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New maps of land destruction show why caravans flee Central America
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2018/11/20/new-maps-of-land-destruction-show-why-caravans-flee-central-america/Date Written: 2018-11-20 Publisher: Climate and Capitalism Year Published: 2018 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX23122 A new map developed at the University of Cincinnati illustrates the extent of worldwide land degradation, including the deforestation that is now forcing migrants to leave Guatemala and Honduras. Abstract: -- Excerpt: The map illustrates how 22 percent of the Earth's habitable surface has been altered in measurable ways, primarily from forest to agriculture, between 1992 and 2015. The map tells a new story everywhere you look, from wetlands losses in the American Southeast to the devastation of the Aral Sea to deforestation in the tropics and temperate rain forests. "Of course, it raises alarm bells. But they're not new ones," Stepinski says. "We already knew about deforestation or wetland loss or increasing urbanization. But now we can see exactly where all of that is happening." Subject Headings |