ABC South East NSW - Scientist links forest logging to bushfires:
The Australian National University's Professor David Lindenmayer says removing the tree canopy allows sunlight to dry the forest floor.
Professor Lindenmayer and his colleagues have found forests are more prone to fire if they have been logged.
He says it is time to rethink if logging is appropriate given the heightened fire risk.
'I'm saying that we probably do need to think deeply about where we do the logging,' he said.
Showing posts with label human health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human health. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
PricewaterhouseCoopers report says 0.5% public green spending could induce 141% increase in urban green investment; United Kingdom
Green infrastructure in action - Environmental technologies news magazine:
Figures produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers for CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), the Government’s advisor on urban design show how a shift in spending from grey to green of just 0.5% in some local authorities could increase investment in urban green space by 141%. Switching public spending from ‘grey’ projects like road building and heavy engineering projects to ‘green’ schemes like street trees, parks, green roofs and waterways could address climate change more effectively, improve public health and make our communities more beautiful says the report, published by CABE.
The report, Grey to Green, identifies the network of natural green resources in every town and city – our ‘green infrastructure’ (GI) - as one of the most practical and cost-effective tools we have for dealing with environmental and social problems. It suggests, for instance, that the £1.28bn budget for widening a 63-mile section of the M25 could pay for 3.2m trees to store three million tonnes of carbon; or 5,000 miles of off-road routes for cyclists and pedestrians. But the report warns that there is a chronic shortage of people in local authorities with the right skills to design and manage green infrastructure, which is essential to harness the benefits.
Figures produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers for CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), the Government’s advisor on urban design show how a shift in spending from grey to green of just 0.5% in some local authorities could increase investment in urban green space by 141%. Switching public spending from ‘grey’ projects like road building and heavy engineering projects to ‘green’ schemes like street trees, parks, green roofs and waterways could address climate change more effectively, improve public health and make our communities more beautiful says the report, published by CABE.
The report, Grey to Green, identifies the network of natural green resources in every town and city – our ‘green infrastructure’ (GI) - as one of the most practical and cost-effective tools we have for dealing with environmental and social problems. It suggests, for instance, that the £1.28bn budget for widening a 63-mile section of the M25 could pay for 3.2m trees to store three million tonnes of carbon; or 5,000 miles of off-road routes for cyclists and pedestrians. But the report warns that there is a chronic shortage of people in local authorities with the right skills to design and manage green infrastructure, which is essential to harness the benefits.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Climate change, urbanization, disease vectors and human health; Earth
The Spread of New Diseases and the Climate Connection by Sonia Shah: Yale Environment 360: As humans increasingly encroach on forested lands and as temperatures rise, the transmission of disease from animals and insects to people is growing. Now a new field, known as “conservation medicine,” is exploring how ecosystem disturbance and changing interactions between wildlife and humans can lead to the spread of new pathogens.
by sonia shah
Look up into the tree canopy of the urban tropics in South Asia, Australia, or equatorial Africa and as often as not you will find masses of Pteropos fruit bats, hanging from the branches like so many furry stalactites. Their forests cut down by bulldozers, torched by slash-and-burn farmers, or desiccated from a disrupted climate, fruit bats increasingly intrude upon human communities, adapting to the orchards and cultivated fruit trees of the cities, farms, and suburbs that have subsumed their forests.
With those bats come diseases that spread to humans, and a growing body of research suggests that their microbes — as well as other pathogens that jump from animals to people — are spreading more rapidly because of climate change and deforestation.
by sonia shah
Look up into the tree canopy of the urban tropics in South Asia, Australia, or equatorial Africa and as often as not you will find masses of Pteropos fruit bats, hanging from the branches like so many furry stalactites. Their forests cut down by bulldozers, torched by slash-and-burn farmers, or desiccated from a disrupted climate, fruit bats increasingly intrude upon human communities, adapting to the orchards and cultivated fruit trees of the cities, farms, and suburbs that have subsumed their forests.
With those bats come diseases that spread to humans, and a growing body of research suggests that their microbes — as well as other pathogens that jump from animals to people — are spreading more rapidly because of climate change and deforestation.
Monday, August 24, 2009
More tree canopy means more birds means more mosquitoes means more West Nile virus; Lafayette, LA
West Nile found in 'hot spot' for virus | theadvertiser.com | The Advertiser
Amanda McElfresh • amcelfresh@theadvertiser.com • August 22, 2009
As the West Nile season hits its peak, a mosquito pool in the Brentwood subdivision has tested positive for the virus.
Glenn Stokes, president of Mosquito Control Contractors Inc., said the area, along with the Broadmoor subdivision, historically has been a hot spot for the disease, mainly because of the high number of trees in that areas.'There's an old, mature tree canopy there, and that means more birds and more mosquitoes feeding on birds,' Stokes said. 'It just shows that people shouldn't let their guard down.'Also this week, Stokes said two positive mosquito pools were found in St. Mary Parish, one in Glencoe and one in Bayou Vista."
Amanda McElfresh • amcelfresh@theadvertiser.com • August 22, 2009
As the West Nile season hits its peak, a mosquito pool in the Brentwood subdivision has tested positive for the virus.
Glenn Stokes, president of Mosquito Control Contractors Inc., said the area, along with the Broadmoor subdivision, historically has been a hot spot for the disease, mainly because of the high number of trees in that areas.'There's an old, mature tree canopy there, and that means more birds and more mosquitoes feeding on birds,' Stokes said. 'It just shows that people shouldn't let their guard down.'Also this week, Stokes said two positive mosquito pools were found in St. Mary Parish, one in Glencoe and one in Bayou Vista."
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