Time for some updates. Returned to Michigan since our last post. to find major damage from a hail and wind storm on April 12th. Weather patterns are changing significantly throughout the country and many continue to question the validity of the scientific data. Maybe someday we will recognize the impact of humans on our environment! We continue to appreciate the interest in the book. We are scheduling a fall semester seminar with the Michigan State University School of Forestry and just scheduled a full day presentation with Montcalm Community College for October 13th. The October presentation will involve a noon program for students and staff, an afternoon discussion with students in the biology class followed by an evening program at the Greenville Michigan campus. Another interesting project was completed by a group of 5 students at James Madison University, where they presented a paper on the loss of biodiversity. They used "TREES OF LIFE - OUR FORESTS IN PERIL" as part of their research on the subject. Their paper states that the loss of global biodiversity is an issues that continues to escalate as humans interact and change the environment of the natural world. The research provided some interesting statistics. They found that "urban areas contribute approximately 80% of the carbon emissions, 60% of the residential water use and nearly 80% of wood usage for industrial purposes". The students found that one of the main causes for loss of biodiversity is deforestation and they were surprised to learn that about half of the forests that once covered the earths land mass, are now gone. Each year 16 million hectares of forested lands are lost to deforestation, equal to 16 million football fields disappearing yearly. It is time to change and learn to observe and understand the complexity of NATURE. Together we can make a difference!
