The Impact Of Palm Oil Plantations And Carbon Emissions

cutting down forests in Brazil, as well as setting wildfires in places like west Texas cause “carbons stored in trees” to escape. Individuals don't understand that in places like “Brazil,” deforestation causes more emissions than “all of the world's cars.” There are other forms of greenhouse gases as well; like “Methane” released from “Rice Farming, Petroleum drilling, and even cattle bleaching” (Friedman 35). Over “10 Billion” animals are raised for Factory Farms in the United states. Burning Fossil Fuels for fertilizer creates up to “41 million metric tons” of Carbon Dioxide. The Factory Farm industry contributes to air pollution by emitting Greenhouse Gases such as “Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia and Methane” (DoSomething Web). Factory Farms is something that can easily be changed by switching to smaller meat establishments, where the common public already expects the meat to come from.

A major source of controversy when it comes to biodiesel and other biofuels such as ethanol is what ingredient are used to make the fuel. When oils from crops are used, a number of problems can arise. For instance, biodiesel and other biofuels are often touted as environmentally friendly since they are typically made from plants, which suck the global warming gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow. However, the land may be damaged in order to grow these crops as demand for biofuels grow for example, in Indonesia, biodiesel may be causing deforestation, as native forests are destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. The chemicals from agricultural fertilizers and pesticides may also upset ecosystems.

Repercussions of burning oil have arisen more progressively. The debatable topic of global warming holds burning fossil fuels responsible for higher temperatures in colder climates. An article by World Book explains why oil is so harmful towards the environment. As more cars are produced more pollutants are released into the atmosphere, those pollutants cause smog in larger manufacturing oriented cities as well as, acid rain. Factories, burning oil, dispose of the remaining chemicals into bodies of water rendering them unsafe to drink for both humans and animals alike (Hunt par. 1). Another article produced through World Book describes the

Also, by clearing forests to support agriculture, we are transferring carbon from living biomass into the atmosphere (dry wood is about 50 percent carbon).

Developing countries tend to have “the most fragile environments” (Baker 197) which is due to the flow of resources dictated by the core. The core, taking advantage of the developmental level developing countries are on, exploit their lack of laws restraining harm to the environment, setting up factories causing even more environmental damage. Thus when comparing the environmental status of a developed country to a developing country there are major differences. These differences are the interaction of the people with the environment, in terms of needs, and the number of factories profiteering from the use and exploitation of natural resources. When this difference is identified then it is easier to assess not only the source but also to create laws prohibiting this exploitation and constructing programs to reverse environmental damages to specific circumstances, helping developing countries to move forward on the developmental scale instead of backwards. If this is taken into account then why is the source causing environmental damage, the core, not stopped? This is due to the dominant ideology stating that with infinite economic growth, eventually the sustainability of the environment will be achieved. The developing countries reinforces this by inviting and encouraging organizations to base their factories in their country which has immediate results, creating a smoke screen

Every time we burn fossil fuels such as gas, coal or oil, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Naturally, carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by plants and trees and exceeded as oxygen. However, humans are burning fuels quicker than the plants and trees are able to soak them up.

Recently, Global Warming has been a huge topic of discussion for many people. Deforestation has specifically contributed to harmful gases, including CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), being emitted into the atmosphere. According to Cesareo and Walker, “deforestation is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions after fossil fuel burning, causing 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions”. Trees naturally absorb Carbon Dioxide, and when trees are removed from the environment,

The production of palm oil has also had a drastic effect on the Orangutans. Through deforestation the Orangutans habitat is being cleared away, because of this the population of Orangutans has decreased by over 50 percent. Experts believe that Orangutans will be extinct in the wild in 5-10 years, this is mainly because so much of their habitat has been lost and is continuing to be ruined every day. The deforestation in Indonesia for Palm Oil production has a major effect on the environment. The traditional practices used to establish Palm Oil plantations can lead to soil erosion, burning is a common method for clearing vegetation within Palm Oil plantations, this pollutes the air in the rainforests. The main source of freshwater pollution from the Palm Oil industry comes from the processing of

The commercially grown oil palms are planted in large plantations. They can be found growing throughout Malaysia, Indonesia and other tropical countries within 10˚ of the equator. They produce more oil than any other crop on the planet and can be harvested for up to 25 years. After this time, the trees are chopped down and replanted because the plantation workers can no longer reach the fruit bundles. Oil palms have an average annual oil output of approximately 10 tons per acre of land. A palm produces up to 12 fruit bunches each year and can contain 1000-3000 fruits.

The once vast forests of Malaysia and Indonesia are quickly disappearing due to the mass destruction of the rainforests caused by the wild growth of the palm oil industry. Over the recent years the destruction of these forests has led to the endangerment and extinction of numerous organisms and also contributed to climate change. Even though palm oil is a cheap and healthy alternative to trans fats used in most of today's foods and cosmetics, i believe that the palm oil industry needs to be reinforced due to widespread deforestation, its effects on climate change, animal endangerment and extinction, and cruel working conditions for employees. Recently certain people and groups such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is fighting to

What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions, and 18% of nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions. In 1997, the United States emitted about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gases.

Many including Rothkopf, Grunwalf, and Ruiz-Marrero claim that biofuel is not the solution but rather will become a problem. They claim that if biofuel was produced in large quantity then agriculture would convert from food to fuel. According to the World Bank, over seventy five percent of the rises in food prices is directly caused by biofuel. Indonesia is the leading producer of palm oil, a major biofuel. In order to increase productivity, the people destroyed thousands of trees to plant palm tree. The destruction led to an increase in carbon production. Indonesia moved from the 21st most carbon producer to the third. Another major producer of biofuel is Brazil. If Brazilian farmers were to deforest the Amazon rainforest, it could cause a fifty percent increase in global warming. Through the world, deforestation accounts for over twenty percent of carbon emission. A gallon of biofuel requires the same amount of grain as a person would eat in a year. The switch from food to fuel would cause a worldwide food shortage and an increase in world hunger.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is a program that, like its name suggests, has the main objective of reducing the emission levels of green-house gases from land uses, through incentives in developing countries. The program includes measures related to conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forests carbon stocks (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2008).

The goal of this committee for many years for sustainable economic development has been to rapidly increase productivity and trade without overusing resources or sacrificing the future economy. Developing a country can get messy and the people at the top hungry for fast results or in this case looking to develop quickly to compete on a global scale will completely disregard workers human rights, strip citizens of their land, resources and destroy the environment. That is why Indonesia firmly believes people who are in poverty are affected most by unstainable development, therefore industrializing and trade must be done in a controlled and thoughtful manner. With Indonesia being the world’s largest producer of palm oil this billion dollar business is also mixed with corruption and inadequate law enforcement from our government. With vast amounts of deforestation occurring from various companies for the creation of plantations less than 10% of palm oil produced a year is actually sustainable. To be exact between 2000 – 2010 52 million cubic meters of wood have been cut down for plantations with an additional 39 million cubic meters being cut illegally. Indonesia urges ECOFIN to help workers sustain their human rights and dignity to the poor innocent

Indonesia is eager to address this global problem and has been very forward in expressing the vast importance to tackle this issue before it continues to worsen with time. Indonesia is considered one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, reaching a total of 2.05 gigatons emitted in 2005 (Forests and Landscapes in Indonesia.). Climate change is a worldwide issue, which Indonesia recognizes and is taking action to help reduce their emissions to save the planet. Suzanty Sitorus is Indonesia’s Director in