Religion and Ethics Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Sriram on December 01, 2019, 04:59:24 AM
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Hi everyone,
Here is a CNN article about palm oil and the destruction of Indonesian forests.
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/11/asia/borneo-climate-bomb-intl-hnk/index.html
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Deep within the jungles of Indonesian Borneo, illegal fires rage, creating apocalyptic red skies and smoke that has spread as far as Malaysia and Singapore.
People are choking. Animals are dying.
This is no ordinary fire. It was lit for you.
Farmers are clearing land the fastest way they know how to cash in on growing demand for palm oil, which is used in half of all supermarket products, from chocolate to shampoo.
They’re not only burning the forest, they’re destroying the peatlands that lie beneath it -- the world’s largest natural terrestrial carbon sink.
The known inhabitants include pygmy elephants, clouded leopards, sun bears, mouse deer, flying fox bats, pangolins, and most famous of all, the Bornean orangutan.
One of the closest genetic relatives to humans, these great apes share 97% of our DNA.
New analysis by Greenpeace in its report ‘Burning Down the House’ accuses international companies including Unilever, Mondelez, Nestle and several others of using suppliers linked to thousands of this year’s fires. Some of the suppliers are also under public investigation for starting illegal fires, the report says.
“Companies have created a facade of sustainability, but the reality is that they source from the very worst offenders across the board,” says Annisa Rahmawati, a forest campaigner from Greenpeace Indonesia. “The companies responsible for the fires and those who financially benefit from them should be held accountable for these environmental atrocities and the devastating health impacts caused by the fires.”
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Cheers.
Sriram
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100 percent support for a change in our behaviour, Sriram. In the latest TV series fronted by David Attenborough, the scale of palm oil production and the danger it presents to wildlife - in particular to the orangutan - is highlighted.
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Sriram
I'm going to try not to think about that for the rest of the day .
Thank you .
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I think you'll find, Sriram, that this subject has been aired quite recently on this forum, no doubt influenced, in this country, by the David Attenborough series, 'Seven Continents'(which is still ongoing)
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Have a look at the "I wish I'd never been born: the rise of the anti-natalists" thread in the 'Philosophy, in all its guises' section. I know the detrimental effects of producing palm oil had an affect on my wife and I, who always check now to make sure as far as possible that we buy products that have no or sustainable palm oil ingredients. Nearly Sane's reference to a list of sustainable oil palm products is quite useful, hence I'll repeat it here.
https://www.chesterzoo.org/schools/resources/sustainable-palm-oil-shopping-list/
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I posted this link on a thread a couple of years ago. It is a difficult issue in that currently if we were to stop the use of palm oil in a blanket fashion then it would most likely be replaced by cultivation of other vegetable oils which would actually increase deforestation and habitat destruction. That attempts to find alternatives to the oils such as covered in the article have been fought against by some environmentalist groups seems to me a form of green ludditism.
The certification of sustainable palm oil needs to be policed and trustworthy but in my opinion is currently the best, or rather least worst approach.
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/29/algae-yeast-quest-to-find-alternative-to-palm-oil
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The best solution is , GET RID OF A FEW FOLK
We need a new "Band Aid " charity tune
Starve the world
Don't they know it's crunch time
That should do it 👍
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Anyway I'm just about to watch
Seven worlds , one planet
Narrated by our sanctimonious national treasure Dave Battenburg
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Anyway I'm just about to watch
Seven worlds , one planet
Narrated by our sanctimonious national treasure Dave Battenburg
My husband enjoys that programme. I think David Attenborough is a great guy, I remember watching his TV wildlife programmes when I was a small child in the 50s.
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He's been making these programmes since 1827 😆
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Palm oil? I take it we're not talking about hand cream...
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Palm oil? I take it we're not talking about hand cream...
palm oil- a lonely gentleman's lubricant 😜
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;D Even better!
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The best solution is , GET RID OF A FEW FOLK
Fine. After you.
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Fine. After you.
im not long for this word
See you on the other side jezza 😆
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Can I come too?
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Can I come too?
name a place Robbie and I'll come and pick you up . We can disappear together into the wide blue yonder , the world is ours, tomorrow belongs to us 😎
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Alas the moment has passed.