lessons for 2080

 

The example environmental stewardship set by the small West African country of Niger is inspiring.
Faced with increased desertification and shrinking supplies of food and water for people and livestock, the people of Niger changed the fate of their country by planting thousands of gao (Faidherbia albida) trees. These trees fix nitrogen in the soil as well as provide shade, leaves, fruit and wood, which have all feed the people and the economy. 

So why are the lessons of Niger important for 2080? Just check out the data compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to see for yourself.

Click the map for a direct link.

next time you order Chinese take-out, thank a Georgian tree

 

Surprise, surprise....did you know that most chopsticks are made in the United States, not China? Sort of weird, but true. Believe it or not, even most of the chopsticks used in China, Japan and South Korea are also made in the U.S. This is mainly due to a developing lack of natural resources in many of these Asian countries. Currently, there is a factory in Americus, Georgia that is making over ten million sets of chopsticks a week that are exported to Asia! The wood of choice comes from poplar and sweet gum trees, which grow in abundance in Georgia. Very few new trees are harvested in this process as most are made from scraps obtained from nearby lumber and paper mills, but of course the environmental downside is the fact that once the chopsticks are made they are shipped half way around the world.

learn more

the climate race

Once again NPR comes through with thought-provoking programing. This time it is Marketplace's series "the climate race". If you missed hearing these segments, you might want to click below and check out the interesting stories that were explored.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/28/pm-climate-race2