Allow me to quote the same Reuters report here again:
Global warming could bring hunger, melt HimalayasWell guess what? Have I got a surprise for you, TADA:
OSLO (Reuters) - Global warming could cause more hunger in Africa and melt most Himalayan glaciers by the 2030s, according to a draft U.N. report due on Friday which also warns that the poorest nations are likely to suffer most. [Source: Reuters]
Only a few years ago, oil from palm trees was viewed as an ideal biofuel: a
cheap, renewable alternative to petroleum that would fight global warming.
Energy companies began converting generators and production soared.
............................
The four-year study found that 600 million tons of carbon dioxide seep into
the air each year from the drained swamps. Another 1.4 billion tons go up in
smoke from fires lit to clear rain forest for plantations — smoke that often
shrouds Singapore and Malaysia in an impenetrable haze for weeks at a
time.
Together, those 2 billion tons of CO2 account for 8 percent of the
world's fossil fuel emissions, the report said. [Source: AP]
Majulah negara dengan kelapa sawit, potong semua pokok getah, tak guna mia. Oh yea, and I saw an article in the business section of The Star a few days back here. No wonder IOI's stock hit historic high, so much for corporate social responsibility.
p.s. IOI is "world's biggest oil palm planter".
Reference:
- Global warming could bring hunger, melt Himalayas, Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent, Reuters, 2 April 2007.
- Palm Oil Failing as Biofuel, Arthur Max, Associated Press, 2 April 2007.
- IOI plans to return RM1.37bil, The Star, 31 March 2007.
1 comment:
well, I'm abit skeptical with what these idealist in the West are saying. Most are just hopping onto the next popular environmentalist bandwagon...used to be O&G, now biofuel? Just from palm oil? What about European grown soya beans and rapeseed? They emit no CO2?
did they lump all the CO2 emmissions from the forest burnings in indonesia that caused the haze and blame it all on just oil palm planters?
also, do these so-called experts happen to know that peat soil is possibly the least preferred soil by the planters? And some of them have acidity so high, I wonder how much fertilizers you need to get it to the right pH level and what about the high possibility of peat fires?
Who in the right mind would put so much of their investments (a yield producing plant probably takes around 3-5 years to grow, even the seedling stays in the nursery for 1 year) in a high risk zone?
I suggest you read these articles for a more balanced say on this matter:
1. http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/006/T0309E/T0309E01.htm
2. http://www.bioenergy-business.com/index.cfm?section=features&action=view&id=10516
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