Limits to growth

[grarpamp]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/amazon-species-at-risk-of-extinction-1.6102912

More than 10,000 species of plants and animals are at high risk of
extinction due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest -- 35
percent of which has already been deforested or degraded, according to
the draft of a landmark scientific report published on Wednesday.
Produced by the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA), the report brings
together research on the world's largest rainforest from 200
scientists from across the globe. It is the most detailed assessment
of the state of the forest to date and both makes clear the vital role
the Amazon plays in global climate and the profound risks it is
facing. Cutting deforestation and forest degradation to zero in less
than a decade "is critical," the report said. It also called for
massive restoration of already destroyed areas. Furthermore, the
report said the continued destruction caused by human interference in
the Amazon puts more than 8,000 endemic plants and 2,300 animals at
high risk of extinction. According to the report, of the Amazon
basin's original size, 18 per cent has already been deforested --
mostly for agriculture and illegal timber. Another 17 per cent has
been degraded.

A separate study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday showed
that some parts of the Amazon are emitting more carbon than they
absorb, based on measurements of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide
taken from above the rainforest between 2010 and 2018. Lead author
Luciana Gatti, a scientist at Brazil's Inpe space research agency,
suggests the increased carbon emissions in southeastern Amazonia --
where deforestation is fierce -- is not only the result of fires and
direct destruction, but also due to rising tree mortality as severe
drought and higher temperatures become more common.