Title: Orangutan Habitat May Be Gone in 15 Years, UN Report Says
Author(s): John Roach Source: National Geographic
URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070207-orangutan.html
Last Accessed: 4/9/07
Description: This article describes the effect of rampant illegal logging on the Indonesian tropical rain forest habitat of the orangutan. Without immediate action, all the habitat will be gone within 15 years. The UNEP warns that 98% of the natural rain forest could be gone by 2022.
Scale of the Issue: Regional
What spheres (e.g. atmosphere, biosphere) are affected by this issue? Biosphere
Can you identify interactions between spheres discussed in this article? None explicitly identified in the article though rainforest destruction does affect the atmosphere (e.g. atmospheric composition), hydrosphere (e.g. transpiration), and lithosphere (e.g. runoff and erosion)
Are there human-environment interactions related to this issue? If so, what are they? Article identified illegal logging by apparently well-organized commercial networks were responsible for forest destruction. Timber is used to feed the international demand for wood, pulp, and paper.