Topic: Deforestation

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose by 14% in March despite promises from the new leftist government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to curb illegal logging. The data from Brazil's space agency, INPE, shows that over 130 square miles were cleared. This increase follows a 40% rise in deforestation during the first eight months of the current reporting period compared to the previous year.

Science journalist David Quammen and author Sonia Shah discussed the link between environmental crises and zoonotic diseases. They explained that bats serve as "reservoir hosts" for viruses like SARS, MERS, and the current coronavirus, often without showing symptoms themselves. As human activity like deforestation increases contact with wildlife, these microbes are more likely to "spill over" into human populations.

An NPR "Planet Money" segment on the history of carbon offsets is deconstructed. The story traces the concept back to 1987, when an energy company paid farmers in Guatemala to plant trees to offset a coal plant's emissions. The hosts mock the calculation that it takes 52 million trees to offset one plant and frame the entire carbon offset industry as a "scam" that allows corporations to continue polluting.

Barack Obama linked the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to environmental conservation efforts during a recent speech. The president argued that a trade relationship with countries like Malaysia provides the necessary leverage to set standards against deforestation. Critics suggest this framing uses global warming as a justification for fast-tracking the trade agreement.

Kenneth Green warned that cap and trade creates a new financial instrument that could lead to a "carbon bubble" similar to the housing crisis. He also argued that carbon controls favor biofuels, which could lead to the displacement of natural forests by 2065. Green dismissed the promise of "green jobs," asserting that government policy merely shifts jobs with a net loss to the economy.