Books on Deforestation – 2GreenEnergy.com

FILE - This Sept. 15, 2009 file photo shows a deforested area near Novo Progresso in Brazil's northern state of Para. Brazil's government says destruction of its Amazon rainforest has jumped by 28 percent. The sharp jump in deforestation came in the August 2012 through July 2013 period, the time when Brazil measures the annual destruction of the forest. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Deforested area in Brazil’s northern state of Para

I’m occasionally asked if I have plans for another book project, and at this point, the answer is no. The reason is suggested in this article, pointing to the simplicity of planting trees, or at least stopping the rampant deforestation of the planet’s surface. Sure, I could write a book based on a few months of heavy research into deforestation and reforestation: the specific economic and political structures that are at fault, how many trees would be necessary, what species are best for certain climates, which NGOs are already doing good work, etc.

A few countervailing points:

There are already 337 books on this subject available on Amazon, and I’m sure many of them are excellent.

Reading or writing a book on this subject is not going to change the calculus of deforestation one iota. As I mentioned in my post about the Amazon rainforest yesterday:

75% of it lies in Brazil.

Its size is reduced at the rate of 3050 square miles per year, more than the size of a championship golf course per day.

Brazil claims this as its own property, and says, “The Amazon is the heritage of Brazil and should be dealt with by Brazil for the benefit of Brazil.”

Wholesale deforestation is driven by industrial activities and large-scale agriculture. More than three-quarters of forest clearing in the Amazon is for cattle-ranching.

The value of beef and the profit potential of the other industries is by far the largest driver of what happens to that land.

Writing the 338th book on this subject will change exactly zero of any of this, since at this point in its evolution, the human race is powerless over the forces that exploit world resources (and people) for the sake of profit.

I’m working to change this sad fact, which is why I support movements like the Bioneers, but until there is movement in this space, I’m supremely unmotivated to write more books.