Page 5 - July 2020 Issue

reduced 80 percent more tree cover than
in previous years.

On the bright side, Global Forest
Watch reports that primary forest loss
Dear EarthTalk: How are we doing in the was reduced significantly in Indonesia,
battle to stop or slow deforestation, where a recently imposed government The Amazon
especially in the tropics where forests store moratorium on clearing land for palm
so much of the world’s biodiversity? oil plantations—along with beefed up
— M. Lark, Neptune, IA enforcement—has reduced annual forest
loss to levels not seen for 15 years
From the Editors of E - The Environmental (before the palm oil craze swept the
Magazine region). Primary tropical forest loss
was also down some 50 percent in both
In short, not so good. Global Forest Watch, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
a project of the non-profit World Resources
Institute (WRI) which uses satellite data to What’s the solution? Frances Seymour
track global forest loss, found that the world of WRI tells The New York Times that
lost some 3.8 million hectares of tropical she’d like to see the international
primary forest (defined as forests of native community address the problem
trees undisturbed by human activities) in through economic incentives that
2019—equivalent to one soccer field every encourage forest protection. She adds
six seconds and an area about the size of that governments should focus on
Switzerland in total. One particularly nasty preventing forest burning, increasing
side effect of all this forest loss is the release monitoring and enforcement to stop
of more than two billion tons of carbon encroachment while providing the poor
dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, into the with alternatives to forest exploitation.
atmosphere as the trees came down in 2019.
(To put that into context, this is more CONTACTS: Global Forest Watch,
emissions than caused by all of the vehicles globalforestwatch.org; World
on the road in the United States during the Resources Institute, wri.org; WWF’s
same 12-month stretch.) The tropical primary “Living Forests Report Chapter 5:
forest loss in 2019 is the third highest Saving Forests at Risk,”
amount in recorded history, behind only worldwildlife.org/publications/living-
2016 and 2017. forests-report-chapter-5-saving-forests-
at-risk.
While deforestation is an issue EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy
everywhere, it is particularly problematic in Learn about the new voting experience rolling out in LA County for March
the tropics where the majority of the world’s Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 2020. League of Women Voters of Los Angeles | 3303 Wilshire Boulevard , Suite
biodiversity lives. Another leading nonprofit EarthTalk. See more at https:// 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90010
conservation group, WWF, points out that emagazine.com. To donate, visit https://
some 17 percent of the forest across the earthtalk.org. Send questions to:
Amazon has been cut down over the last 50 question@earthtalk.org.
years, mostly to make room for cattle Looking for a SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY?
ranching—so we can enjoy our steaks and Status of Social Security
burgers. The group warns that if nothing is CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING FULLERTON
done to stop it, some of the world’s most
iconic and biologically diverse forest The abrupt and severe contraction in the 373 E. Imperial Highway, Fullerton, CA 92835
landscapes could be lost to deforestation, U.S. economy caused by the coronavirus
including primary habitat for iconic wildlife has far-reaching consequences for Social
species like orangutans, tigers and elephants. Security. Twenty million workers filed JULY 2020
claims for unemployment between March
“The hot spots are located in the Amazon, 15, 2020 and April 17, 2020, a level that has
the Atlantic Forest and Gran Chaco, Borneo, not been seen since the Great Depression.
the Cerrado, Choco-Darien, the Congo Basin,
East Africa, Eastern Australia, Greater Both the wide-scale shutdowns and layoffs, VIEW SERVICES on the INTERNET
Mekong, New Guinea, and Sumatra.” reports as well as provisions of the coronavirus
WWF. “Up to 420 million acres of forest CARES Act stimulus legislation www.CSLFullerton.org
could be lost between 2010 and 2030 in these significantly reduce the anticipated amount
‘deforestation fronts’ if current trends of payroll taxes flowing into Social Security click Sundays/Past Services
continue.” this year.
Brazil suffered the largest total primary
forest loss of all in 2019, with deforestation The CARES Act will not impact payment
for agriculture and other new land uses of Social Security benefits because funding Call for prayer & updates
increasing rapidly through that country’s from the projected Social Security payroll
vast stretches of Amazon rainforest. taxes will be credited to the Trust Fund.
Meanwhile, neighboring Bolivia experienced Increased borrowing and increased debt 714-525-1126
the largest surge in primary tropical forest costs may put added pressure on Social
loss, where rampaging wildfires, most likely Security for changes to improve solvency in Choose Faith over Fear
set intentionally to clear land for farming,
the near future, though.

July 2020 5