Composers who work with this data set will inspire audiences to act on climate change, because of the relationship between climate change and the diversity of life on Earth. This story explores the relationship between forests – including plants and animals – and climate change. Telling this story will help motivate audiences to act on climate change to protect life on Earth.
Key points:
- Forests are very important for both biodiversity and combatting climate change.
- Reasons for deforestation are complex, and solutions need to take into account the needs of communities living in and near forests.
- Today and in the future we have two options: Continue deforestation or reverse it by restoring what we have destroyed.
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If you want to learn more…
Forests are very important for biodiversity and climate change. Trees are a home to many species, both in the canopy and underground. Forests also take carbon dioxide out of the air (through photosynthesis) and store this carbon underground in their roots and the soil. Carbon dioxide in the air causes warming, and so when plants grow, warming is reduced. Warming also adds stress to species, making it potentially harder for them to survive.
We have been deforesting the planet for several reasons: logging, hunting, agricultural expansion, and human settlements. This reduces the habitat for plants and animals, and increases carbon in the atmosphere. Deforestation accounts for about 10% of carbon emissions worldwide. We can continue deforestation, or we can start reforestation, which helps biodiversity and climate. With reforestation, it is important to note that the communities in and near the forests need to earn a living, so ways to make that possible must be incorporated into the reforestation plan.
We can think of this as a story spanning five human generations:
1975 Today’s grandparents
1995 Today’s parents
2020 (Today’s kids)
2050 (Future grandkids)
2075 (Future great grandkids)
Each generation through the present has lived in a world in which human activity to varying degrees has altered the range and extent of forests in the world, the biodiversity in them, and the amount of carbon that they are able to store. Today and in the future we have two options: continue deforestation or reverse it by restoring what we have destroyed.
Coming soon!
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