Forests in Southeast Asia Fall to Prosperity’s Ax – New York Times
The Indonesian government has signed a deal with China that will level much of the remaining tropical forests in an area so vital it is sometimes called the lungs of Southeast Asia. For China, the deal is a double bounty: the wood from the forest will provide flooring and furniture for its ever-expanding middle class, and in its place will grow vast plantations for palm oil, an increasingly popular ingredient in detergents, soaps and lipstick.
(Via Treehugger)
I get the feeling it’s going to get a whole lot worse before it’s going to get better.
I remember you saying that the deforestation of much of Tibet and the mountains in that area has been the cause of much of the flooding in China that has taken so many lives and of course washed away their top soil. Sometimes we people don’t look past the moment. Cause and effect are somehing to look back on much later.
What dismal news. “…$1billion rush order…to be used in construction of its sports facilities for the 2008 Olympic Games.” At the price of the wildlife.