rainforest

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Amazon Destruction Sinks to Lowest Level

But lawmakers are looking to ease tough restrictions

(Newser) - Brazil's Amazon rainforest lost an area about the size of Delaware in the year ended in July, but there's a silver lining to that stat: It's the lowest level of destruction since tracking began in 1988, reports the AP . The deforestation peaked in 1995, with the staggering...

Jagger Named Peru Rainforest 'Ambassador'

Becomes regional 'ally' in fight to protect ecosystem

(Newser) - Now that he's saving the rainforest, maybe Mick Jagger will finally get that long-elusive satisfaction. The Rolling Stone has been dubbed an honorary ambassador for tourism to a region of Peru's Amazon, AFP reports. "You are our ally. Your presence is a great support in our fight...

Much of World's Tropical Forests Managed Poorly

Out of nearly 2B acres, 10% is being managed sustainably

(Newser) - Large swaths of the world's tropical forests have been officially shielded from deforestation, but an international organization says that may not be enough. Much of the land kept for permanent use as forests isn't being managed sustainably—or being managed at all, according to a new report by...

'Zombie Ants' Found in Brazil
 'Zombie Ants' Found in Brazil 
Mar 6, 2011 2:14 PM CST

'Zombie Ants' Found in Brazil

Fungus takes over brain, forces ants to relocate

(Newser) - First, the fungus takes over the ant’s brain. Then, it uses “mind control” to force the ant to move to a new location—an ideal location where the fungus can grow and its spores can spread. Finally, the fungus kills the ant—and then grows out of its...

Threatened Spirit Bear's Best Hope: Photographers

'Canada's panda' symbolizes fight to preserve British Columbia's rainforest

(Newser) - Never heard of "Canada's panda?" Naturalists fighting to preserve the very rare bear's rainforest habitat in British Columbia want that to change. Only about 500 of the bears—a subspecies of black bear that has white fur—exist, and activists fear that a proposed pipeline through the Great Bear...

Pinocchio Frog Among Dozens of New Species

Discovered by expedition to 'Lost World' in New Guinea

(Newser) - Scientists on an expedition to a remote part of Indonesia known as the "Lost World" discovered over two dozen new species, including a "Pinocchio" tree frog with an inflatable nose and the smallest known member of the kangaroo family. The scientists say the finds, in a mountain range...

Brazil Using Condoms to Protect Rainforest

Sustainable condom project to use Amazon rubber

(Newser) - Brazil has unrolled an ambitious plan to preserve vast areas of the Amazon rainforest by tapping its rubber trees to make sustainable condoms. Most "rubbers" are now made from cheaper synthetic materials, but officials of the Brazilian government—which buys 1 billion condoms a year—say the project will...

Deforestation Reveals Signs of 'El Dorado'

 Deforestation Reveals 
 Signs of 'El Dorado' 


lost city of gold found?
Jan 6, 2010 7:05 AM CST

Deforestation Reveals Signs of 'El Dorado'

Team spots evidence of massive Amazon civilization

(Newser) - The legends of lost cities that drew Spanish explorers to their doom seeking "El Dorado" in the Amazon may have been rooted in truth after all. Deforestation in Brazil and northern Bolivia has revealed signs, including roads and massive earthworks, of an Amazon civilization much bigger than anything previously...

That Line of Cocaine Is Killing the Rainforest: UK Cops
That Line of Cocaine Is Killing the Rainforest: UK Cops
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
Dec 16, 2009 10:04 PM CST

That Line of Cocaine Is Killing the Rainforest: UK Cops

Law partners with Greenpeace in campaign aimed at greens

(Newser) - Cops the world over are looking for reasons to stop you from snorting cocaine, but a new campaign in the UK takes a new angle: It’s killing the rainforests. London’s Metropolitan Police—with the government’s backing—has teamed up with Greenpeace on this one, the Times reports,...

Climate Talks Near Deal to Save Forests

Plan pays people to preserve carbon-reducing landscapes

(Newser) - Negotiators in Copenhagen are putting the final touches on a sweeping deal that would compensate countries for preserving forests. A final draft of the agreement will be given to ministers today, the New York Times reports. A signed agreement, which could be one of the most significant accomplishments of the...

Warming Earth Down to Its 'Last Chance': Charles

Prince warns of catastrophe if world continues to balk at taking action

(Newser) - Prince Charles warned yesterday that the world's unwillingness to take action on climate change means disaster is looming, the Daily Telegraph reports. The prince, addressing the Nobel Laureates Symposium, said that although a "mercifully small—if vociferous—number" of people still reject the science of climate change, a far...

Princes, Celebs, Frog Team Up in Green Vid

Charles joined by sons, A-listers to promote project

(Newser) - Princes William and Harry are joined by a cast of superstars—and a belching digital frog—in a video helping their father promote environmental awareness, the Mirror reports. Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Daniel Craig, and the Dalai Lama are among those appearing in the clip promoting Prince Charles’ Rainforests Project....

Climate Change Doom Looms for 85% of Amazon

Death of much of the rainforest is inevitable even under most optimistic scenario

(Newser) - Climate change may be a bigger threat to the Amazon rainforest than all the chainsaws in the world, the Guardian reports. New research predicts a global temperature rise of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit—widely believed to be the best-case scenario even if carbon emissions are slashed—would kill off up...

Save the Rainforest? Nature May Have It Covered

New jungle in the tropics might outpace deforestation

(Newser) - With all the talk of how much primeval rainforest disappears every year, it might come as a surprise to hear that much more new forest is springing up to replace it. Although new jungle taking over abandoned or destroyed farms in tropical nations is good for the planet—the UN...

Greenies Trip Up Jersey Boardwalk Plans

Use of Amazon wood contributes to global warming, activists insist

(Newser) - Tourists swarming New Jersey’s most popular shore this spring probably won’t notice the wooden planks underfoot, but officials and environmentalists have been fighting over them, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Wildwood's plan to import lumber from Brazilian rain forests—for a $3.5 million boardwalk renovation—has angered greenies...

Borneo Threatened by Green Gold Rush
 Borneo Threatened 
 by Green Gold Rush 
OPINION
Oct 27, 2008 1:16 PM CDT

Borneo Threatened by Green Gold Rush

New ideas on conservation needed with island's biodiversity under attack

(Newser) - Borneo, the Texas-sized island whose rain forests are astonishingly rich in biodiversity, has been plundered for its other riches—everything from rhino horns to coal to oil—for centuries. Now, with the market for palm oil, dubbed green gold, booming, oil-palm plantations threaten the remaining forest, Mel White writes in...

At 22.3 Inches, Insect Is World's Longest

Just-discovered Phobaeticus chani roams the Borneo jungle, looking twiggy

(Newser) - A stick insect called Phobaeticus chani has claimed the distinction of world's longest insect, beating out its nearest competitor by an inch, the Independent reports. Named after the amateur naturalist who brought it to scientists' attention, the bug measures 22.3 inches with its legs outstretched. A treetop rainforest dweller,...

In Remote Amazon, Complex Towns Once Flourished

Archaeologists see advanced civilization in areas since overtaken by rain forest

(Newser) - Researchers have unearthed remains of densely populated, complex urban towns in a remote region of the Amazon River Basin, the BBC reports. In an area of western Brazil thought to be virgin forest, researchers found extensive and advanced human activity, including roads, farming, wetland management, and what appear to be...

Colombia to Americans: Cocaine Kills Environment

Drug-makers are destroying Colombia's precious rainforest

(Newser) - Colombia is adding a new tactic in its campaign to persuade Americans to stop buying cocaine: a plea for the environment. The government wants to spread the message to users—especially, say, wealthy professionals who dutifully recycle but also partake of the drug—that cocaine growers are running roughshod over...

Germany Pledges Billions for Rainforest Protection

Funds tripled by 2012, add $785M a year after

(Newser) - Germany will spend billions of euros protecting tropical rainforests in an effort to halt global warming. Chancellor Angela Merkel said today at the United Nations' biodiversity conference that Germany will increase its funding for the conservation of rainforests from $330 million to $1.1 billion in the next three years...

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