Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing mankind since the last ice
age. Naturally, many well meaning NGO’s have grouped together to promote action plans that can help mankind avert this impending disaster. One notable grouping is the Climate Action Network (CAN).

The CAN is a worldwide network of over 365 Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), such as Friends of the Earth and others, working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.

British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who signed his country to the IACP said that the NGO is a “significant step forward” for the creation of a global carbon trading system that will be “fundamental in arresting and reversing climate change.”

In publishing data on CO2 Emissions per capita however, some interesting
facts have emerged. Asia posted the second lowest emissions per capita of only 1.3 just above Africa (0.9) and below Latin America (2.1). Surprisingly, China which has often been touted as the second worst polluter after the USA, posted a low reading of 3.9 vis a vis Canada (17.0), Australia (18.4) whilst the USA posted a staggering reading of 19.6.

This calls the lie on the many claims made by such diverse organizations such as Greenpeace Netherlands and the World Rainforest Movement who’ve made the rather tenuous claim that palm oil is responsible for the destruction of rainforest which makes it a major contributor to climate change! Deforestation Watch
www.deforestationwatch.org is perturbed by this development as any wild and unsubstantiated position papers such as these can only damage our cause in the long run as it will ultimately destroy the credibility of our movement!

What these papers tries to conceal (which is obviously un-concealable) is that palm oil is largely grown in Asia, Africa and Latin America, all 3 of which are continents with the LOWEST emission data per Capita of any place in the world! Deforestation Watch takes the view that such unwarranted and unjustified attacks against a commodity that is contributing to uplifting the economic and social wellbeing of the peoples in the palm oil belt can hardly be described as “colonization”. Rather than colonization, the growing of palm oil actually serves to liberate economically and uplift the peoples of the lands in which palm oil is cultivated!

Jatropha curcas is a drought-resistant, inedible oilseed-bearing tree that does not compete with food crops for good agricultural land or adversely impact the rainforest, and will also provide employment for
local communities, BP said.

Under the terms of the agreement, BP and D1 Oils intend to invest around $160 million over the next five years. D1 Oils will contribute into its 172,000 hectares of existing plantations in India, southern Africa and southeast Asia, and the joint venture will have exclusive access to the elite jatropha seedlings produced through D1 Oils’s plant science program.

The joint venture will focus on jatropha cultivation in southeast Asia, southern Africa, Central and South America and India. It is anticipated that some one million hectares will be planted over the next four years, with an estimated 300,000 hectares per year thereafter.

Jatropha oil produced from the plantations will be used to meet both local biodiesel requirements and for export to markets such as Europe, where domestic feedstock produced from rapeseed and waste oil is unlikely to be sufficient to meet anticipated regulatory led demand for biodiesel of around 11 million tonnes a year from 2010.

“Once all the planned plantations are established, the joint venture is expected to become the world’s largest commercial producer of jatropha feedstock, producing up to two million tonnes of jatropha oil a year,” said Phil New, head of BP Biofuels.

“As this hardy crop can be grown on a wide range of land types, it can make a significant impact on employment in rural areas of developing countries where planting takes place, a benefit which fits well with BP’s aspiration to pursue relationships which are mutually advantageous,” Mr New continued.

Anti-oxidents from the Rainforest

Needless to say, the Amazonian Rainforest is replete with herbs offering a wide variety of health benefits.  But beyond specific health benefits, like the ability of stevia to regulate blood pressure or sangre de drago to accelerate wound healing or chanca piedra to break kidney stones into a myriad of small stones, allowing their painless elimination, the Amazonian Rainforest offers unique and unparalleled antioxidants essential for radiant health.  Let’s briefly look at a few of them.

Una de Gato
Uña de gato is known for its ability to stimulate and balance the immune system, activating and enhancing various aspects of immunity.  But research on Uña de gato has revealed first and foremost its exceptional anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  In one study, micropulverized Uña de gato was used to quench free radicals in an assay using macrophages.  Not only was Uña de gato effective at scavenging free radicals, but the whole bark was shown to be more effective than freeze-dried extracts of u?a de gato.  In this study, Uña de gato also reduced the production of the potent inflammatory compound TNF-a (Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha), providing insight in the anti-inflammatory properties of Uña de gato.   Uña de gato has also been shown to protect DNA against UV damaged, possibly explaining its protective effect on skin against sun exposure.  Finally, the antioxidant properties of Uña de gato are such that it has been reported to be cytoprotective (protect cells) against various cytotoxic compounds, like NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) on the intestinal mucosa.

Sangre de drago
Sangre de drago is the sap of a tree (Croton lechleri) that grows in the Amazonian basin.  When applied on a wound, sangre de drago stops the bleeding and accelerates healing.  When taken orally, sangre de drago helps eliminate parasites and maintain good intestinal health.  But aside from these unique properties, sangre de drago was also shown to have unique antioxidant properties.  In a cellular assay, the sap was shown to protect against oxidative damage by various oxidative agents.  As with u?a de gato, sangre de drago was shown to protect DNA from damage induced by hydroxyl radicals.  Sangre de drago was shown to contain a large quantity of proanthocyanidins, the same kind of antioxidant found in grape seed extracts.  Proanthocyanidins are flavonoids that are not only antioxidant, but they also play an important role in the maintenance of healthy connective tissues and blood vasculature.

Camu Camu
Camu Camu is a small fruit growing in the wet areas of the Amazonian jungle.  Camu’s claim to fame is its very high content in vitamin C.  The work of Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling and others have established the important role of vitamin C in human health.  Vitamin C is essential for a series of physiological reactions like the synthesis of collagen, the protein matrix making up the human body, and the synthesis of noradrenaline, a brain neurotransmitter involved in the experience of joy.  But aside from these, vitamin C is first and foremost an exceptional antioxidant playing a unique role in the retina.  Vision is obtained when light hit receptors in the retina (rods and cones), oxidizing the receptors which then transmit the signal to the brain through the optic nerve.  In order to be functional again, the receptors must be immediately reset, the failure of which would create floating blind spots in the eye.  Vitamin C is essential to reset the light receptors in the retina.  It is common to hear people say that their vision has increased after consuming natural vitamin C as found in camu.

To this list we could add tayuya, iporuru, boldo, and many more.  The Amazonian Rainforest is definitely the natural pharmacy of the world.

Business – International Herald Tribune.

Fernando Katukina is chief of an indigenous tribe that lives largely without running water, electricity or links to the world outside this remote corner of the western Amazon.

But Katukina says he possesses a treasure that could be at the cutting edge of biotechnology. If a plan initiated by the chief is successful, his tribe’s fortunes will be transformed by an asset that he and the Brazilian government say holds great promise for the global pharmaceutical industry: the slime from a poisonous tree frog.

Tribal shamans have used the slime as an ancestral remedy to treat illness, pain, even laziness. The crucial ingredients are compounds with anesthetic, tranquilizing and other medicinal properties.

Scientists say the promise lies in isolating peptides from the frog’s slime and then reproducing them for medicines to treat hypertension, stroke, and other illnesses

Already, Katukina has the backing of Brazil’s government, which sees the frog slime as a steppingstone to significant advances in its own research and development in pharmaceuticals. In particular, the scientific challenge of the frog, known locally as the kamb?, will deepen Brazil’s expertise in pharmacogenomics – the combined use of genetics and pharmacology – and it takes advantage of the traditional knowledge of indigenous people.

"Traditional knowledge can help modern medicine and generate significant economic benefits, too," said Bruno Filizola, technical coordinator of the project and a biologist at the Environment Ministry in Bras?lia.

eloping nations, is trying to fight back against what it perceives as biopiracy, the theft of biological resources from the country’s native habitats for commercial use. Though the project is still in early stages, about 20 scientists are seeking start-up financing of close to $1 million from more than a dozen universities, state governments, and federal agencies.

Healthy Energy Drink ‘Bevolution’ is Spreading Across the Continent.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., May 25 /PRNewswire/ — Guayaki is helping to solve the "energy crisis" in America one bottle at a time. The three new Yerba Mate bottled drinks from Guayaki have provided a jolt to the healthy beverage category by combining the robust natural stimulation of yerba mate with powerful nutrition in a refreshing 16-ounce bottled Ready-To-Drink beverage.