Area the size of Texas in Amazonian rainforest provisionally marked for Oil and Gas exploration.

[JohnWxy]

An area in the pristine Amazonian rainforests covering an area almost as large as Texas has been provisionally earmarked for oil and gas exploration, according to the New Scietist magazine.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x184927

Once exploration for oil and gas gets underway roads are built and this opens up the rainforest to illegal logging, the leading cause of deforestation. After the loggers remove the big trees local farmers start to move in to grow crops for their own food needs. But the land really is fertile enough for a few years and then the farmers move on to a new area.

[Chulanowa]

1. The land CAN be fertile for much longer...

Just not with European methods. The people of the Amazon had (and many still have) a strong agricultural basis for their societies. However it's not good for industrial agriculture - which is what htey mean by "farmers" in this case. it's not some Brazilian guy in a floppy hat with an ox that's causing the problems, it's the motherfuckers with a million cows and who think they can grow wheat and palms in the Amazonian basin.

Frankly the idea is ridiculous. Oil in the Amazon? They looked for it there in the fucking 30's. You're better off just building solar fields in all the land you cut.

[JohnWxy]

3. The illegal logging and oil exploration is what's so destructive

NOte that oil goes for a much higher price now than it did in the 30's. So that changes the equation.

[Chulanowa]

4. Oh, I know

I just felt the need to add :)

[Aqaba]

2. Uh oh, who knew Osama would flee to the Amazon?

Send in the marines!

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

If anyone has some hope by now its sorely misplaced. Our exponential growth and consumption is unstoppable. Quite a sad time to bring children into this dying world.

[JohnWxy]

6. Hey, I didn't mean to make you depressed. You gotta believe people can change things for the better

Just hang in there.

[Oregone]

9. You didn't make me depressed

1) Im not depressed. Im realistic.

2) I was all ready thinking this today when I walked past a huge golf course.

Look, a Google search may have the same carbon footprint as heating a pot of water. Our accelerating use and development of high energy technology (which we are slaves to) prohibits us from ever developing a solid solution (not to mention developing countries need every bit of leverage they can get these days). I just don't think itll happen.

[RC]

7. Sure, rip out the lungs of the world.

[hatrack]

8. Finally! Now we can stop worrying about the damned rainforest! Fucking toucans!!!

Yeah, there's some serious long-term planning!

:eyes: