Tanzanian President Bans Logging To Protect Kilimanjaro's Snows

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete on Monday banned tree felling and harvesting of timber in reserved forest areas in a move aimed at halting rapid environmental degradation, including melting of ice on Mount Kilimanjaro.

"Wanton destruction of trees in mountains has completely ruined our environment. It is now necessary to ban destruction of forests to save the environment," Kikwete told a rally in the country's northern town of Arusha.

Mount Kilimanjaro's legendary crown of snow and glaciers are melting and likely to disappear completely by 2020, triggering major disruptions to ecosystems on the dry African plains that spread out at its feet below, scientists warned last year.

The forests on Kilimanjaro's lower slopes absorb moisture from the cloud hovering near the peak, and in turn nourish flora and fauna below. The loss of snows on the 19,330-foot (5,892-meter) peak, which have existed for about 11,700 years, could have disastrous effects on the Tanzanian economy, US researchers warned in a 2001 Science article warning about the melting.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Tanzanian_President_Bans_Deforestation_To_Save_Kilimanjaro.html

Sorry, Mr. President - nice try, but too late.

may your efforts slow the destruction of our home.

More than the U.S. can say for our leader. The raping of America is such an old phrase but so true. Deforestation, pollution of air and water, using and abusing our natural resources is now at a critical stage and no one is listening.

Went to a funeral of a friend yesterday, a friend that could never be replaced, one that was more special than I realized till she was gone. Yes it's true, you weep because of "my" loss since she suffered severely and now doesn't. Anyway, saw some old friends from our special group including bridge club, auxiliary, etc. and some needed oxygen, some had suffered breast cancer, and it hit me, they are not old enough to be suffering those type illnesses since the group wasn't that large. Yup, we were and I still am a smoker but, one friend with air attached to her had quit at least 15 years ago. I strongly suspect massive pollution here in the midwest. Remember in the 1950's, etc., when we exploded atomic weapons in the Nevada desert? Did the plume drift across the midwest and cause damage to crops and cause some of these weird cases of cancer?

I'm truly depressed. I am 60 plus years old and have watched this country be destroyed. Those awesome Redwoods! That forest has been depleted until it is unrecognizable from when I was a kid. Clear cutting a whole side of a mountain is unbelievable. Who approved such action?

Just had to vent again.

Alas, a lot of lung cancer happens in former smokers (30% of lung cancers, if I recall correctly). My own father died of lung cancer in December, even though he had quit 25 years before (he was a two-pack-a-day smoker for 25 years). I have read however that quitting even as late as 60 significantly reduces your chance of getting lung cancer (by about half). Only about 12% of lung cancer is not related to smoking.

But it's undoubtedly the case that a lot of cancer is the result of all the pollution in our air, food and water. Some claim a diet high in animal protein and fat is a primary reason for the high cancer rate in this country, although I am not sure how solid the epidemiology is on that.