Green fuel burning up Indonesia’s biodiversity
Synopsis
Indonesia is the largest producer in the world of palm oil, which is used in food, cosmetics, and biofuel, but its production comes with a price. Indonesia’s natural forests are being turned into industrial scale plantations, which disturb the ecosystem by draining the land and polluting the water. This will result in dangerous long–term environmental impacts.
Source: Getty
Length: 2:13
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Watch the video and answer the following questions:
The widespread conversion of forest to man-made plantations in Indonesia has indirectly benefitted the nearby fishing community
| A. |
| B. |
Much of the conversion of forest to plantation in Indonesia is to provide land for the paper and palm oil industries.
| A. |
| B. |
Watch the video and answer the following questions:
The video noted that an important environmental consequence of drying the peatland of Sumatra for the creation of plantations is that the peatland is:
| A. |
| B. |
| C. |
| D. |
A speaker in the video states that some of the resource use decisions being made, such as the clearing of forests for industrial-scale plantations, are often solely based on short-term economic gains, and do not adequately acknowledge many social costs and environmental impacts. What are some of the costs and impacts resulting from the conversion of natural forests to industrial palm plantations in Indonesia? What might be additional costs and impacts of forest conversion not addressed in the video?
Although not a commonly purchased item in domestic grocery stores, palm oil is an ingredient in an very extensive list of consumer products. Several of these are discussed in this video and in chapter 12 of your text. What are a few of these products containing palm oil that we use commonly? Do you think that the public is generally aware of the environmental costs associated with producing many of the ingredients we frequently use, such as palm oil?
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