Headline April 01, 2016/ ''' FLOWERS -O'' LORD GOD : * BILLION BY BILLION -BLOOMS * '''

''' FLOWERS -O'' LORD GOD : 

* BILLION BY BILLION -BLOOMS * '''

Who has seen the wind?

Neither You...........nor I.

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind....[dear students]...is passing by

Many experts believe large scale cutting of forests has already significantly altered the world's climate.......

''This area is a frontier,'' said David Schimel, an eco-climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the author of ''Climate and Ecosystems,''     ''but a frontier because it's difficult, not because it's neglected.''

IN THE BROADEST SENSE, scientists say, forests represent a kind of ecological infrastructure that helps maintain comfortable living conditions on the planet-

Whether by taking up and holding carbon dioxide, cleaning water through their roots, preventing floods by stabilizing soil   -or, by regulating climate.

In the last year alone some 2,000 square miles of the Amazon  -roughly the size of Delaware   -were lost to clearing, largely for planting soybeans and raising cattle.

A growing number of scientists are warning that wide-scale deforestation  -about 20 percent of the Amazon forest is gone already and nearly that much is degraded  -may already be directing precipitation away from places long accustomed to it.

One Princeton study suggested that deforesting the Amazon could potentially contribute to drought in /places as far away as California, while other research indicated that recent droughts in Texas and New Mexico might be linked to cutting in the Amazon.

Despite the uncertainty embedded in these and other studies, ''There's lots evidence that changing the water cycle in the amazon would have global consequences,'' Dr. Schimel said. ''It's a fairly robust notion.'' 

And its impact could potentially accelerate. In a recent report, Antonio Donato Nobre, a veteran climatologist with Brazil's National Institute for Space research, warned that-

If just  40 percent of the Amazon region is deforested there could be an abrupt large scale shift to grasslands, which could substantially alter global weather patterns  -''and cause a breakdown of the current climate system.''

If deforestation continues, he said, Sao Paulo will most likely ''dry up".

Dr Nobre and other climate experts are urging an immediate halt to deforestation, as well as large-scale planting of new forests, as a way to essentially nurse the Amazon back to full health and stabilize its pivotal role  in climate.

Gordan Bonan, a scientist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., and the author of  ''Ecological Climatology,'' said reducing the deforestation-

And replanting forests should be priorities not just in Brazil but in North America and beyond for many reasons including, the health of climate systems.

''The pace of change is far outpacing our understanding of what the change is doing,'' he said, ''and by the time we do understand it's probably going to be too late.''

While it is true that vast tree planting which reroutes groundwater on a huge scale and absorbs far more energy than an unforested landscape, can have complex and potentially negative effects, 

''On balance,'' if done properly, ''it's a positive strategy for climate change,'' he added.

Some people aren't waiting for further research and are hoping to geoengineer local climates with new forests. Bishop Fredrick Shoo, the bishop elect of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania-

Has been planting trees with 100,000 of his parishioners upwind of Mount Kilimanjaro for 12 years, in hopes of cooling the hot, dry winds that are melting the mountain's glaciers. 

During that time he estimates, they have planted 3.7 million trees.

''My hope is we'll be able to restore the forests of Kilimanjaro and save the water resources of Kilimanjaro,'' said Bishop Shoo, known as the tree bishop.

*''We have a moral obligation to take care of creation to be sure coming generations have a good place to live.''*

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!   -the World Students Society and the Ecosystem 2011: 

''' Top Contender '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless