INCREDIBLE Satellite Image of Rainforest Destruction in the Amazon

googolmaps.com — This incredible satellite image shows a HUGE swath of Brazilian Amazon rain forest completely destroyed due to logging. This incredible display of deforestation is hard to believe when you observe the multi-million acre scale seen here. This 300 mile long long scar is easily visible from space and must be having a drastic impact on the environment Jan 19, 2007 View in Crawl 4

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gollybegully Jan 19, 2007

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I didn't say anything about where ethanol was made. You claim that ethanol is not subsidized but two years ago I wrote an extensive research paper with many sources stating that Brazil subsidized the farmers, the manufacturers, and the distributors, and even provided incentives for the dealers of flex fuel cars. Can you provide a source for it?

kaskarn Jan 19, 2007

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So far there is a strong incentive for the people of the rainforest to burn/cultivate the rainforest. They will not stop burning/planting their cocoa/coffee/etc. in the rainforest for the good reason that if they stop doing so, they will die of starvation...Think about it. You are an uneducated rainforest inhabitant. Your tribe's territory was reduced to 1/10th its size by oil companies (depends, but often the case) so you cannot sustain your family through hunting and gathering anymore. you have 2 solutions:1) Disappear quickly, you and your millenium-old culture, and preserve the environment;2) Burn the darn trees, plant the seeds (often given by fair trade organization) and somehow survive while destroying our planet, slowly.I'd shamelessly choose the second one. Sorry mother earth :(In other words, deforestation is largely caused by people desperately trying to survive. Eradicating deforestation therefore implies taking care of the grave poverty in these areas, and goes through giving the locals sustainable ways to make a livingThere is what we call a market failure here. The market fails to provide solutions to deforestation in the rainforest, because of the lack of incentive to do so. It is then largely the government's role to protect these precious areas. However, governments in those countries are very corrupt and sometimes unstable...Deforestation is a very complicated problem. It is not about evil companies trying to make a profit at all cost (although irresponsible ones are a big problem. They are just not, in my opinion, the major one).The rainforest is disappearing... while mountains of money are wasted by rich governments on expensive projects (I won't cite anything to remain apolitical...).

twango Jan 19, 2007

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Seen any pictures of the US' Great Plains? Used to be covered with a matt of grass 2 or 3" thick. And millions of buffalo.Seen any pictures of the north half of Minnesota lately? Used to be covered with white pines. And wow, look at that *gaping hole* right next to Hibbing!Those awful Brazilians. How dare they.

manatee Jan 21, 2007

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I love the rain forests, BUT... we are kind of hypocritical as a lot of North America has been deforested<a class="user" href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=11&ll=40.691572,-74.010773&spn=0.220228,0.466919&t=k">http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=11&ll=40.691572,-74.010773&spn=0.220228,0.466919&t=k</a>

tkstock Jan 21, 2007

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That's horse-****There's actually more trees standing in America today then there was 300 years ago. Guess why? We do such a great job at controlling forest fires! Naturally-started forest fires used to wipe out hundreds of miles of forests, now we put them out! America deforested? HA!