Grim space photo shows the horror of demolishing forests

[C C]

https://mashable.com/2018/07/13/nasa-spa...adagascar/

EXCERPT: While orbiting some 250 miles above Madagascar this week, International Space Station astronaut Ricky Arnold captured a grim picture of the island's decimated land. Madagascar's forests have been nearly logged to death, with nearly 90 percent of its original forests destroyed in the last century, according to NASA. A striking result of this loss, captured by Arnold, is an extreme erosion of the red-tinged land into Madagascar's rivers. Due to the decimation of the nation's forests, there are few trees left to stabilize the barren earth, especially during rains. [...] These waterways, collectively called the Betsiboka Estuary, have been filling up with dirt and mud from the island's now bare hillsides. At one time, notes NASA, ships could travel up these coastal rivers. Today, vessels must dock on the coast, as the channels are too shallow and clogged....

MORE: https://mashable.com/2018/07/13/nasa-spa...adagascar/

[citizenschallenge]

Grim, but most don't want to know, the Hollyworld Party is still going strong. Just don't look outside.

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C C, I'm new here. That's one heck of slide show you got going there.
The sound track must be a trip.

cheers,
cc

[RainbowUnicorn]

The Madagascar government is attempting to protect and recover its rainforests, but these efforts have proven less than effective. 

Just last month, irate farmers burned down government and conservation offices near protected zones because these conserved areas conflict with people's need to farm land and accrue income. 
If any recovery does occur, it's likely to take some time, perhaps longer than the century it took to raze the island's ancient forests. Astronauts, it seems, will be peering down onto red rivers for years to come. 

i think roughly speaking it would take... let me calculate... 10 million years roughly to replace these forrests.

[C C]

C C, I'm new here.

Greetings, cc. Set up a tent anywhere.

That's one heck of slide show you got going there. The sound track must be a trip.

Trust me, it would be a far cry from a symphonic metal orchestra pounding out a flagellating death rage with caterwauling, silver-throated vocals. Most likely acoustic guitar instrumentals, with discount keyboard sounds from one of those browser piano apps thrown in.

~

[Yazata]

I think that deforestation is one of the gravest environmental challenges to the planet. It's causing the Sahara desert to grow southwards, it's destroying the Amazon rain forest and China's once dense forests are pretty much long-gone.

But as populations grow and people have to survive, it's gonna happen.

[stryder]

In the past civilisations managed the woodlands to produce coal for coppicing, wicker for weaving and the woods themselves became denser allowing for wildlife to utilise it's cover.

Our day and age has lost the need or concern for such things, which means although it's possible to have synergy, blatant capitalistic greed and not considering the future impact leaves us seeing such levels of deforestation. Such areas can recover if left, the problem is however getting it left alone since there is always someone trying to exploit something.

[Ben the Donkey]

I hear you.

All sorts of solutions present themselves, but unfortunately the vast majority of humanity are rather selfish.
Can't see the forest for the trees, as it were.