July 7, 2007: Rain forest to charcoal
 

http://cellar.org/2007/rainforest.jpg

xoB finds this wire service image of what the caption says is virgin Amazon rain forest logs, and the mud hut ovens they'll be put into to create charcoal. Charcoal!

It's all in Brazil, and it turns out this is one of the biggest consumptions of the rain forest there.

Turning those logs into charcoal is like turning cows into McBurgers... quick and easy for the consumer, but so much wasted along the way.

when you think you've seen it all....

At least the logs don't become single toothpicks like an old Disney cartoon...but it's still a waste.

I remember when I was a kid that the Amazon loses 1 football sized area per day to human destruction.
I don't care if global warming stories are true or not. If you KNOW something is bad for the planet, DON'T DO IT!

I'm wondering if this is waste, by-products?? Of the real rape.

From the Washington Post. It doesn't sound like the byproduct of logging/lumbering.

Next time you pick up that bag of Kingsford, make sure you thank the gods for it.

That's it I am calling into work today. I refuse to consume or drive my car... wait, wait, how will I pay the bills, feed the wife and children, heat the house, keep the beer cold, water the flowers, oh hell, forget that.

Much of the charcoal is used to carbonize iron ore to create pig iron, both in Brazil and elsewhere. Another big market is lump charcoal in Europe.
Another bone of contention, is that much of the rain forest clearing is done by slave labor.

Maybe it's the recent Live Earth coverage, but the rain forest site (http://www.therainforestsite.com/) would not load for me this morning. I had the same problem with the hunger site (http://www.thehungersite.com/). I wonder if it's because of all the attention the environment and the problems it is causing with famine are getting in the news.

The breast cancer, child health, animal rescue, and literacy sites loaded ok. Of course, these are the lesser known sites and may never have been as popular.

I've put all of the click-a-day-for charity sites in one bookmark group in Firefox. Every day when I use my home computer it only usually takes 10 seconds to open all in tabs and click on and donate a few square feet of rain forest, part of a bowl of animal food, etc. The donation is paid for by the sponsors. All I invest is 10 seconds of my time assuming I'm on the computer anyway.

If the hunger and rain forest sites are down because of volume, that's both a good and bad thing.

P.S. The hunger site finally came back. The rain forest site is still unavailable.

That sounds pretty cool. Is there a clearing house for these kinds of links so people can pick and choose what places they want to "donate" those clicks to?

That depends. When it's all working, the sites are tabbed together, so one site usually can lead to the others. I find using the 'open all in tabs' method faster. You don't donate until you click the button, so you don't have to worry about accidentally donating to something you disagree with, although I doubt you are pro-hunger, -illiteracy, -cancer, etc.

OK, maybe I do have a hard time picturing you with the 'free peace dove pin'.

Your view of who I am or am not is at best myopic.