2001-11-27 美國森林局26日公布一份與其他聯邦機構共同研究的報告中指出，美國南部佔地超過3,100萬英畝的森林將在未來的40年裡於城區發展過程中消失。該報告指出，在眾多的樹林讓步給成長中的城區擴散以及林木採伐之後，野生物、水和空氣品質將會跟著遭殃。這是個壞消息，但是環保人士說這還不是最糟的；他們批評說，這份報告對於伐木和造紙工業的影響太過於輕描淡寫，單單造紙廠每年便破壞南部5百萬英畝的森林。環保人士並強調，如果那些人工栽植的松樹和其他林場不被視為真正的林地的話，事實上，林地面積的淨損失值會比該報告所列出的「到2040年為2%」還要高出更多。

全文與圖片詳見: http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/
daily/daily112701.asp

版權歸屬Earth Day Network，環境資訊協會 (李瑞玉 譯，李欣哲 審校)

中英對照譯稿請見：http://e-info.org.tw/2001/11/1130/
edn01112703.htm

More than 31 million acres of forest in the southern United States will disappear into the maw of urban development in the next four decades, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. Forest Service in collaboration with other federal agencies. Wildlife and water and air quality will suffer as trees make way for sprawling growth and timber harvests increase by half, the report found. That's bad news, but environmentalists say it's not bad enough; they criticize the report as going too light on the timber and paper industries, noting that paper mills alone annually destroy 5 million acres of forests in the South. They also point out that the net loss of forested areas -- which the report places at about 2 percent by 2040 -- would be much greater if pine plantations and other tree farms were not counted as true forestland.

http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/
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