This article is the first in a series of articles which will take the reader on an alphabetic journey on global warming, commencing with A for Amazon.
The phrase global warming is a term that has been in common usage for some time and usually refers to the warming of Earth's atmosphere, and which also implies a manmade or human influence.
Earth's atmosphere is comprised of many gases, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapour to name a few. These gases are collectively called greenhouse gases and they keep the Earth's temperature at a comfortable 15 degrees Celsius, without them Earth would be a chilly - 18 degrees Celsius. Since pre-industrial times, usually taken to be around 1750 we know from ice core records that Co2 levels were around 280 ppm, that's 280 parts of Co2 per million parts of air. As industrialisation got underway mankind started to farm the land more intensely than ever before, deforest for agriculture and settlements, and later since around 1850 or so, burn fossil fuels for energy and transport which have added considerably to greenhouse gas levels, particularly Co2.
This has resulted in Co2 levels increasing to around 385 ppm, an increase of around 37% over pre-industrial levels mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels.
How do we know this? Well, data from ice core records that go back at least 650,000 years now show us that Co2 levels have fluctuated naturally during this time between 280 and 300 ppm. Co2 levels have also been measured accurately from the top of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii since 1958, and results show an increase in Co2 levels from 315 ppm to 385 ppm since that time. Therefore Co2 is now at 85 ppm more than it has been for at least 650,000 years of Earth's history. It is a known scientific fact that higher levels of greenhouse gases will lead to higher temperatures, which appears to be happening now. The world has warmed by an average of 0.74 degrees during the last 100 years or so.
As a result of this warming, polar ice has started to decrease and melt, and so are Earth's land based glaciers. This in turn is causing sea levels to rise which is putting low lying islands at risk of flooding or total submersion. This will eventually threaten more and more of the worlds coastal cities and regions.
As Earth's atmosphere starts to warm, the warming itself may cause further positive feedback mechanisms to kick in. A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour, which is itself a powerful greenhouse gas. This will in turn cause further warming, and so on.
Melting ice means that more sunlight is absorbed by the surrounding "darker" water and land, meaning further warming, and more melting ice. Methane deposits currently held in a frozen but stable state under the sea and under the permafrost maybe released as the oceans warm and permafrost melts, which will cause further warming as methane is a potent greenhouse gas etc etc.
Where better place to start this A-Z journey on global warming than with The Amazon Rainforest, which has an incredibly important role to play in maintaining a balance in the Earth's climate. The Amazon is inextricably linked to the issue of global warming and has a considerable influence on Earth's climate.
Amazon Facts
The Amazon river basin contains the largest rainforest on Earth and covers approximately 40% of the South American continent. The Amazon Rainforest is located within eight countries, Brazil contains 60% of the forest, with Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana containing the rest.
The Amazon forest is a natural reservoir of genetic diversity, containing the largest and most species rich tract of tropical rainforest that exists. The Amazon contains an amazing thirty-percent of Earth's species. One square kilometre of Amazon can contain about 90,000 tons of living plants! It's also amazing to consider that one in five of all the birds in the world make the rainforest their home.
The Amazon basin is drained by the Amazon river, the worlds second longest after the Nile and the river is essentially the lifeline of the forest. The river is the most voluminous on Earth.
A few hundred years ago tropical rainforests covered as much as 12% of the Earth's land surface, but today the figure is less than 5%. The largest stretch of rainforest can be found in the Amazon river basin, over half of which lies in Brazil.
Why is the Amazon so important in the context of global warming?
The rainforest acts as a major store of Carbon and produces enormous amounts of oxygen. The Amazon has been referred to as "The lungs of the Earth" because of its affect on the climate. The way this is achieved is through photosynthesis, the process by which green plants/trees use the energy from sunlight to produce food by taking carbon dioxide (Co2) from the air and water and converting them to carbon. The by-product of this is oxygen.
The Amazon therefore helps recycle carbon dioxide by turning it into oxygen, and its estimated that the Amazon produces about 20% of this essential gas for Earth's atmosphere.
Trees, plants and Co2
Levels of co2 in the atmosphere have been measured since 1958 from a monitoring station located on Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii and they show sharp annual increases and decreases in co2 levels, similar to the tooth on a saw. The readings almost mimic a breath of air being taken in and out; it's almost as if the Earth is breathing. The readings correspond to the amount of vegetation on the planet (most of which is contained in the Northern Hemisphere, as the landmass there is greater), taking in co2, and giving out oxygen. During the Northern Hemisphere summer, when the Earth is tilted toward the sun, the Earth's vegetation is able to photosynthesise resulting in an uptake of co2, causing worldwide co2 levels to drop. During winter, when the Earth's axis is tilted away from the sun, the opposite happens causing co2 levels to rise again.
When one becomes aware of the correlation between the Earth's vegetation and co2 levels, it is easy to understand why the Amazon, and rainforests in general are such an important part of Earth's ecosystem. If global warming is to be tackled, the Amazon, and other rainforests must be saved.
Copyright (c) 2008 Simon Rosser
‘Whether the plant is to heal the body or the spirit or whether it is part of an apprenticeship, what makes it work is your good intention towards the plant. They are beings, which have their own forms or they can be like human beings with faces and bodies. When the spirit accepts the person, and the person has the will, the spirit grants them energy. The path to knowledge opens, and the healing takes place’
Guillermo Arevalo – Shipibo Maestro
In the Amazonian tradition working with planta maestras (teacher plants) is known as the Shaman’s Diet. The working can be seen as a conscious body of actions to incorporate the plant spirit into one’s own spirit. From this incorporation or union, the plant spirit informs and teaches the maestro or apprentice. They learn the magical chants (icaros) which invoke the power of the plant, how to use the plant for healing purposes, and how to strengthen the dieter both psychologically and physically. The purpose of the diet is to prepare the body and nervous system for the powerful knowledge and expansion of consciousness given by teacher plants.
It offers a significant challenge for the rational Western mind to come to terms with the teacher plants, and a leap of imagination is required to incorporate the ‘other’ consciousness, or spirit of the plant.
We also have a ‘linguistic’ limitation (as an analogue the Inuit have over fifty distinct words for snow), in that the word ‘shaman’ is very recent to the Amazon, coming via the Western world in the last 20 – 30 years. There are many words which denote the plant specialisation of the maestro or Vegetalista. Benjamin Ochavano a 70 year old Shipibo Vegetalista says that his father was known as a moraya or banco (healer), in Spanish it was a curandero. A curandero could then further specialise in a particular plant such as chonta (bamboo) and be a chontero. For example a curandero who specialises in smells and perfumes would be a perfumero.
Another challenge to our rational mind to enter the magical world to which we are transported by plants is that it is mainly accessible through dream language or an expansion of the imagination. Thus dreams & our imaginative powers act like doorways during a plant diet and connect us with the plant spirit.
The rational mind can only struggle, to take as an example the famed ‘love potion’ of the Amazon known as the Pusanga. In rational terms it makes no sense whatsoever, how can a concoction of leaves, roots, and seeds attract a lover, or good luck to you? My experience working with shamans in preparing Pusangas (which normally is prepared away from their clients so it was a privilege to be invited to participate in the preparation) showed me that far from interfering with the freedom of other individuals or putting a ‘number’ on them, we were altering something within ourselves, which was brought out by the ingredients, the magic of the plants. Whatever it was, it felt wholesome and good. It is what is in oneself… one’s own magic. Asking Javier Arevalo (the shaman) what does the Pusanga actually do, is it inside us or outside of us? His response was “When you pour it onto your skin it begins to penetrate your spirit, and the spirit is what gives you the force to pull the people. The spirit is what pulls".
The anthropological term ‘sympathetic magic’ does not give this justice, to illustrate this, the water used in the preparation of an authentic pusanga (which has been specifically made for you) has been collected from a deep trek in the rainforest, sometimes 40 or 50 miles, where there are no people and where clay pools collect and thousands of the most beautiful coloured parrots and macaws gather to drink from them for the mineral content. Now the great leap of imagination required is to bring into yourself the knowledge, the feeling, the sense that the water in the Pusanga has drawn in or attracted thousands of the most brightly coloured creatures on the planet. If you do this, it can generate a shift in consciousness in you.
You can sample this for yourself, just find a quiet moment and space, close your eyes, and with the power of your imagination as the launch pad, draw in the verdant, abundant forest filled with life, colour, and sound. Sense the rich vibrancy of the rainforest as a single breathing rhythmic totality of life force. When you have this image, expand it to include, the humid warmth, the smell of earth, the scent of plants, hear the sound of insects and bird song, allow all your senses to experience this. Then with a conscious decision draw this sensory experience into your being. Whenever you are ready, open your eyes, and check how you are feeling.
Maestros do not invent diets, they are given by the plant spirits themselves, but there is more to it than simply abstaining from certain foods and activities. It involves a state of purification, retreat, commitment, and respect for our connection with everything around us - above all the rain forest. When we listen to our dreams, they become more real, and equally important as everyday life.
Both Simon Rosser & Howard G Charing are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Simon Rosser has sinced written about articles on various topics from Global Warming, Legal Matters. A lawyer by profession,I felt inspired to write the A-Z of Global Warming, published in May 2008, after viewing Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth in Nov 2006. Based on the most up to date scientific findings, and in unique A-Z format, the Amazo. Simon Rosser's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.
Howard G Charing has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Howard G. Charing, is an accomplished international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Philippines. He organises specialist retreats to. Howard G Charing's top article . to your Favourites.