Palm oil boom threatens orangutan, jungle
TUMBANG KULING, Indonesia — Naingolan shunts the excavator into high gear and tears into a patch of smoldering forest on Borneo island, clearing the way for yet another palm oil plantation that Indonesia hopes will tap into a surge in global demand for biofuels. Despite government claims pristine jungles are escaping the effects of the "green solution" to the energy crunch, the boom is threatening the survival of animals like the endangered orangutan and turning the country into a major global warming contributor, environmentalists say.
Labels: alternative fuels, biodiesel, environment |