Q: How much of the world is forested?
A: Forests cover 30 percent of the planet�s total land area. more »
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Could deforestation affect weather globally?
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Yes. “Up to thirty percent of the rain that falls in tropical forests is water that the rainforest has recycled into the atmosphere. Water evaporates from the soil and vegetation, condenses into clouds, and falls again as rain in a perpetual self-watering cycle. In addition to maintaining tropical rainfall, the evaporation cools the Earth’s surface. In many computer models of future climate, replacing tropical forests with a landscape of pasture and crops creates a drier, hotter climate in the tropics. Some models also predict that tropical deforestation will disrupt rainfall pattern far outside the tropics, including China, northern Mexico, and the south-central United States.” Source: NASA
Private Trip with the Salgados to the Instituto Terra
Solstice Offers Matching Donation of Dues for Instituto Terra
The Solstice Collection: Artisanal Quality Homes in Top-Tier Global Destinations
As the premium international brand in the destination club industry, Solstice is focused on assembling a private collection of artisanal homes in the most coveted travel destinations in the world. View Collection
Solstice is proud to announce that it will match (as a donation specifically to Instituto Terra) all new member dues sourced by this announcement in 2008. Members can opt to receive either (upon departure) 100 percent refund of deposit or 80 percent of future value of deposit. The cost of a membership represents a single digit fraction of owning a comparable home in one location, so you can enjoy unlimited access to fifteen $6.5 average million dollar estates worldwide and have no maintenance or ownership responsibilities.
"Solstice is the most awarded in the $2.6 billion Destination Club Industry. A consistent winner of Robb Report's "Best of the Best" Destination Club award, from 2005 to 2008, and the winner in the international club category also, as Business Britain awarded us the "Best International" Destination Club for three years in a row from 2006 to 2008."
Features / Highlights
- Members can opt to receive either (upon departure) 100% refund of deposit or 80% of future value of deposit
- Members may participate in the potential rising value of one’s refundable membership deposit
- Each property is valued at an average of $6.5 million
example: Solstice owns Villa Dolce, designed by Michelangelo, located on Piazza Della Signoria.
- Each property is fully staffed and includes luxury vehicles - at no cost
- Unlimited access is provided to all properties (and the 90 ft. Solstice I yacht)
- Membership is capped at 6 members per 1 property (other clubs offer up to a 300:1 ratio)
Current Locations of Solstice Homes
Current locations include the most prestigious locations within Paris, St. Barth's, Tuscany, Verbier, New York, Brazil, Florence, Aspen, Telluride, Hawaii, Cabo San Lucas and The Napa Valley.
In addition, members experience a full array of 'all-inclusive' services, as each member is assigned a dedicated Lifestyle Specialist for trip planning, a local destination host, housekeeper and a luxury vehicle is available for complimentary use. Further, Solstice provides access to private jets, and can arrange for in-home services such as private chefs, bartenders and masseurs.
To Learn More, Visit: http://www.solsticecollection.com
Solstice Contact: Aimee Zolezzi (refer to this announcement of new memberships benefitting Instituto Terra).
aimee@solsticecollection.com
415-203-3711
CNN’s Planet in Peril
The Amazon rainforest is so vast and full of life that even its defenders don't know exactly what it is they are protecting. In the past 40 years, roughly 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest has been wiped out.
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"The wealth of biodiversity is so immense, we cannot even estimate the amount we don't know," says Cláudio C. Maretti, Brazil-based director for conservation for the World Wildlife Fund. "Every new expedition you do to the Amazon, you might find one new species of fish. Every other, you might find some new bird or frog."
The Amazon rainforest, which encompasses an area nearly as large as the continental United States and stretches across nine countries, is considered the world's richest and most varied natural habitat, with several million species |
of insects, plants, birds and fish calling it home. It also plays an important role in regulating Earth's temperature as its dense vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the air.
But the Amazon has been under pressure from outside forces for decades. In the past 40 years, roughly 20 percent of the rainforest has been wiped out. Maretti says an additional 17 percent has been degraded to varying degrees.
"We have been deforesting at enormous rates," Maretti says. The chief drivers of this deforestation are large-scale business interests involved in logging, mining, agriculture and, especially, cattle ranching. Some of this activity is sanctioned by the government; much of it is not. Greenpeace estimates as much as 80 percent of the logging is illegal.
The Amazon rainforest is just one of many habitats around the world threatened by encroaching development or natural resource extraction. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that 50,000 square miles of forest -- more than three times the size of Switzerland -- are lost each year because of clearing and degradation.
The threat is particularly acute in the more tropical areas of South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Cambodia, for example, lost nearly 30 percent of its primary forests from 2000 to 2005, according to FAO. Vietnam lost close to 55 percent of its primary forests, FAO found. And Nigeria lost nearly 56 percent of its primary forests over the same period, the worst rate of forest loss in the world, according to FAO.
The destruction of the Earth's oldest and richest forests is not a new phenomenon, but the rate of destruction has increased in recent decades.
"Worldwide, one-half of all forests we've lost in the last 10,000 years has occurred in the last 80 years. Half of that was destroyed in the last 30 years," says Scott Paul, Forest Campaign Coordinator for Greenpeace.
Click here for original article: CNN's Planet in Peril
Are the forests disappearing and does that impact global emissions?
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Yes. Carbon in forest biomass decreased in Africa, Asia and South America in the period 1990-2005. For the world as a whole, carbon stocks in forest biomass decreased annually by 1.1 Gigatonne of carbon (equivalent to 4 billion 25kg sacks of charcoal). Forests are the most important repositories of terrestrial biological biodiversity, housing up to 90 per cent of known terrestrial species. Scientists estimate 50-60 percent of plant and animal species found in the Atlantic Forest are only found in that region alone. The loss of natural forests around the world contributes more to global emissions each year than the transport sector. Curbing deforestation is a highly cost-effective way to reduce emissions. Other solutions include increased energy efficiency, reduced energy demand, better transport and the use of green energy.
Reduce Rural Poverty
The reality of working poor in the Rio Doce region of Brazil is heartbreaking. Nearly 75% of people living in Aimorés earn minimum wage, which is equivalent to $175 per month. The average farmer earns approximately $270/year per hectare by grazing cattle. Instituto Terra is committed to reducing rural poverty through sustainable employment, education, and quality of life improvement projects in surrounding communities.
Sustainable Employment
In addition, the Institute encourages the development of small businesses and co-ops among community members who produce goods to sell for income. One group of women who had been coming to the Institute to share their expertise on crocheting, making corn husk dolls, and other items developed the essential business and marketing skills to start a co-op. They have since opened a store in Aimorés to sell their homemade goods.
Instituto Terra is developing partnerships with local landowners to reforest a portion of their land while still grazing cattle on the remaining land. By reforesting their land, local farmers can increase the productivity of their land and restore the water supply on their land.
Education
Instituto Terra also invites local school teachers to come for one week each month to learn how to incorporate environmental education into their classes.
Quality of Life
Waste Management
Local pride in Instituto Terra has in turn helped encourage Aimorés’ town council to change how it handles waste: today, 98% of the town’s sewage water is treated and returned clean to the river, while 90% of its garbage is collected and treated.
Elementary School Children Influence Garbage Policy
A group of local Terrinhas children, after learning about the impact of litter and exposed garbage at Instituto Terra, had their entire elementary school classroom write a letter to their town Mayor asking him to address the garbage issue and related health concerns. They included photos of garbage dumped on the edge of town. As a result, the town has implemented new policies regarding waste management!
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Restore Biodiversity
The Atlantic Rainforest is home to over 2,200 species of birds and animals and contains 60% of all of Brazil’s endangered species. Seventy percent of the plants in the rainforest have anti-cancer properties.
Terra Institute borders the town of Aimores
In 2.5 hectares of the Atlantic Rainforest there is more tree and plant diversity than the entire eastern coastline of the United States. Instituto Terra plants 110 species of trees per hectare at the original density of the Atlantic Rainforest (2,500 trees/hectare). The reforestation, with this degree of diversity and density of planting, yields many benefits: restoration of biodiversity, plant and animal habitat recovery, species recovery, watershed protection, water course recovery, etc.
With the restoration of habitat at Instituto Terra, over 25 mammals have returned!
Over 162 bird species have returned!
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PARTNERS OF TERRA ($15,000 - $24,999)
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Fight the Climate Crisis
Since 1999, Instituto Terra has begun restoring the once degraded 1,505 acre Bulcao Farm back to its original Atlantic Rainforest ecosystem – an important step in our civilization’s fight against the climate crisis. The Institute has successfully reforested 905 acres of the land using solely tree species original to the Atlantic Forest, with a minimum of 100 native species (from the 293 in its collection) varied according to the seeds available.
Instituto Terra’s reserve after seven years of successful planting
Neighboring farmland, devoid of trees, provides a stark contrast
At Instituto Terra, the environmental recovery efforts have actually produced a tropical microclimate over the land with increased rainfall and weather. One-fifth of the world’s fresh water is found in the Atlantic Forest and Amazon Rainforest; which act as the world’s thermostat by regulating global temperatures and weather patterns.
The Spring water of Bulcao Creek prior to reforestation at Instituto Terra
The Spring water of Bulcao Creek after the forest had been replanted
So how does planting trees help fight the climate crisis?
So why should I plant trees in Brazil instead of here in the United States?
Planting Trees at Instituto Terra
So why invest in trees instead of other carbon capture technologies?
It is really simple. Trees appreciate over time and actually consume carbon, something all of the other technologies lack.
Better Return on Investment: Appreciation vs. Depreciation
Of all the carbon reducing technologies, only reforestation appreciates in value over time. All other technologies (i.e. hybrid cars, solar, wind, etc.) depreciate with the passage of time. Worse still, all of these other technologies incur recycling costs at the end of their useful lives (i.e. batteries from hybrid cars). Reforestation, on the other hand, naturally recycles or, even better, can generate income through the sale of mature trees to finance continued reforestation costs. In other words, the costs of the reforestation of the rainforests can be self financed by the assets they produce.
Carbon Reducing vs. Carbon Consuming
A key differentiating factor in comparing reforestation with other carbon reducing technologies is that most technologies can only reduce the amount of carbon introduced into the atmosphere (i.e. solar, wind, hybrid, etc.). Reforestation, on the other hand, consumes carbon.
Furthermore, although carbon reduction technologies are wonderful wherever they are implemented, many countries don’t embrace them (i.e. China). Carbon consumption technologies (reforestation) consume carbon no matter where the carbon is created. Trees planted in Brazil consume carbon emitted in the United States.
Rainforests: An Activity Guide
The Atlantic Forest of South America
Vital Signs 2006-2007
Plan B 2.0
An Inconvenient Truth DVD
Campaign Progress Entry
National Geographic’s Strange Days on Planet Earth
Weather
Describes the short-term (i.e., hourly and daily) state of the atmosphere. Weather is not the same as climate.
Water Vapor (H2O)
Water vapor is the primary gas responsible for the greenhouse effect. It is believed that increases in temperature caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases will increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, resulting in additional warming (see "positive feedback").
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
A treaty signed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro that calls for the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." The treaty includes a non-binding call for developed countries to return their emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. The treaty took effect in March 1994 upon ratification by more than 50 countries. The United States was the first industrialized nation to ratify the Convention.
Targets and Timetables
Targets refer to the emission levels or emission rates set as goals for countries, sectors, companies, or facilities. When these goals are to be reached by specified years, the years at which goals are to be met are referred to as the timetables. In the Kyoto Protocol, a target is the percent reduction from the 1990 emissions baseline that the country has agreed to. On average, developed countries agreed to reduce emissions by 5.2% below 1990 emissions during the period 2008-2012, the first commitment period.
Technological Change
How much technological change will be additionally induced by climate policies is a crucial, but not well quantified, factor in assessing the costs of long-term mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.
Source
Any process or activity that results in the net release of greenhouse gases, aerosols, or precursors of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Stratosphere
The region of the Earth's atmosphere 10-50 km above the surface of the planet.
Substitution
The economic process of trading off inputs and consumption due to changes in prices arising from a constraint on greenhouse gas emissions. How the extremely flexible U.S. economy adapts to available substitutes and/or finds new methods of production under a greenhouse gas constraint will be critical in minimizing overall costs of reducing emissions.
Sequestration
Opportunities to remove atmospheric CO2, either through biological processes (e.g. plants and trees), or geological processes through storage of CO2 in underground reservoirs.
Sinks
Any process, activity or mechanism that results in the net removal of greenhouse gases, aerosols, or precursors of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Renewable Energy
Energy obtained from sources such as geothermal, wind, photovoltaic, solar, and biomass.
Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
The United Nations staff assigned the responsibility of conducting the affairs of the UNFCCC. In 1996 the Secretariat moved from Geneva, Switzerland, to Bonn, Germany.
Regional Groups
The five regional groups meet privately to discuss issues and nominate bureau members and other officials. They are Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG).
Ratification
After signing the UNFCCC or the Kyoto Protocol, a country must ratify it, often with the approval of its parliament or other legislature. In the case of the Kyoto Protocol, a Party must deposit its instrument of ratification with the UN Secretary General in New York.
Reforestation
Replanting of forests on lands that have recently been harvested.
ppm or ppb
Abbreviations for "parts per million" and "parts per billion," respectively - the units in which concentrations of greenhouse gases are commonly presented. For example, since the pre-industrial era, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased from 270 ppm to 370 ppm.
Positive Feedback
A process that results in an amplification of the response of a system to an external influence. For example, increased atmospheric water vapor in response to global warming would be a positive feedback on warming, because water vapor is a GHG.
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
PFCs are among the six types of greenhouse gases to be curbed under the Kyoto Protocol. PFCs are synthetic industrial gases generated as a by-product of aluminum smelting and uranium enrichment. They also are used as substitutes for CFCs in the manufacture of semiconductors. There are no natural sources of PFCs. PFCs have atmospheric lifetimes of thousands to tens of thousands of years and 100-year GWPs thousands of times that of CO2, depending on the gas.
Non-Market Benefits
Benefits of a climate policy that can be measured in terms of avoided non-market impacts such as human-health impacts (e.g., increased incidence of tropical diseases) and damages to ecosystems (e.g., loss of biodiversity).
Non-Party
A state that has not ratified the UNFCCC. Non-parties may attend talks as observers.
Kyoto Protocol
An international agreement adopted in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. The Protocol sets binding emission targets for developed countries that would reduce their emissions on average 5.2 percent below 1990 levels.
Negative Feedback
A process that results in a reduction in the response of a system to an external influence. For example, increased plant productivity in response to global warming would be a negative feedback on warming, because the additional growth would act as a sink for CO2, reducing the atmospheric CO2 concentration.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
Any gas that contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
Greenhouse Effect
The insulating effect of atmospheric greenhouse gases (e.g., water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) that keeps the Earth's temperature about 60 degrees F warmer than it would be otherwise.
Global Warming
The progressive gradual rise of the Earth's average surface temperature thought to be caused in part by increased concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere.
Enhanced Greenhouse Effect
The increase in the natural greenhouse effect resulting from increases in atmospheric concentrations of GHGs due to emissions from human activities.
Evapotranspiration
The process by which water re-enters the atmosphere through evaporation from the ground and transpiration by plants.
Emissions Cap
A mandated restraint in a scheduled timeframe that puts a "ceiling" on the total amount of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions that can be released into the atmosphere. This can be measured as gross emissions or as net emissions (emissions minus gases that are sequestered).
Emissions Trading
A market mechanism that allows emitters (countries, companies or facilities) to buy emissions from or sell emissions to other emitters. Emissions trading is expected to bring down the costs of meeting emission targets by allowing those who can achieve reductions less expensively to sell excess reductions (e.g. reductions in excess of those required under some regulation) to those for whom achieving reductions is more costly.
Emissions
The release of substances (e.g., greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere.
Climate Variability
Refers to changes in patterns, such as precipitation patterns, in the weather and climate.
Ecosystem
A community of organisms and its physical environment.
Climate Sensitivity
The average global air surface temperature change resulting from a doubling of pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The IPCC estimates climate sensitivity at 1.5-4.5oC (2.7-8.1oF).
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
One of the three market mechanisms established by the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM is designed to promote sustainable development in developing countries and assist Annex I Parties in meeting their greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments. It enables industrialized countries to invest in emission reduction projects in developing countries and to receive credits for reductions achieved.
Climate
The long-term average weather of a region including typical weather patterns, the frequency and intensity of storms, cold spells, and heat waves. Climate is not the same as weather.
Climate change
Refers to changes in longe-term trends in the average climate, such as changes in average temperatures. In IPCC usage, climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. In UNFCCC usage, climate change refers to a change in climate that is attributable directly or indirectly to human activity that alters atmospheric composition.
Certified Emissions Reduction (CER)
Reductions of greenhouse gases achieved by a Certified Development Mechanism (CDM) project. A CER can be sold or counted toward Annex I countries' emissions commitments. Reductions must be additional to any that would otherwise occur.
Carbon Sinks
Processes that remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release. Both the terrestrial biosphere and oceans can act as carbon sinks.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
CO2 is a colorless, odorless, non-poisonous gas that is a normal part of the ambient air. Of the six greenhouse gases normally targeted, CO2 contributes the most to human-induced global warming. Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion and deforestation have increased atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by approximately 30 percent since the industrial revolution. CO2 is the standard used to determine the "global warming potentials" (GWPs) of other gases. CO2 has been assigned a 100-year GWP of 1 (i.e., the warming effects over a 100-year time frame relative to other gases).
Carbon Taxes
A surcharge on the carbon content of oil, coal, and gas that discourages the use of fossil fuels and aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Basket of Gases
This refers to the group six of greenhouse gases regulated under the Kyoto Protocol. They are listed in Annex A of the Kyoto Protocol and include: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
Biodiversity
The variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region.
Baselines
The baseline estimates of population, GDP, energy use and hence resultant greenhouse gas emissions without climate policies, determine how big a reduction is required, and also what the impacts of climate change without policy will be.
Base Year
Targets for reducing GHG emissions are often defined in relation to a base year. In the Kyoto Protocol, 1990 is the base year for most countries for the major GHGs; 1995 can be used as the base year for some of the minor GHGs.
Annex A
A list in the Kyoto Protocol of the six greenhouse gases and the sources of emissions covered under the Kyoto Protocol. See also "Basket of Gases."
Anthropogenic Emissions
Emissions of greenhouse gasses resulting from human activities.
Annex I Parties
The 40 countries plus the European Economic Community listed in Annex I of the UNFCCC that agreed to try to limit their GHG emissions: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, European Economic Community, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United States.
Are there larger reforestation projects in the Atlantic Forest?
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No. Instituto Terra is the largest reforestation project in the Atlantic Forest. It partners with over 60 other entities around the world to share expertise, research findings, and support. Instituto Terra partners with several other Non-Governmental Organizations in Brazil and schools and universities in Brazil and the U.S. who send students to Instituto Terra to do environmental studies.
Where does my donation go?
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Your donation to Instituto Terra goes towards its reforestation and education (environmental training program) efforts. Voluntarily on an annual basis, Instituto Terra undergoes a rigorous audit of its financials. Click here for the latest audit.
What assurance do I have that the trees will not be cut down?
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Instituto Terra is the first Private Reserve of the Natural Property, created in a degraded area of the Atlantic Forest on October 7th, 1998 by a Governmental Decree IEF/MG # 081. This decree acts as a conservation easement protecting the forest from being logged or cut down.
When was Instituto Terra founded?
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Instituto Terra was founded in 1998 by Sebastião Salgado and Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado. The first planting season was in 1999.
Besides the reforestation activities, what else happens at the Instituto Terra?
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Instituto Terra is a busy place. The grounds are open for visitors to come and see this amazing oasis of rainforest in the middle of a completely degraded region. Instituto Terra is full of beautiful gardens, birds and animals, natural springs and ponds, and hundreds of students to environmental experts studying the phenomenona happening on the land because of the reforestation activities such as natural springs reappearing and animals once thought to be extinct returning.
Instituto Terra arranges for approximately 375 grade school students to come every day for one week each month to learn about protecting the environment, recycling, waste management, birds and animals, and environmental recovery. Teachers come and stay at the Institute to lead classes from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and facilitate evening activities for the whole family. These children are called the Terrinhas and each are selected by their school to learn at the Institute and come back and teach their new knowledge to their classmates. Thus, every child in each of the 16 local schools learns from the Terrinhas project.
Instituto Terra is also home to the Advanced Center, an environmental educational center where 10 Brazilian students from local agro-high schools are chosen to live and study at the Advanced Center for 2 years at no cost to the student. The students originate often from families in which they would not have the opportunity to attend any school after high school.
How many species of trees are planted per hectare?
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Instituto Terra only plants trees that are original to the Atlantic Forest. Instituto Terra operates under the philosophy that the best solution for environmental recovery is to bring the land back as close to its original composition and density as possible – in essence, rebuilding the Atlantic Forest. To accomplish this task, the Institute plants on average a minimum of 100 native and uniquely different species per hectare. The workers continually monitor each species to determine which ones grow and flourish the best at Instituto Terra.
How many trees are planted per hectare?
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Instituto Terra plants 2,500 trees per hectare. This amount of tree planting provides the following benefits:
- Faster soil covering;
- Decreased maintenance time by planting the trees closer together;
- Increased recycling of nutrients in the soil;
- More effective water infiltration in the soil; and
- Better organic production.
What was the 1,505 acre reserve before it became Instituto Terra?
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The 1,505 acre reserve that is now known as Instituto Terra was once the Bulcao Farm, operated by the Salgado parents for cattle grazing. Like most of the farm land in this region of Brazil, the land was stripped of its trees and grass was planted in its place. As a result, the loss of Atlantic Forest drove millions of species of animals and plants to extinction, native civilizations were lost, rivers and springs soon dried up, the climate changed to more arid and dessert like, and massive erosion and environmental destruction started.
How much does it cost Instituto Terra to plant a tree?
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Instituto Terra works very hard to keep the costs of environmental recovery low. Typically, it costs $2 to grow and plant a seedling. Factors that affect the cost of reforestation include species diversity, density of trees planted per acre, and the method of recovery.
Why are the Atlantic Forests and Amazon Rainforests considered the Lungs of the World?
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The Atlantic and Amazon forests produce 20% of the world's oxygen. And that is with 93% of the Atlantic Forest destroyed!
What percent of the carbon market accounts for reforestation?
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Currently it is 2%.
Why not just plant a tree in my backyard?
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You should. However, to be most effective, the United Nations encourages the planting of trees in four key areas, namely: (i) degraded natural forests and wilderness areas; (ii) farms and rural landscapes; (iii) sustainably managed plantations; and (iv) urban environments. Trees have to be well adapted to local conditions, and the mixtures of species are preferred over monocultures.
What percent of of human caused carbon dioxide emissions does deforestation account for?
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Deforestation accounts for 20% of our carbon dioxide emissions.
Besides sequestering and capturing carbon, what are the additional benefits to planting trees?
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In addition to sequestering carbon, planting trees provide numerous additional environmental benefits. Trees quite literally form the foundations of many natural ecosystems and help to:
conserve soil and water resources
prevent desertification
stabilize degraded lands
restore wildlife habitat
improve air and water quality
enhance recreation areas
Trees also play a vital role in the daily life of rural communities. They provide sources of timber, fuel wood, food, fodder, medicines and shade. Lastly, many trees have communal benefits, especially for the poor, and ownership, access and use rights are as important as the number of trees.
Is planting trees more effective than growing biofuels?
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The EPA estimates that growing a Douglas Fir forest for about a century is 25% to 50% more efficient at reducing carbon dioxide buildup than using an equivalent amount of land to grow biofuels. In other words, if you grow switch grass hay to produce electricity you will allow roughly 25% to 50% more carbon dioxide to remain in the atmosphere than if you had planted a forest of Douglas Firs on the same amount of acreage and used coal to make electricity.
Where should trees be planted as a priority?
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Favourable growing conditions give nations in the southern hemisphere, primarily Brazil, an advantage over most industrial countries in the economics of wood production. Plantations in the south can produce 10–20 cubic metres of wood per hectare per year, considerably more than plantations in most northern temperate regions and 10–20 times the typical productivity of natural forests worldwide.
Is planting trees an effective way to fight climate change?
View Original Article
Yes. It must be included as part of a broader climate change strategy. Estimates are that as much as 50% of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last 50 years may be due to the effects of land use change. Thus, restoring forestland represents a natural way to reverse these effects and combat climate change. As trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in living plant tissue. Reforestation of once-forested, but currently degraded and unproductive areas such as marginal agricultural lands is a recognized and proven way to sequester carbon.
According to a recent study by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, climate change policies should include storage of carbon dioxide in forests. “Climate change is the major global environmental challenge of our time and in order to deal with it in the most cost-effective way, we need to consider the full range of solutions – and that includes carbon storage in forests,” said Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “If we ignore the potential for forest-based sequestration, any projection of the costs and feasibility of addressing climate change is going to be overly pessimistic and wrong.”
How much carbon dioxide does one tree absorb?
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Sequestration rates are based on scientific research conducted by third party experts and vary depending on species of tree and geographic location. Calculations assume average sequestration rates per acre of land reforested and always include appropriate tree survival assumptions.
The rate of carbon dioxide that a tree absorbs greatly varies from regions, with tropical rainforests being the most efficient in absorbing carbon dioxide. For example, in the lower Mississippi River Valley, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately 1.33 tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years. In the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately _ tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years.
What is my carbon footprint?
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The average American is responsible for emitting approximately 23 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
How much of the world is forested?
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Forests cover 30 percent of the planet's total land area. The total forested area in 2005 was just under 4 billion hectares, at least one third less than before the dawn of agriculture, some 10,000 years ago. (1 hectare is equal to 10,000 square metres).
How much CO2 do trees absorb and store?
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Trees are vital carbon sinks (they absorb CO2) and remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release. The rate of carbon dioxide that a tree absorbs (the sequestration rate) greatly varies between regions, with tropical forests being the most efficient in absorbing carbon dioxide. For example, in the lower Mississippi River Valley, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately 1.33 tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years. In the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, on a per planted tree basis, each tree absorbs an average of approximately _ tons of carbon dioxide over 100 years. Sequestration rates are based on scientific research conducted by third party experts and vary depending on species of tree and geographic location. Calculations assume average sequestration rates per acre of land reforested and always include appropriate tree survival assumptions.
It is estimated that the world's forests store 283 Gigatonnes of carbon in their biomass alone, and that carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil together is roughly 50 per cent more than the carbon in the atmosphere.
How long does CO2 stay in the air?
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The greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, stays in the atmosphere for 500 years after it is emitted.
What are the primary sources of CO2?
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The primary sources of CO2 and greenhouse gases are fossil fuel power plants (primarily coal), factories, deforestation, automobiles and transport.
What is a carbon footprint?
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Your estimated annual carbon dioxide footprint is the sum of the carbon dioxide that is produced by your home energy use, auto transportation, and air travel.
Is there consensus about global warming?
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The world's most authoritative voice on climate change, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has declared that the evidence of a warming trend is "unequivocal" and has specifically stated humans as a major source of rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. The IPCC reports represent the most comprehensive compilation and summary of current climate research ever attempted, and arguably the most thoroughly peer reviewed scientific document in history. The conclusions reached by the IPCC have been explicitly endorsed by virtually every national acacemy and scientific institution in the world, including the National Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies. National Academy of Sciences, among dozens of others.
How well established is the greenhouse effect theory?
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The greenhouse effect theory is over 100 years old. The first predictions of anthropogenic global warming ("AGW") were made in 1896 and time has only strengthened and refined those groundbreaking conclusions. Every major institute that deals with climate-related science is saying AGW is here, real and dangerous, even though they will not remove the "very likely" and "strongly indicated" qualifiers. Scientists have decades of very detailed and sophisticated climate observations, but you will never get a purely scientific source saying "the future is certain."
The translation of what science is saying into the language of the public is this: Global warming is definitely happening and it is definitely because of human activities and it will definitely continue as long as CO2 keeps rising in the atmosphere. We don't have time or reason to wait. We need to take action now.
Is global warming real?
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Global warming and the climate crisis are real. The facts are not in controversy.
- The climate is undergoing a pronounced warming trend beyond the range of natural variability;
- The major cause of most of the observed warming is rising levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2);
- The rise in CO2 is anthropogenic, resulting from human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels;
- If CO2 continues to rise over the next century, the warming will continue; and
- Unless emissions are brought under control, a climate change of the projected magnitude over this time frame represents catastrophic danger to human welfare and the environment, including famine, floods and other ecological disasters.
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