Based on neo-liberal philosophy, even air is a commodity. All this fear-mongering about air pollution and global warming simply means that somebody is going to make money off of the problem somehow...
Unfortunately, the money making is usually what causes the dilemma in the first place...and while I am sure there is money to be made in the creation of atmospheric bubbles (personalized, or fun for the whole town), I somehow don't see that as justification for screwing up our air supply, now.
What am I getting at?
An expert panel, commissioned by Greenpeace, launched their findings in a report today regarding the logging industry in the Boreal forest (this is old growth folks, and plenty of it in our own backyard).
The panel stated that:
Logging in Canada's Boreal Forest is exacerbating global warming by releasing greenhouse gases and reducing carbon storage. It also makes the forest more susceptible to global warming impacts like wildfires and insect outbreaks, which in turn release more greenhouse gases.
Now, here's the kicker:
if this vicious circle is left unchecked, it could culminate in a massive and sudden release of greenhouse gases referred to as "the carbon bomb."
At present Canada's Boreal Forest stores 186 billion tonnes of carbon -- this is equivalent to 27 times the world's annual fossil fuel emissions.
The report concludes that intact areas of the Boreal Forest should be made
off-limits to logging and other industrial activity-particularly in its
biologically rich southern regions- to curb this dangerous cycle.
Elizabeth Nelson, a researcher at the University of Toronto and co-author
of the report, cautions that logging continues to cause greenhouse gas
emissions long after the trees are gone. "Over two-thirds of the carbon stored
in the Boreal Forest is found in its soils. When the forest cover is removed,
the soil decays, releasing additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over
the following months, years, and even decades," she said.
To make matters worse, intact areas of the Boreal Forest resist and recover from fires, insect outbreaks, and other impacts better than fragmented areas. These areas also give trees, plants, and wildlife the best chances of migrating, adapting, and
surviving in a changing climate.
Other key findings from the expert-reviewed report:
- Logging removes roughly 36 million tonnes of aboveground carbon from
Canada's Boreal Forest each year-more carbon than is emitted each year
by all the passenger vehicles in Canada combined. - The area of North American Boreal burned by forest fires doubled
between 1970 and 1990. As forest fires become larger, more frequent,
and more intense, more and more carbon dioxide is being released into
the atmosphere. - Logging accelerates permafrost melt. When permafrost melts carbon
dioxide and methane-a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon
dioxide-are released into the atmosphere. Intact forest cover may delay
this melt for decades or even centuries.
What can you do?
Write to your work's paper provider -- demand paper harvested from non-old-growth resources (Cascades, a Quebec-based manufacturer is good for this, although Domtar and Grand & Toy also offer propriety recycled products that do not use old-growth).
Reduce what you print (or use old print-outs as scrap).
Write to your MP, demand that legislation be passed to protect our forests (and lungs and future!).
Log on and sign the Greenpeace petition (also look out for local petitions...tables set up in eco-friendly stores with organizations working very hard to protect the Boreal).
Write the companies personally. Tell them you refuse to accept the ramifications of their profits and list ways you will avoid their products.
Start small. Think Big. Take action.
