PHS 100A Environmental Studies
Warner Pacific College
October 24, 2011
Environmental Protection Agency & Disappearing Rainforest
Losing Earth’s greatest biological treasures is just the beginning, just as we are starting to appreciate their beauty and their value, they are starting to be destroyed or damaged. Rainforests once covered the earth’s surface by 14% and a mere 6% are left, and experts estimate the last remaining rainforest may be consumed in less than 40 years. One and one half acres of our rainforest in America are lost every second, most of the time with tragic consequences for developing and industrial countries.
These rainforest are being destroyed and the value of land in the rainforest is perceived as only its value in timber by short sighted governments, multi-national logging companies, and landowners. Almost half of our world’s species of plants, animals, microorganisms will become destroyed or possibly severely threatened within the next quarter century due to deforestation in our rainforest. Most of our rainforest are cleared by large machinery like bull dozers and small handheld equipment like chainsaws, and also fires which are used for timber value, which are then followed by farming and ranching operations.
World’s giants known as Mitsubishi Corporation, Georgia Pacific and Texaco and included with these companies in Unocal, they are included in damaging our rainforest. Forest play a very important role in environmental protection, and through history there has been much protection for these forest in mountain areas, where they have continuous help to prevent soil erosion, landslides and avalanches. Where this becomes important is the maintaining of water quality of rivers draining into forest catchments, special methods ensure that these rainforest are maintained indefinitely.
Environmental protection is known to have significant impact on some forest; air pollutants that are of concern include sulfur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, heavy metals, and ozone. By controlling these pollutants it ultimately benefits rainforest which are said to play a major role in the protection of our carbon cycle. Representing, they have an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide, using conversion of these forest for other land uses is one cause for the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
Reforestation and a forestation may contribute in reducing our atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, using bio fuels could help in the long run by reducing demand for fossil fuels. Brazil’s Environmental Protection Agency is just one that strives to implement laws when it comes to protecting our valuable resource known as the Amazon rainforest. There overall objective that was initiated in 1998, was a framework for developing, analyzing, and to integrate environmentally sustainable polices known as Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region, with having particular focus on the transport sector.
This entire framework was created to supply the decision makers to have a stronger policy instruments for simultaneously addressing local, regional, and issues in global environmental, based on technical, social, and economic criteria. IES Brazil (Integrated Environmental Strategies) team consisted of representatives from the Sao Paulo State Environmental Agency, Medical School of the University of Sao Paulo, the institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Sao Paulo, and included was the institute of Applied Economics Research, and two independent energy consultants.
This team analyzed many different pollutants that ultimately affect humans as well as climate change that in the end affects our rainforest. The IES Brazil team has participated with several regional and international conferences; most recently was the RIO5 World Climate and Energy Event. It brought together many scientists that research politics and industry; they are leading experts in their fields.
July 2004, EPA, the World’s Banks Clean Air Initiative for Latin American Cities and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory were involved in organizing a regional work shop in “Public Health and Climate Change Benefits of Air Quality Management” (www.epa.gov). The Brazils team meeting worked on providing an opportunity for policymakers and technical experts from Latin America a chance to exchange past experiences with co-benefits-related analyses.
Other teams that were involved in the IES team were from Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, and other organizations doing work in the region, they presented information about experiences with IES methodology and co-benefits research. This particular workshop received a lot of public press which included articles in a national newspaper.
While many current programs will result reducing levels of most emissions, additional programs will implement to reduce PM10 over the next 20 years. The study evaluated three scenarios that promote PM10 reduction they are in order of effectiveness for the control of emissions from trucks, the implementation of an inspection and maintenance program, penetration of natural gas for industry cogeneration and also gradual substitution of diesel buses by natural gas buses.
Ultimately these results could already be helpful in decision-making, although the cost for implementation of each scenario needs to be further investigated. Promoting the use of these sustainable and renewable sources may in the end stop the destruction of our rainforest and reduce climate change.
References
Google Chrome www.google.com
Retrieved October 23, 2011
Retrieved from www.epa.gov/ies/brazil/index.htm
Google Chrome www.google.com
Retrieved October 23, 2011
Retrieved from www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm
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