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The world’s most untouched rainforest obliterated for palm oil while the world watches and does nothing. Located in Indonesia, Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It’s home to some of the rarest species on earth, including the pigmy elephant, clouded leopard, and the Sumatran rhinoceros.
The country is undergoing break-neck economic development, and environmental laws are weak to the point of unenforceability. Palm oil is used in crackers, chocolate, ice cream, pastries, crackers, Nutella, etc.
More at Yale360. Follow climate adaptation.
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Orangutan evacuation in Tripa peat swamp of Aceh, Indonesia, ahead of encroaching palm oil clearing.
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(Sorry for the brutal pictures, but the Palm Oil and forest industries and a corrupt Indonesian government are screwing things up. By the thousands, orangutans are being killed to grow palm oil crops, a product used in crackers and candy.)
“Filmmaker’s heart-wrenching documentary shows tragic final hours of orangutan’s life as her rainforest home is ruthlessly destroyed
Lying on her back helpless and dying, Green the female orangutan is a picture of sadness as she faces her final hours.
The tragic female ape has been confined to a mattress inside a shack after her rainforest home was logged and burned to the ground through ruthless deforestation.
She clutches at her pillow and sits lifelessly on her mattress, defenceless as the lush Indonesian ecosystem she called home is destroyed, leaving her homeless.”
Mr Rouxel’s incredibly moving film aims to show how the timber, pulp and paper and palm oil industries, along with general consumerism, are combining to ravage natural resources worldwide.
The footage of Green’s final days and hours is interspersed with shots of trees being hacked down in Sumatra, Indonesia, along with shots of the wood products which result from the widespread deforestation.”
Read more: Daily Mail -
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Palm oil facts:
* 90 per cent of Sumatra’s orangutan population has disappeared since 1900. They now face extinction
* 90 per cent of wildlife disappears when the forest is replaced by palm, creating a biological desert
* 98 per cent of Indonesia’s forests may be destroyed by 2022 according to the United Nations
* 43 of Britain’s 100 top grocery brands contain or are thought to contain palm oil
"The Independent. Warning, article will infuriate. (via climateadaptation) -
Congratulations to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife Mrs. Ban Soon-taek who celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary with a traditional cutting rice ceremony while on an official trip to Indonesia.
While there, Ban Ki-moon noted that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the only leader of any nation in the world who has served as a UN blue helmet. He also paid tribute to the 31 Indonesian soldiers who lost their lives while serving in UN missions.
More behind-the-scenes travel photos
News story: On regional tour, Ban salutes Indonesia’s commitment to UN peacekeeping
Photo illustration credit: UNIC Jakarta
This is cute!
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British photographer Steve Jones submerged himself in the water to capture the relationship that has developed between man and whales sharks. Locals Indonesian peninsula of West Papua have struck up a bond with the monster fish, which can measure up to 12m in length. Fishermen hand feed them and even leap into the water to cut them free should they get caught in fishing nets.
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People Winner (2010 National Geographic Photography Contest)
Photo and caption by Chan-Kwok Hung
An Indonesian famer and his buffalo charge through the mud in “Buffalo Race,” and image that contest judge Joel Sartore called “an epic scene.”
Farmers literally put a lot of stock into winning these annual races, which they believe will bring them luck during the upcoming growing season, according to photographer Chan Kwok Hung of Hong Kong.
National Geographic magazine senior photo editor and judge Sadie Quarrier praised the image as “nicely composed, very real moment.”
“I’m immediately drawn to the expression on the guy’s face, with his open mouth and tightly squeezed eyes as if he’s barely holding on.”
Freelance photographer and judge Stephen Alvarez called the photo “high action perfectly captured. Sometimes photography is all about the moment.”
Added Sartore, a freelance photographer, “peak action, interesting subject matter, and a soft background all combined to make this image a winner.”
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An Indonesian artist, Fanny Octavianus, placed a picture of a man swimming on a polluted river in Jakarta as a protest of the river’s condition on the city’s 484th anniversary. (Beawiharta/Reuters)
About me
Name: Kat
Occupation: Student, photographer, intern
Appreciates:
Environmentalism
Photography
Conservation
Sustainability
Renewable Energy
Dance
Democracy
Bats
Madison, WI
Environmental Art
Red Pandas
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Broccoli
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I Blog: Anything from the list above, but mainly a smattering of cute animals, environmental stuff, politics, photography, weddings, interior design, cupcakes, books, and whatever else I feel like depending on current events and the availability of new red panda photos.
Enjoy.
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