Greta Thunberg and China bump heads over emissions

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Redd_Kross
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12 May 2021, 5:09 pm

kitesandtrainsandcats wrote:
Perhaps of related interest?



Not really. That just looks like excuse-making.

"Everything is terrible - might as well give up".

Whereas what it actually means is that more things need to change, and can be changed.

We're facing a massive environmental threat, time to get on with it.



Mikah
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12 May 2021, 5:38 pm

Aprilviolets wrote:
trees are the lungs of the earth


This one's a myth. Forests & jungles are more or less carbon neutral if not subject to human interference.


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cyberdad
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12 May 2021, 6:34 pm

Mikah wrote:
Aprilviolets wrote:
trees are the lungs of the earth


This one's a myth. Forests & jungles are more or less carbon neutral if not subject to human interference.


Forests are a carbon sink. There is some debate over whether organic or inorganic sinks are more effective at sequestering carbon.

In the case of organic sinks, the oceanic/sediment plankton biomass may be a bigger carbon sink than forests but global warming also impacts on acidification of oceans which reduced biomass thus compromising carbon sequestering,



Mikah
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12 May 2021, 7:19 pm

cyberdad wrote:
Mikah wrote:
Aprilviolets wrote:
trees are the lungs of the earth


This one's a myth. Forests & jungles are more or less carbon neutral if not subject to human interference.


Forests are a carbon sink. There is some debate over whether organic or inorganic sinks are more effective at sequestering carbon.

In the case of organic sinks, the oceanic/sediment plankton biomass may be a bigger carbon sink than forests but global warming also impacts on acidification of oceans which reduced biomass thus compromising carbon sequestering,


https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 150055.htm

They aren't that useful on the carbon front, but still shouldn't be cut down for a host of good reasons.


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Pepe
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12 May 2021, 9:06 pm

kitesandtrainsandcats wrote:
Perhaps of related interest?



Ouch!



SkinnedWolf
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13 Jun 2022, 5:26 am

https://says.com/my/news/mahathir-s-reply-to-a-boy-from-england-about-logging-in-1987

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In that letter, the boy requested Dr M to stop the logging activities in Malaysia because he wanted to study animals in the tropical rainforests.
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Darrell Abercrombie, a boy from England, wrote to the then Prime Minster of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir, to express his concerns about the logging activities in Malaysia.

Darrell mentioned that he hoped to study the animals in the tropical rainforests in the future but millions of animals were dying because the tropical rainforests were being destroyed by logging activities by the lumber companies.

"Do you think that (it) is right just so one rich man gets another million pounds or more?," he wrote.

He ended the letter by saying, "I think it is disgraceful."

In return, Dr Mahathir wrote a lengthy reply to the child. Here's what he said:

"Every tree that is extracted creates job for at least ten poor men who support probably ten wives and thirty children."

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Dr Mahathir started the letter by saying that "it is disgraceful" that Darrell, the then 10-year-old child, was being manipulated by adults who was trying to shame Malaysia for the logging activities in the country.

The former Prime Minister explained that these logging activities were not benefitting the rich, but in fact, they created job opportunities for the poor.

"Every tree that is extracted creates jobs for at least ten poor men who support probably ten wives and thirty children," he wrote.

He added that the rich was heavily taxed, which contributed to the government’s funds. He explained that these funds will then be used to provide the poor with education, health, and other services.

"Are they supposed to remain poor because you want to study tropical animals?"
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Dr Mahathir continued his letter by stating that the timber industry has helped hundreds of thousands of people in Malaysia.

He went on to pose a few questions in his reply:
• Are they (Malaysians) supposed to remain poor because you want to study tropical animals?
• Is your study more important than filling the empty stomachs of poor people?
• Are Malaysians expected to lose millions of pounds so that you can study animals?

"What your father's fathers did was indeed disgraceful."
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Dr Mahathir took the opportunity to highlight that in the past, the British had burnt millions of acres of Malaysians forests to plant rubber, causing millions of animals to die.

He added that “practically all the profits” from the sales of rubber was taken back to England, and what they did was “indeed disgraceful”.

He continued by writing, “If you don’t want to cut down our forests, tell your father to tell the rich countries like Britain to pay more for the timber they buy from us (Malaysia). Then we can cut less timber and create other jobs for our people.”

The then 62-year-old Dr Mahathir also suggested to Darrell to visit the National Parks in Malaysia if he was “really interested in tropical animals” because nobody is allowed to fell trees or kill animals there. He added that not all trees were cut down for logging and that there were ongoing reforestation efforts.

“Adults should not teach children to be rude to their elders.”
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Dr Mahathir, who perhaps suspected that the letter was not sent by a boy at all, continued the letter by saying that he hoped that Darrell will tell the adults who used him to “learn all the facts”.

“They should not be too arrogant and think they know how best to run a country.”

He went on to say that “the adults” should clear the British countryside and allow secondary forests to grow and fill these new forests with animals so that Darrell can study them before studying tropical animals.

In his closing paragraph, Dr Mahathir said that he “believe strongly that children should learn all about animals and love them” but stressed that adults should not “teach children to be rude to their elders”.


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