SECTIONS Home Society SciTech Planet Cosmos SPECIAL Contents About Factoid: Cambodia's tropical forests are shrinking by an estimated 173,000 acres per year, due mostly to an illegal logging trade. If the trend continues, every commercially valuable tree in Cambodia could be cut down within five years. Factoid: A study released in October 1998 in Switzerland from the World Wildlife Fund said that almost one-third of Earth's natural resources and animals were lost between 1970 and 1995. The report said that rivers and lakes were the worst hit.

Amazon Destruction More Rapid Than Expected Destruction of the Amazon rainforest is occurring two to three times more rapidly than previously estimated. Conservatively, 16 percent of the original forest is already gone. Start Date: 4/10/99 A new study in the journal Nature says that the rate of destruction of the Amazon rainforest is two to three times greater than previous estimates based on satellite analysis. The new research was conducted mainly by ecologist Daniel C. Nepstad of the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, and colleagues at the Institute of Environmental Research in Belem, Brazil. They measured forest losses at 1,104 sample points from a light plane and on the ground, and interviewed over 1,500 mill operators and landholders in the Amazon region. They noted that satellite imagery often fails to distinguish between pristine forest and burned or cut forestland newly covered with fast-growing brush. Nepstad says that some 17,000 square miles of the Amazon forest were lost to cutting and burning in 1998, about three times the official Brazilian government estimate of 5,700 square miles. Nepstad also said that the total amount of rainforest already lost to human encroachment is about 217,000 square miles, or about 16 percent. He cautions, however, that these figures are conservative and the real numbers could be significantly larger. Destruction of the Amazon region is one of the biggest concerns of environmentalists and is also among the most contentious political issues in Brazil. The Amazon is believed to contain more unique species of plants and animals than any other part of the world. Hundreds or thousands of species may be entirely lost every year, most before they are ever identified -- and no one can say what potential benefits to humanity may be lost with them. The hydrological cycle of the forest is also believed to play a major role in global climate; and burning the forest adds significant amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, perhaps contributing to global warming. But international initiatives to protect the Amazon must contend with the economic and political ambitions of Brazilians who wish to capitalize on the enormous resources of the region. Many different interests are at stake. The numerous rivers of the region offer enormous hydroelectric potential, but each dam can flood, and thus destroy, thousands of square miles of forest. Loggers, many of them working directly or indirectly for foreign companies, routinely damage or destroy dozens of unwanted trees in order to fell and remove one valuable forest hardwood. Farmers and cattle ranchers push ever deeper into the forest, clearing mile after mile of trees to make room for crops or grazing land. The region is also rich in mineral resources, inviting large-scale mining operations. And every kind of encroachment is accompanied by extensive road-building and other common features of human activity. Can destruction of the Amazon be curtailed? Understandably, some observers are doubtful. "How can you control development in an area where there's no control? It is the Wild West," says Compton Tucker, a NASA biologist. Excelsior, Michael Lindemann's new novel (written under the pen name Michael Paul), depicts a wholly plausible near future in which human cloning is both widespread and widely abused; terrorists have access to target-specific biological weapons; recreational space travel is commonplace; and mounting pressures of global climate change, environmental decline, population growth and civil unrest inspire radical new approaches to urban security. Built by Frontier on a Macintosh on 6/17/00; 12:00:14 PM. Web Comments - Produced by Larry Lowe Served 9899 times since 4/10/99.

Cambodia Fights Illegal Logging as Forests Shrink Cambodia's tropical forests are being devastated by a mostly illegal logging trade, abetted by corrupt politicians and military officers. Amphibian Deaths: Environment's 'Canary in a Coal Mine' Amphibians are dying all over the world, taking many species to extinction. So far, no one really knows why. Experts Say Global Warming More Than Predicted A new study released by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change foresees greater global warming than previously predicted, along with greater extremes of weather and faster sea level rise. New Iceberg Is Bigger Than Delaware The biggest iceberg seen since 1987 broke away from Antarctica in October, 1998, but most of the Antarctic ice sheet seems stable, scientists said. Global Warming Seen as Cause of Antarctic Melting New research shows that two large Antarctic ice shelves lost a combined total of nearly 1,100 square miles of ice in 1998, apparently due to global warming. Red Cross Sees Increasing Likelihood of Natural Disasters In a June 1999 report, the International Red Cross warned of a coming era of 'super-disasters' with more 'environmental refugees,' higher insurance losses and declining ability of relief efforts to meet the challenge. Much Deforestation Driven By Population, Poverty Marginalized by the spread of commercial farming and ranching enterprises, subsistance farmers are forced to destroy large amounts of tropical forest for new farmland. New Theory Says Oil Reserves Bigger Than Expected -- And E.T. Might Live Underground Cornell University Professor Thomas Gold says oil is purely geological, not biological, in origin; and life probably started underground, so look there for ET. Global Warming Devastates World's Coral Reefs Rising sea water temperature due to global warming threatens to destroy the majority of coral reefs on earth, with potentially huge ecological and economic consequences. 1998 Was the Hottest Year on Record NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) both released data showing that 1998 was the hottest year on record, by a surprisingly large margin.