More wood was removed from forests in 2005 than ever before,
one of many troubling environmental signs highlighted on Thursday in the
Worldwatch Institute’s annual check of the planet’s health. The
Washington-based think tank’s "Vital Signs 2007-2008" report points to global
patterns ranging from rising meat consumption to Asian economic growth it says
are linked to the broader problem of climate Change. "I think
climate change is the most urgent challenge we have ever faced," said Erik
Assadourian, director of the Vital Signs project. "You see many trends in
climate change, whether we are talking about grain production which is affected
by droughts and flooding. Or meat. production as livestock production makes up
about 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions," he told reporters in a telephone
interview before the report’s release. Assadourian said the key
message of the report was that unsustainable consumption patterns were
responsible for climate change linked to carbon emissions and other ecological
woes. He said of the 44 trends tracked by the report, 28 were "pronouncedly bad"
and only six were positive. The trends range from the spread of avian flu to the
rise of carbon emissions to the number of violent conflicts. The growing use of
wind power is among the few trends seen as positive. Some of the
points highlighted in the report include: —Meat production hit a
record 276 million metric tons (43 kilograms or 95 pounds per person) in
2006. —Meat consumption is one of several factors driving rising
soybean demand. Rapid expansion of soybean plantations in South America could
displace 22 million hectares (54 million acres) of tropical forest and savanna
(热带大草原) in the next 20 years. The rise in global seafood
consumption comes as many fish species become scarcer. In 2004, people ate 156
million metric tons of seafood, the equivalent of three times as much seafood
per person than in 1950. Other analysts and think tanks have
focused on different trends they say mean less cause for alarm. For example,
they point out that while more wood is being removed from forests on a global
scale, many parts of Europe and North America have experienced reforestation in
recent decades. In South America, in the next 20 years 22 million hectares of tropical forest and savanna will be displaced by ______ .