Palm Oil - All the truth about it

Unfortunately, palm oil is still hidden in a lot of conventional products of the daily life, mainly in food, body care products and cosmetics. What maybe is less known: Sometimes it is even used as a bio fuel! And many well-known companies are involved in this unethical and environmentally disastrous business, as it is mentioned in this Greenpeace article!

But why do I say "unfortunately"? I will explain this in few words and sum up some interesting sources for more information.

1. Rainforests disappear through the cultivation of palm oil: Countries in which palm oil plantations take a relevant part of the economical market - mainly it is planted in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua Neuguinea and in Columbia - often do this in the middle of their rainforests after deforesting the areals. There are few biotopes in the world where the biodiversity of the fauna and flora is so enormous. Through the tropical deforestation, many animals and also plants lose their biotope. A lot of them already are really seldom; for example the Sumatra tiger and elephants become much endangered species because of this! Not to forget the orangutans of Borneo! 
2. People who live or lived in the rainforests lose their livelihood: The ground now utilized for palm oil (this is of course also true for the plantation outside the rainforests once used by the inhabitants to earn their livelihoods) cannot anymore be used by the locals so they are even more pushed into their poverty or must suffer from hunger. Also, the deforestation of rainforest territories for the sake of the palm oil plantations highly influences the water resources of the region. 
3. The destruction of the rainforests has big impacts on the environment and especially the climate! Beside the role of all forests to take the CO2 from the atmosphere, the rainforest additionally plays an important role in the regulation of the global climate. So in the long term, the disappearance of each hectar rainforest redounds to the increase of the climate warming!

Here is a fact sheet of the palm oil problem. 

Surely you will agree with me this is a shocking truth. But: As consuments, we can all do something about it: By renouncing products which contain palm oil (and probably not buying products from companies known as selling products with palm oil, especially if they purchase it from certain countries)!

World Earth Day

If you have the Google site as welcome page in your internet browser, you should have noticed that today the 22th of April is the international Earth Day.

This day was created in 1970 in the United States and since then takes place all years at the same date to remind people the importance of environmental matters which in all cases are global. For that, there are a lot of actions and events made then, informations are provided, and also discussions about different environmental topics and helpful ideas to turn the development of the environment and the climate of the earth have been started then (well, I hope not only then - I hope the ideas will be carried in the daily life and the future too).

As we all live on this planet (and I hope we would be able for a long time further) it is something that concerns us all - not only this or that region. For this reason it is essential that every country at this giant blue ball - and every single person - takes his or her responsiblity to save the environment and climate. There are many possibilities to do so, and every little step is a step toward this goal.

On this occasion, I especially want to refer the American readers to the actual Climate Petition to your Congress. Please sign it numerously so that them can see that this is especially important for you!

Instead of listing now a couple of ideas for a better world, I'll first ask you - the reader: What would you do, or have already done, for the environment and the climate of this planet? Which are your suggestions to live in a manner that minimizes (or even prevent it completely, if possible) the damage of the environment, to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and to avoid toxic materials etc. What do you think about BIO articles (nutrition, cosmetics etc.) in the supermarket? And also: Do you share the opinion that atomic energy in long term should be replaced by "green" energies (like solar, wind and water energy)?

I am very interested in your answers. I guess I will take this topic on with the one or other aspect from time to time.