There is a brutal reality facing humanity; scientists have known it and released evidence that indicates earth is in its sixth extinction cycle as far back as 1993, but political and financial pressure have driven these dire predictions into obscurity while planet Earth continues to falter and succumb to the greed and power of international corporations and the corruption of our own politicians here and abroad. LINK Events which have transpired in the past few days are so troubling that if not reversed, all but guarantees the eventual extinction of humanity along with thousands of other species - and we can blame it on the “New World Order” of international corporatism that now rules our lives rather then individual governments.
Earth is complicated and is itself, a living and breathing entity that sustains itself through checks and balances that humanity is destroying, now at such an elevated pace that if something isn’t accomplished on a global basis, now and not tomorrow, humanity is all but guaranteed to go the way of the dinosaurs by our own hand, not Mother Nature’s; even with drastic reduction of airborne pollutants throughout the world, we may be able to put off the inevitable, but ensuring our survival as a species appears to be past the point of no-return! (In this author’s opinion.)
The lungs of the planet that supply our oxygen and absorb carbon are found throughout the planet in old growth forests and rain-forests that are essential to our survival, the largest of which are in South America. The rainforest’s have been acknowledged as the “lungs of the planet”, and now the largest rainforest in the world is being ravaged by corporations, and the champion of saving those forests has admitted defeat and quit fighting to save what’s left of the most important sources of oxygen, water, and is the largest carbon-sink on the Earth:
I give up, says Brazilian minister who fought to save the rainforest
By Daniel Howden, Deputy Foreign Editor
Thursday, 15 May 2008Brazil has been accused of turning its back on its duty to protect the Amazon after the resignation of its award-winning Environment Minister fueled fresh fears over the fate of the forest. The departure of Marina Silva, who admitted she was losing the battle to get green voices heard amidst the rush for economic development, has been greeted with dismay by conservationists.
The Latin American giant’s supposed progress on environmental protection has unraveled in the past year as revelations of record levels of deforestation, violent land disputes and runaway forest fires have followed in quick succession. The worldwide boom in agricultural commodities has created an unparalleled thirst for land and energy in Brazil, and the result has been a potentially catastrophic land grab into the world’s largest remaining rainforest. The Amazon basin is home to one in 10 of the world’s mammals and 15 per cent of its land-based plant species. It holds more than half of the world’s fresh water and its vast forests act as the largest carbon sink on the planet, providing a vital check on the greenhouse effect.
Since President Lula won a second term Ms Silva found herself a lone voice in a government acutely aware that its own political future depended on the vast agribusiness interests she was trying to rein in. The final breakdown in her relationship with the President came after he gave the green light to massive road and dam-building projects in the Amazon basin, and a plan she drafted for the sustainable management of the region was taken from her and handed to a business-friendly fellow minister. MUCH MORE
When you understand that carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is at the highest level in 655,000 years, the above article takes on the significance it should, and yes, this is a development that will speed-up global warming and add to a situation that in a gross understatement, is threatening all forms of life on planet earth:
World carbon dioxide levels highest for 650,000 years, says US report
David Adam, environment correspondent
The Guardian, Tuesday May 13 2008The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record high, according to the latest figures, renewing fears that climate change could begin to slide out of control.
Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years.
The figures, published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on its website, also confirm that carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than expected. The annual mean growth rate for 2007 was 2.14ppm - the fourth year in the last six to see an annual rise greater than 2ppm. From 1970 to 2000, the concentration rose by about 1.5ppm each year, but since 2000 the annual rise has leapt to an average 2.1ppm. MORE
Wildlife is already dying-off at an alarming pace, some through pollution and climate change, while others are dying because of habitat loss:
Wildlife numbers plummet globally: WWF
