation has already caused acute deforestation in the recent decades (Soetaert, Vandamme, 2009). IEA (2009) has concluded that prolonged dependence on fossil fuels will increase the risk of deforestation, especially in Indonesia. UNEP (2009) predicts that 2/3 of palm oil cultivation is based on rainforests territory and that rainforest would be reduced by 29%, compared to 2005 levels, if the current trends and demands for biofuels continue. Figure 8. Worldwide vegetable oil production 1975-2007 (FAS, 2012). In Brazil, besides bioethanol, biodiesel production has also seen an increase since 2005. In Brazil, 90% of biodiesel uses soybean as the main feedstock, which is also an important animal and human feed source. It is high, both, in oil and protein, and on a global level, some
Different types of forests and their forms of usage TARTU 2010 Forest A forest (also called a wood, woodland, wold, weald, holt, frith) is an area with a high density of trees. Forests cover approximately 30% of land and 9.4% of all the planet earth. They are also responsible for regulating our planet's climate and act as large purifiers of airs, by absorbing carbon dioxide, and giving out oxygen. Different types of forests Forests are divided into following main types: o Tropical forest o Subtropical forest o
206 RMÜ The Disappearing Rainforests Kaduvad Vihmametsad · Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. · Vihmametsad katsid kunagi 14% maapinnast, praegu katavad nad ainult 6% ja eksperdid arvavad et viimased alles olevad vihmametsad nö. tarvitatakse ära vähema kui 40 aasta pärast. Causes of rainforest destruction Vihmametsa hävitus põhjused. · Logging · Agriculture · Fuelwood- küttepuud · Large Dams- suured tammid · Mining and industry- kaevandus ja tööstus. · Tourism turism. · Poverty and overpopulation vaesus ja ülerahvastatus. · Colonialism kolonialism. Why save it? · The rainforest is home to over · Vihmamets on koduks rohkem fifty percent of all plants and kui 50 % maa loomadele ja
Some scientists still do not think that the effects of global warming are as severe as some people say. They think that droughts, hurricanes, and floods often blamed on global warming might actually have other causes. One major difficulty in studying global warming is the fact that weather data only exists for the last century and a half. As a result, understanding the present and predicting the future are very difficult. Rain forest destruction The atmosphere and oceans are not the only parts of the environment being damaged. Rain forests are being quickly destroyed as well, and their survival is questionable. E.O. Wilson, a biologist at Harvard, called the depletion of rain forest areas "the greatest extinction since the end of the age of dinosaurs." Unlike some environmental issues, rain forest depletion has fortunately received significant public and media attention.
he perfected his invention -- the electric light bulb. Prior to 1879, direct current (DC) electricity had been used in arc lights for outdoor lighting. In the late-1800s, Nikola Tesla pioneered the generation, transmission, and use of alternating current (AC) electricity, which can be transmitted over much greater distances than direct current. Tesla's inventions used electricity to bring indoor lighting to our homes and to power industrial machines. Despite its great importance in our daily lives, most of us rarely stop to think what life would be like without electricity. Yet like air and water, we tend to take electricity for granted. Everyday, we use electricity to do many jobs for us -- from lighting and heating/cooling our homes, to powering our televisions and computers. Electricity is a controllable and convenient form of energy used in the applications of heat, light and power. 7.1 The science of electricity
2. Where is prairie, pampas, steppe, and veldt situated? EurasiaSteppe, North America-Prairie, South AmericaPampa, South AfricaVeldt 3. Using the climate diagram describe the climate of the region. Temperate deciduous forest -Well-defined seasons with a distinct winter characterize this forest biome. Moderate climate and a growing season of 140-200 days during 4-6 frost-free months distinguish temperate forests. Temperature varies from -15° C to 25° C. Precipitation (750-1500 mm) is distributed evenly throughout the year. Temperate grassland- Semiarid, continental climates of the middle latitudes typically have between 25 cm and 50 cm of precipitation a year. Much of this falls as snow, serving as reservoir of moisture for the beginning of the growing season
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