Friday, December 10, 2010

Good morning,

The Amazon Rainforest represents over half of the planet's
remaining rainforests, and it comprises the largest and most
species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

And it's dying.

An intense months-long drought through November drained the
mighty Negro river -- a tributary of the Amazon -- to its
lowest since records began in 1902, drying up the network
of water that is the lifeblood of Brazil's huge Amazonas
state.

What are the consequences?

Thanks for reading,

Your Living Green editor

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This is the second such drought in five years. If this
pattern of more extreme weather continues it would reduce
rainfall over the remaining forest, creating a vicious
cycle that would turn much of the Amazon into a savannah-
like state by 2100. Ecologists and climatologists say
there may come "a tipping point" after which the death of
the forest becomes self-sustained by higher temperatures,
dwindling rain levels and destructive fires.

Accounting for more than half of the world's remaining
rainforest, the Amazon's trees are a vital global air con-
ditioner, helping to keep the world cool by soaking up
atmospheric carbon totaling about 2 billion tons each year.
When they die or wither, as they did in large numbers during
the 2005 drought, they become part of the global-warming
problem by releasing carbon.