What?! DESFORESTATION?

Since I was child, I was taught that the trees can give us the air we breathe, and therefore should not be cut wildly, but let's see the substance! Forests are very important, covering almost a third of the land of our planet, the benefits of forests:

- provide raw materials;
- protect land;
- protect water resources;
- provide clean air;
- maintain biodiversity.
 

But forests can be damaged by agricultural and urban expansion, by natural disasters, by fire, by climate changes, etc.

The rate of conversion forests to urban or agricultural land is increasing dramatically, "Forest area decreased worldwide by 0.22% per year in the period 1990-2000 and 0.18% per year between 2000 and 2005" However, campaigns for plating new forest are increasing too, nevertheless they are still being insufficient to rebalance the amount of forest on Earth. Forests affect and influence the climate change principally by regulating the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Forests absorb the carbon from the air and store it in their leaves, their trunks, and in the soil. When the forests are damaged and destroyed the carbon is released into the atmosphere.

Biodiversity in forests is important and valuable, and in many cases this species diversity is being seriously affected by deforestation. To conserve and preserve this diversity, currently about 11% of the forest in the world is protected and designated for the conservation of biodiversity.

For all this and more, I think is absolutely essential to know the reality of deforestation that is occurring right now, and that has to be slowed down.

Source:

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/index.htm#8
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/

Role Model Cities

Having seen a lot or little information about it, we all know about places that contribute highly to a more polluted world due to lack of organization: from the “almost sewerless” streets of Lagos, Nigeria to the starless sky of Beijing, People’s Republic of China.

The second has to be noted and applaud for the efforts made to clean its air. After being selected to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Beijing spent about US$17 billion to clean the air, and one year later, official reports are saying the 9th most populous city in the world is enjoying its best air quality this decade. 

Another city that improved a lot due to hosting the Summer Olympic Games is Barcelona (1992). It helped the city to modernize existing areas and extend the limits (very carefully thought through) opening to the see as well, by reconstructing a decaying area of the city into the Olympic Village.

Today Barcelona is the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union and a major economic centre in the world. Today it is a role model for a lot more than organized and thought-out growth, it is also an example to follow in the use of renewable energies: “Barcelona’s municipal regulation gives it an mandatory stature: 60% of water heating in new and renewed buildings and it’s full amount in water used for pools must come from solar energy. More than 25 thousand megawatts/hour of energy are saved annually. Barcelona will have more than a hundred thousand square meters of photovoltaic panels. Residents save more than 220 thousand euros per year in electricity taxes”. 

Barcelona

Quotations from National Geographic Portugal’s, O Estado do Planeta special issue. (Translated)