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October 13, 2008 10:17:30 AM CDT

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Rainforests Still Fall at Shocking Rates

Posted Feb 3, 08 5:45 PM CST in Science & Health,  World 

(Newser) – Rainforests continue to vanish at "alarming" rates worldwide despite decades of scientific warnings, experts say. Tropical trees are falling at 60 acres per minute—up 10 from a generation ago—accounting for roughly 20% of Earth's carbon emissions. Environmental leaders plan to preserve forests with a carbon trading system, but hurdles to success remain high, the AP reports.

The UN's carbon plan would give bonds to eco-conscious countries, which could then sell them for profit. But green schemes are tough to implement in poor nations, analysts say. "We breathe the air, and our bellies are empty," said one Nigerian plantation director. Meanwhile loggers and farmers are razing 50,000 square miles of rainforests per year, as scientists warn that the Earth's climate tipping point is but a decade away.

Source Associated Press

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The tropical rainforest of Braullio Carrillo National Park is seen north-east of San Jose, Costa Rica, Monday May 7, 2007. The U.S. and Costa Rican governments announced negotiations for $ 12.6 milion...   (Associated Press)
A worker marks timber logs at a concession area in the Miri interior, eastern Malaysian Borneo state of Sarawak, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. In the middle of the ancient rainforest in Borneo, this simple...   (Associated Press)
A heavy truck transports timber logs to a concession area in the Miri interior, eastern Malaysian Borneo state of Sarawak, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. In the middle of the ancient rainforest in Borneo, this...   (Associated Press)
Juanita Zeledon uses a special camera and laptop to take photos of the root systems of plants to measure the ability to capture CO2 at La Selva Biological station, in the Braullio Carrillo National Park,...   (Associated Press)
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climate change  • environment  • United Nations  • deforestation  • rainforest  • carbon


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