Global Warming, Deforestation Serve up Double Whammy for Amazon Rainforest

“This study and the drought really hit home the need for the United States to act,” said Pamela Wellner, senior forest campaigner for Greenpeace.  “We are the largest consumer of wood taken from the Amazon.  We are also the largest contributor to global warming pollution in the world.  The world’s greatest rainforest is in peril of being turned into a dry savannah – all because of our greedy appetite for exotic wood and a national dirty energy program. The United States must stop the trade in illegal logging and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Today’s study by the Carnegie Institution at Stanford attributes the new deforestation numbers to selective logging, which involves picking out individual trees such as mahogany and other valuable hardwoods.  Until now, only large swaths of clearcutting were used to calculate rates of deforestation, and the impact of selective logging had not been assessed.  With more sophisticated satellite imagery and analysis, Carnegie Institution scientists discovered that an additional area the size of the state of Connecticut is destroyed every year, and that this additional deforestation contributes another 100 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

"Our results show that selective logging, which has been unaccounted for in previous satellite studies, is a major contributor to forest disturbance in the Amazon," said Dr. Gregory P. Asner, who authored the study.

The Amazon drought is a result of a vicious cycle created by the combined effects of global warming and deforestation.  Cutting and burning trees, and the rotting of the debris left behind causes the release of massive amounts of carbon dioxide and other global warming pollution.  In addition, the unshaded ground heats up in the tropical sun and creates more dry hot air, amplifying the drought.

Since 1999, Greenpeace has exposed illegal logging in Brazil and revealed the connections between Amazon logging and timber companies around the world.  A U.S. addendum to the 2003 report, State of Conflict, showed that millions of dollars were fueling the illegal logging trade.

Greenpeace is available to comment on this issue and can provide video and photos of the Amazon, including shots of illegal logging, deforestation and drought.