The Amazon basin is one of the world's wondrous ecosystems, supporting massive amounts of life, both in kind and quantity.
You might have thought about poison frogs or monkeys, but you've probably never stopped to wonder, "Where are all the nutrients that power this biotic explosion coming from?"
The answer is actually astonishing and delightful in that one-planet-one-love kind of way. As laid out in a 2006 paper that science writer Colin Schultz dug up, nearly half of the nutrients that power the Amazon come from a valley in the Sahara called the Bodélé depression.
At 17,100 square miles, the area is about a third of the size of Florida or 0.5 percent the size of the Amazon basin it supplies.
"This depression is a unique dust source due to its location at a bottle neck of two large magmatic formations that serves as a `wind lens', guiding and focusing the surface winds to the Bodélé," the authors, an international team of geologists, wrote.
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Monday, August 20, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Extinction Rates Hike In The Brazilian Forests
Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has many accolades to its name: It is
the largest tropical rainforest in the world covering over five and a
half a million square kilometers, it is the home to 10 percent of the
world’s known species and 20 percents of the world’s known bird species,
and it is that 2.5 million different insect species and over 40,000
plant species live in the Amazon rain forest. Tragically enough, the
diversity seen in the Amazon rainforest has been threatened for years
due to human activity. It has been estimated that almost 90 percent of
the rain forest is now gone, having been replaced with roads and cities,
and as a result, the biodiversity has also taken a hit.
In 2007, the National Geographic shared the concerns the Amazon was facing:
The study states:
Original article: http://www.greenerideal.com/science/0817-extinction-in-the-brazilian-forests/
In 2007, the National Geographic shared the concerns the Amazon was facing:
During the past 40 years, close to 20 percent of the Amazon rain forest has been cut down—more than in all the previous 450 years since European colonization began. The percentage could well be far higher; the figure fails to account for selective logging, which causes significant damage but is less easily observable than clear-cuts. Scientists fear that an additional 20 percent of the trees will be lost over the next two decades. If that happens, the forest’s ecology will begin to unravel. Intact, the Amazon produces half its own rainfall through the moisture it releases into the atmosphere. Eliminate enough of that rain through clearing, and the remaining trees dry out and die. When desiccation is worsened by global warming, severe droughts raise the specter of wildfires that could ravage the forest. Such a drought afflicted the Amazon in 2005, reducing river levels as much as 40 feet and stranding hundreds of communities.Unfortunately, the news only gets worst. A recent study, which appeared in the journal Plos ONE, found that the rainforest which once was known for its biodiversity is currently the poster child of extinction. The biologists found that numbers to be shocking — for instance, only 767 populations of mammals of 3,528 still existed. Other species facing extinction include jaguars, lowland tapirs, woolly spider monkeys and giant anteaters.
The study states:
On average, forest patches retained 3.9 out of 18 potential species occupancies, and geographic ranges had contracted to 0–14.4% of their former distributions, including five large-bodied species that had been extirpated at a regional scale. Forest fragments were highly accessible to hunters and exposed to edge effects and fires, thereby severely diminishing the predictive power of species-area relationships[.]While the study brought bad news, it also shared some good news that shed light on how the biodiversity in the Amazon can be protected. The study found that the areas of the rainforest that have ecological protection also showed the highest rates of biodiversity. This means that all hope is not gone and that if we work towards protecting what is left, via hunting and constructions bans, of the rainforest then we still stand a chance to save the species that face extinction.
Original article: http://www.greenerideal.com/science/0817-extinction-in-the-brazilian-forests/
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Amazon: a tale of two economies
Supporting communities who live in the Amazon rainforest to use the forest sustainably will help to protect it for future generations
The river runs thick and wide, lined on both sides by deep green rainforests. In the distance, vast, grey graceful curtains of rain float over the horizon. Rain fills the river with freshwater, carried over vast distances. At places it is eight kilometres wide, a veritable sea of fresh water. When clouds stop pouring, the sun soaks up the monsoon bounty – from the river and from the rainforests – and sends more rain. The circle of life plays over and over again. This is the mighty Amazon – the greatest of all river systems on Earth, and by far the most majestic.
This single system empties one-fifth of all the freshwater that flows into the world's oceans. If the Earth had lungs, they would be the Amazon rainforest. And if it had pulmonary arteries, they would be the Amazon and its many tributaries and branches.
Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state in Brazil, is located at the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Amazon. It is 1,450km up the Amazon from the Atlantic Ocean.
From Manaus, it takes six hours by boat to Tumbira, a small village with a school, a church, and a football field (the three institutions of rural Brazil). Tumbira is also home to the field centre of the Amazon Sustainability Foundation (FAS).
The Amazon is over 1km wide here, but above and beyond the visible river system is another, gigantic, invisible, "river" system. An estimated 20bn tonnes of water vapour is released every day by the Amazon rainforests. Animated satellite pictures show a constant global flow of airborne water vapour from the Amazon along the tropics, which scientists say is a source of rainfall not just for South America, but the world.
Both these river systems are at risk. A parliamentary amendment to the forest code is thought to have led to a rise in deforestation, and a spate of recent murders of environmental activists and small farmers has shocked the world.
Deforestation is often blamed on three vital groups of stakeholders: big local business, local people and consumers. These are the people who benefit from the fields and farms the Amazon rivers irrigate. Big local business can look after its own interests. Global governments representing foreign consumers of the Amazon's services are beginning to put money on the table – Norway has set an example by committing a $1bn to Brazil for REDD+. That leaves the weakest stakeholders – local people – who clearly do need support, and this is beginning to be organised.
A sustainable future for the Amazonas state and conservation of its remarkable rainforest river systems is no small challenge. It needs multiple efforts on multiple fronts.
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The river runs thick and wide, lined on both sides by deep green rainforests. In the distance, vast, grey graceful curtains of rain float over the horizon. Rain fills the river with freshwater, carried over vast distances. At places it is eight kilometres wide, a veritable sea of fresh water. When clouds stop pouring, the sun soaks up the monsoon bounty – from the river and from the rainforests – and sends more rain. The circle of life plays over and over again. This is the mighty Amazon – the greatest of all river systems on Earth, and by far the most majestic.
This single system empties one-fifth of all the freshwater that flows into the world's oceans. If the Earth had lungs, they would be the Amazon rainforest. And if it had pulmonary arteries, they would be the Amazon and its many tributaries and branches.
Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state in Brazil, is located at the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Amazon. It is 1,450km up the Amazon from the Atlantic Ocean.
From Manaus, it takes six hours by boat to Tumbira, a small village with a school, a church, and a football field (the three institutions of rural Brazil). Tumbira is also home to the field centre of the Amazon Sustainability Foundation (FAS).
The Amazon is over 1km wide here, but above and beyond the visible river system is another, gigantic, invisible, "river" system. An estimated 20bn tonnes of water vapour is released every day by the Amazon rainforests. Animated satellite pictures show a constant global flow of airborne water vapour from the Amazon along the tropics, which scientists say is a source of rainfall not just for South America, but the world.
Both these river systems are at risk. A parliamentary amendment to the forest code is thought to have led to a rise in deforestation, and a spate of recent murders of environmental activists and small farmers has shocked the world.
Deforestation is often blamed on three vital groups of stakeholders: big local business, local people and consumers. These are the people who benefit from the fields and farms the Amazon rivers irrigate. Big local business can look after its own interests. Global governments representing foreign consumers of the Amazon's services are beginning to put money on the table – Norway has set an example by committing a $1bn to Brazil for REDD+. That leaves the weakest stakeholders – local people – who clearly do need support, and this is beginning to be organised.
A sustainable future for the Amazonas state and conservation of its remarkable rainforest river systems is no small challenge. It needs multiple efforts on multiple fronts.
Read More:
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Rich Man Brazil
Richest Men of the World
Eike Batista (No. 8)
Source: Mining, oil
Citizenship: Brazil
Brazil's richest man is gearing up to take over the world. Making a play for foreign investors, Batista announced this year the opening of an office in New York and his intention to list some of his companies on the London Stock Exchange.
Through his holding company, EBX, Batista controls businesses spanning mining, shipbuilding, energy, logistics, tourism and entertainment. After months of discussions, he was triumphant in February in taking control of Canadian gold outfit Ventana. Two-thirds of his fortune comes from OGX, the oil and gas exploration company he founded in 2007 and took public a year later. He says the company will start producing oil this year. In rare recent setback, his planned IPO for his shipbuilding business (OSX), meant to be the world's largest IPO in 2010, was a disappointment and has had a lukewarm reception in the Brazilian market.
The son of Brazil's revered former mining minister, who presided over mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, got his start in gold trading and mining. Onetime champion offshore powerboat racer; formerly married to Playboy cover girl. In media interviews he's been warning Carlos Slim Helú that he'll soon take his spot as the world's richest man, but he still has a ways to go.
Richest Man Brazil
Eike Batista (No. 8)
Source: Mining, oil
Citizenship: Brazil
Brazil's richest man is gearing up to take over the world. Making a play for foreign investors, Batista announced this year the opening of an office in New York and his intention to list some of his companies on the London Stock Exchange.
Through his holding company, EBX, Batista controls businesses spanning mining, shipbuilding, energy, logistics, tourism and entertainment. After months of discussions, he was triumphant in February in taking control of Canadian gold outfit Ventana. Two-thirds of his fortune comes from OGX, the oil and gas exploration company he founded in 2007 and took public a year later. He says the company will start producing oil this year. In rare recent setback, his planned IPO for his shipbuilding business (OSX), meant to be the world's largest IPO in 2010, was a disappointment and has had a lukewarm reception in the Brazilian market.
The son of Brazil's revered former mining minister, who presided over mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, got his start in gold trading and mining. Onetime champion offshore powerboat racer; formerly married to Playboy cover girl. In media interviews he's been warning Carlos Slim Helú that he'll soon take his spot as the world's richest man, but he still has a ways to go.
Richest Man Brazil
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Anti aging rainforest fruits
You may think that the wondrous plants of the Amazon rainforest remain hidden from modern science, but their medicinal and energizing properties have not gone completely unnoticed.
The rainforest’s original inhabitants, the indigenous Indians, have been using the raw ingredients found in nature to heal, energize and improve their health and well-being. It may even have prolonged life.
The Western world is largely unaware of these rainforest treasures and their scientific benefits. But you are on the threshold of finding out what such discoveries can mean to you.
It will give you an advantage over others that are eating high-fat, high-carb diets that lead to obesity and a shortened lifespan. The life-giving juices and teas of the Amazon rainforest will make clear what the indigenous people of the Amazon have always known.
Anti aging rainforest fruits - Scientific background
The common factor in all the fruits, juices and teas of the Amazon is their content of antioxidants. Antioxidants are nature’s way of defending against chemicals and pollutants that threaten healthy cells every minute of the day. It is true of all living things, plants, animals and human beings.
Your body produces some antioxidants/enzymes quite naturally, but some can only be obtained from healthy foods.
Anti aging rainforest fruits - Antioxidant Enzymes
Naturally occurring enzymes perform billions of cell-saving operations in your body without exhausting themselves. Although your body will produce incredible amounts of antioxidant enzymes over your lifetime, it can be very slow to create new ones if your body is under siege. If your body is exposed to more pollutants than your antioxidant enzymes can destroy, your cells may be in trouble.
Certain fruits and plant-based foods contain antioxidants that your body can use over and above the body’s own antioxidant enzymes. For that reason it makes sense to consume a variety of the antioxidant rich botanicals every day. It is your body’s best defense against premature aging.
In addition to the antioxidant plants that you already know, grapes, blueberries, and green tea, here you will learn about some amazing rainforest plants poised to take the antioxidant world by storm.
There are fruits and teas that will give you energy and longer life - the ones from the rainforest. It is strange that they are not already well known in the Western world - why isn’t this already common knowledge? People in South America have used these plants for centuries, but the knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation orally - rather than in writing. This is particularly true among the people of the Amazon basin. Westerners simply have not had the opportunity to hear the stories.
Read More:Friday, January 7, 2011
Anti aging rainforest botanicals
You may think that the wondrous plants of the Amazon rainforest remain hidden from modern science, but their medicinal and energizing properties have not gone completely unnoticed.
The rainforest’s original inhabitants, the indigenous Indians, have been using the raw ingredients found in nature to heal, energize and improve their health and well-being. It may even have prolonged life.
The Western world is largely unaware of these rainforest treasures and their scientific benefits. But you are on the threshold of finding out what such discoveries can mean to you.
It will give you an advantage over others that are eating high-fat, high-carb diets that lead to obesity and a shortened lifespan. The life-giving juices and teas of the Amazon rainforest will make clear what the indigenous people of the Amazon have always known.
Scientific background
The common factor in all the fruits, juices and teas of the Amazon is their content of antioxidant's. Antioxidants are nature’s way of defending against chemicals and pollutants that threaten healthy cells every minute of the day. It is true of all living things, plants, animals and human beings.
Your body produces some antioxidants/enzymes quite naturally, but some can only be obtained from healthy foods.
Enzymes
Naturally occurring enzymes perform billions of cell-saving operations in your body without exhausting themselves. Although your body will produce incredible amounts of antioxidant enzymes over your lifetime, it can be very slow to create new ones if your body is under siege. If your body is exposed to more pollutants than your antioxidant enzymes can destroy, your cells may be in trouble.
Certain fruits and plant-based foods contain antioxidants that your body can use over and above the body’s own antioxidant enzymes. For that reason it makes sense to consume a variety of the antioxidant rich botanicals every day. It is your body’s best defense against premature aging.
In addition to the antioxidant plants that you already know, grapes, blueberries, and green tea, here you will learn about some amazing rainforest plants poised to take the antioxidant world by storm.
There are fruits and teas that will give you energy and longer life - the ones from the rainforest. It is strange that they are not already well known in the Western world - why isn’t this already common knowledge? People in South America have used these plants for centuries, but the knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation orally - rather than in writing. This is particularly true among the people of the Amazon basin. Westerners simply have not had the opportunity to hear the stories.
Researchers who have made it a point to learn about and listen to the traditional healers have had their research priorities laid out for them.
As more and more about the wondrous fruits and plants have become known, they have set about the task of analyzing their active components and examining them in ways that is credible to modern science.
In case after case it has been established that the oral stories of indigenous Indians are correct and that the fruits and teas indeed have properties that energize and help them lead a longer and healthier life.
Let’s focus on three: açai, cupuaçu, and yearba mate. They are not yet household names in the West, the Indians of South America have been using them for centuries. Once you learn about their real qualities you’ll want a chance to take advantage of their amazing properties too.
The rainforest’s original inhabitants, the indigenous Indians, have been using the raw ingredients found in nature to heal, energize and improve their health and well-being. It may even have prolonged life.
The Western world is largely unaware of these rainforest treasures and their scientific benefits. But you are on the threshold of finding out what such discoveries can mean to you.
It will give you an advantage over others that are eating high-fat, high-carb diets that lead to obesity and a shortened lifespan. The life-giving juices and teas of the Amazon rainforest will make clear what the indigenous people of the Amazon have always known.
Scientific background
The common factor in all the fruits, juices and teas of the Amazon is their content of antioxidant's. Antioxidants are nature’s way of defending against chemicals and pollutants that threaten healthy cells every minute of the day. It is true of all living things, plants, animals and human beings.
Your body produces some antioxidants/enzymes quite naturally, but some can only be obtained from healthy foods.
Enzymes
Naturally occurring enzymes perform billions of cell-saving operations in your body without exhausting themselves. Although your body will produce incredible amounts of antioxidant enzymes over your lifetime, it can be very slow to create new ones if your body is under siege. If your body is exposed to more pollutants than your antioxidant enzymes can destroy, your cells may be in trouble.
Certain fruits and plant-based foods contain antioxidants that your body can use over and above the body’s own antioxidant enzymes. For that reason it makes sense to consume a variety of the antioxidant rich botanicals every day. It is your body’s best defense against premature aging.
In addition to the antioxidant plants that you already know, grapes, blueberries, and green tea, here you will learn about some amazing rainforest plants poised to take the antioxidant world by storm.
There are fruits and teas that will give you energy and longer life - the ones from the rainforest. It is strange that they are not already well known in the Western world - why isn’t this already common knowledge? People in South America have used these plants for centuries, but the knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation orally - rather than in writing. This is particularly true among the people of the Amazon basin. Westerners simply have not had the opportunity to hear the stories.
Researchers who have made it a point to learn about and listen to the traditional healers have had their research priorities laid out for them.
As more and more about the wondrous fruits and plants have become known, they have set about the task of analyzing their active components and examining them in ways that is credible to modern science.
In case after case it has been established that the oral stories of indigenous Indians are correct and that the fruits and teas indeed have properties that energize and help them lead a longer and healthier life.
Let’s focus on three: açai, cupuaçu, and yearba mate. They are not yet household names in the West, the Indians of South America have been using them for centuries. Once you learn about their real qualities you’ll want a chance to take advantage of their amazing properties too.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Acai, the Amazon Super Fruit
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The first time I ever tried acai (pronounced: ah-sah-yee) in 1997, the fruit was served to me as a thick drink by an Ipixuna Indian woman, when I was living on the Amazon River for a month.
Acai, Euterpe oleracea, was as deep purple as any food I had ever seen. In fact, a spill stained a favorite t-shirt of mine, forever. I loved the rich flavor of acai, and the energy it imparted, and consumed as much as I could during the course of my time on the river.
When I left Brazil that time, I lamented that I’d probably never be able to obtain acai back home.
Times have changed, and this delicious fruit is now widely available, from Whole Foods to up-market grocery stores.
A so-called “super-berry” that grows on palms trees in the Amazon, acai is a staple food throughout Amazonia, and that status owes directly to its marvelous flavor.
Acai explodes with flavor, and gets better with every mouthful. Rich in the potent purple pigments called anthocyanins, acai has a higher antioxidant activity rating than bilberries or blueberries, and is rich in beneficial dietary fibers.
A glass of blended acai fruit, with just a slight touch of energizing guarana and certified organic sugar, imparts so much energy, you’ll want to dance and yodel while climbing a mountain at the same time.
No wonder endurance cyclists and ball players have taken to this fruit. Surfers, skateboarders, X-gamers and outdoor enthusiasts speak of acai with reverence.
The berry craze is on full throttle now, and purveyors of each berry – from blueberries to blackberries, black currants and elderberries – have positioned their berry as the ultimate. All of these berries are rich in the purple antioxidant pigments called anthocyanins, and all impart both antioxidant protection to cells, and anti-inflammatory activity as well. As far as I am concerned, they are all extraordinary foods, and are valuable in any person’s diet. I just happen to favor acai most of all, because I love the flavor and the fact that the acai trade is helping to reduce deforestation in some parts of the Amazon.
Forest Preservation - Fast-forward years later, once more in the Brazilian rainforest, this time in the company of Ryan Black, founder of Sambazon Acai. We are watching several hard-working Brazilians climb tall acai palms rapidly, cut branches laden with ripe purple acai berries, and strip the berries into baskets, readying them for processing.
“Our wildharvesting system was developed in conjunction with the Forest Sustainability Council,” Ryan explains. “We’ve taught people how to wildharvest acai, and protect the forest at the same time.” Through ecologically sound agro-forestry management practices, Sambazon has established a top-notch conservation program that protects the Amazon rainforest and minimizes habitat loss. On top of that, they’ve implemented a fair wage system that provides higher than average wages to over 10,000 families in Brazil’s Amapa state. Sambazon has won praise and support from World Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy and Greenpeace. As far as Ryan Black is concerned, it’s all just a reasonable and fair way to operate a business. “Might as well do it right if you’re going to do it,” he says.
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