October 22, 2008

Borneo's Moment of Truth: "The majestic forests are vanishing in smoke and sawdust, but there's still hope for the island's fabled biodiversity—if the palm oil rush can be slowed."
posted by homunculus 16 years ago
  • That article is beautifully written. On my last teaching placement, I had one very passionate ten-year-old student who chose to research palm oil for an assignment. She did surveys, interviewed experts, and spoke with utter conviction about the detrimental effects of palm oil plantations on wildlife. I'd never even heard of the whole problem before.
  • I try to buy foods without palm oil, but it's damn hard to find them.
  • Showy government buildings with no significant power to stop the run away destruction of a people's most precious natural resources. That sounds so typical, so like us, so universal, but particularly poignant in the Borneo rain forest. *Hastens to reread Dan Cushman's Jewel of the Java Sea*