Educational Resources
From time to time articles and websites of particular interest to tree owners cross our desks. When they do we will add them to the following items of interest. We cannot take responsibility for the accuracy or content of articles and websites.
Deforestation
Deforestation is one of the driving forces of climate change and one of the major concerns of many of our tree owners. There have been a number of resources documenting this trend with much of the information coming from NASA's Earth Observation Program. NASA posted these images on December 22, 2008. They show the systematic way that rainforests are being clear cut in Bolivia. Once lost, this unique Amazon habitat will be gone forever.A totally online text by Michael E. Ritter, The Physical Environment; an Introduction to Physical Geography, has an extremely informative section on deforestation. You will find that you can spend hours browsing this extensive resource to learn more about the world we share.
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) is devoting extensive resources to tracking forest resources and the threat of deforestation. The global pattern of decline is clearly shown in a recent map showing The Distribution of Original and Remaining Forests.
Yahoo News reported on efforts in Malaysia to use Satellite Tracking to detect illegal logging which negatively impacts their $6.8 Billion lumber industry. It has been estimated that in the 1990's alone, Malaysia lost over 13% of its forests.
Climate Change and Carbon
It has been suggested that a positive impact on the climate change problem could come from fertilizing trees with nitrogen. This supports the concept that tree farms are a real benefit in the war on global warming. By the nature of the management process every effort is made to provide optimal nutrition to the trees. Some trees like Koa are able to directly fix atmospheric nitrogen further enhancing this effect. Scott Ollinger of the University of New Hampshire is studying the possibility that nitrogen fertilization may even enhance the forest's ability to reflect sunlight back into space giving an additional mechanism to combatglobal warming.
The Conservation Fund has come out strongly for the planting of trees to combat global warming. This site provides a useful carbon footprint calculator that can help the individual of organization evaluate the effects of their lifestyle and activities. Whether you are planting trees for conservation or profit, this sustainable resource works to sequester carbon and helps to offset the impact the modern world has on the planet.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been monitoring carbon dioxide in our atmosphere since 1958. An observatory on the top of Mauna Loa on the Big Island has provided a pristine sampling site far away from the world's industrial centers. The samples represent a global change not just a regional influence.
Ecological Resources
The WWF
recently published its Living Planet Report 2008.
This document is a global analysis of the state of the earth's
environmental resources and takes a hard look at the path we are on and where it
may lead. Much insight can be derived from the extensive charts and tables
presented in this 48 page report.
Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID)
RFID tags have become a ubiquitous part of the retail environment, but they are only recently finding a place in the natural environment. Discover RFID recently posted a short article on the use of RFID technology to track timber assets and to combat illegal logging.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has recently launched a pilot project to track produce from the farm to the retail outlet using RFID technology. Plans are being developed to expand this program to the over 5000 small and large farms throughout the state.
Timber Markets
For the tropical timber industry there is no more authoritative resource than the International Tropical Timber Organization. The ITTO is an intergovernmental organization promoting the conservation and sustainable management, use and trade of tropical forest resources. Its members represent about 80% of the world's tropical forests and 90% of the global tropical timber trade. Anyone can sign up to receive their bimonthly email newsletter.
