I hope you're all enjoying a rainy Double Ten weekend! I loved the thunder and lightning storm.
Thanks for another great class last Thursday: I found all the presentations to be quite thought-provoking, and I really enjoyed the ensuing class discussions. Thanks to all for your participation!
Next class I'd like to delve into the theme of "Trees, Forests, and Deforestation."
As always, feel free to take this theme anywhere you'd like! As as always, please try to limit your presentation to about 8 to 10 minutes or less.
Some possible directions are
Trees
* a certain type of tree (either rare or common!)
* your favorite tree!
* personal experiences with trees! (childhood memories of tree-climbing, your own tree-planting experiences, ... etc.!)
* the biology of a tree
* how trees help humans
* the world's tallest tree
* special tree ecosystems
* ...!
Forests
* Taiwan's ancient forests
* the History of logging in Taiwan
* Rain forests
* Boreal forests
* Old growth forests
* Why forests are important for humans and for the earth
* personal forest experiences!
* ...!
Deforestation:
* Causes of deforestation (such as logging, grazing, agriculture, etc.)
* Consequences of deforesation ( such as habitat loss leading to species extinction, drought, desertification, global warming, etc.)
* Solutions to the problem of deforestation
* Examples of people or groups who are fighting deforestation
* ...!
And here are some useful resources and links for you!...
Trees:
Have you ever climbed a tree?!
Listen to a TED talk on the giant redwood trees of the Pacific Northwest:
"Richard Preston on the Giant Trees" (19 min 29 sec)
"Science writer Richard Preston talks about some of the most enormous living beings on the planet, the giant trees of the US Pacific Northwest. Growing from a tiny seed, they support vast ecosystems -- and are still, largely, a mystery."
As with all TED talks, you can get Traditional Chinese subtitles by clicking on the box next to "Subtitles Available In" under the video image.
Mr. Preston talks about "redwood time," being much slower than human time! :D And he shows us some serious tree-climbing, and introduces "sky-walking!"
Forests:
* "Primary forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity."
for a review of an article recently published in the scientific journal Nature, as well as a graph of 2005-2010 primary forest loss, and links to other articles about forests.
* "Old-Growth Forests Help Combat Climate Change," Scientific American:
a quote from the above article: "According to some estimates, less than 10 percent of forests worldwide can be considered old growth, or undisturbed for more than a century. And that is not just a tragedy for the plants and animals that require mature forests—it is also a tragedy for the world's climate, according to a study published today in Nature."
* Another TED talk, this time by a man who worked to save a forest in Congo:
"Corneille Ewango: A hero of the Congo Forest" (18 min 22 sec)
"Botanist Corneille Ewango talks about his work at the Okapi Faunal Reserve in the Congo Basin -- and his heroic work protecting it from poachers, miners and raging civil wars."
(Once again, you may want to use the Chinese subtitles.)
Deforestation:
* A quote from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation :
"In many countries, deforestation, both naturally occurring and human induced, is an ongoing issue. Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record.[4]"
* Please see this helpful National Geographic page:
Here's a quote from the above Nat. Geo. page:
"The statistics paint a grim picture. According to the World Resources Institute, more than 80 percent of the Earth’s natural forests already have been destroyed.
Up to 90 percent of West Africa’s coastal rain forests have disappeared since 1900.
Brazil and Indonesia, which contain the world’s two largest surviving regions of rain forest, are being stripped at an alarming rate by logging, fires, and land-clearing for agriculture and cattle-grazing."
* An old South African webpage at http://www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/facts/deforestation.htm
has a good break down of the causes and consequences of deforestation.
To quote from this page: "Indigenous forests now cover 21% of the earth's land surface."
* Below are some quotes from the article "Deforestation: the Hidden Cause of Global Warming," which you can read at
** "Carbon emissions from deforestation far outstrip damage caused by planes and automobiles and factories."
** "The rainforests of the Amazon, the Congo basin and Indonesia are thought of as the lungs of the planet."
** "As the GCP's report concludes: "If we lose forests, we lose the fight against climate change.""
** "International demand has driven intensive agriculture, logging and ranching that has proved an inexorable force for deforestation; conservation has been no match for commerce."
Desertification
A quote from the above page: "Perhaps the most frightening aspect of desertification is that it tends to be what scientists call a runaway phenomenon. Once it begins in a particular area, it is almost impossible to stop, and it cannot be reversed within a human lifetime."
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Enjoy thinking about trees, everybody, and see you this Thursday! I look forward to many exciting presentations on Trees, Forests, and Deforestation. (or anything else you want to talk about! :D )
Sincerely, Abbie
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