Norway, which it turns out is not in South America, is the first country to donate to an Amazon preservation fund that will give money to Brazil to save its rainforest.   According to the Associated Press via MSNBC, Norway pledged $1 billion to the fund, paid by 2015, assuming that Brazil reduces deforestation.

The hope is that $21 billion will be raised that will all go to Brazil so that the country may immediately work “to protect nature reserves, to persuade loggers and farmers to stop destroying trees and to finance scientific and technological projects.“  Says Noways Prime Minster Jens Stoltenberg

‘Efforts against deforestation may give us the largest, quickest and cheapest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Brazilian efforts against deforestation are therefore of vital importance if we shall succeed in our campaign against global warming.’

Seems to make sense, no?  This year, Norway will give $21 million to Brazil, next year $210 million, and will keep releasing money according to some sort of metric based on how well Brazil is doing on combating deforestation.

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Remember that book How Much is a Million?  Well, nowadays, we think bigger, and one group wants you to think about how much a billion is.   That is to say: If you were to plant a billion trees, it would cover 2.5 million acres of Atlantic forest.   This, by the way, is not a thought experiment - it’s a real goal from the people at The Nature Conservancy.

The target date is 2015 - only seven years to plant a billion trees in Brazil.   At this point, only seven percent of what once were the Brazilian tropical forests remain.   As each tree disappears, more carbon is released into the environment and the global climate becomes slightly more unstable.

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Did you know you could celebrate International Women’s Day without even leaving your house, or getting out of bed, or changing out of your pajamas, or spending a penny? Here are 10 ways you can show your support, make change, and even raise money for good causes on International Women’s Day:

1. Send this fun animated e-card about women, body issues, and self-esteem. Don’t worry, it’s funny, not a downer. Plus with e-cards from Care2, you’re not just supporting women. You’re helping the environment. Because for every e-card you send, Care2 makes a donation to an environmental nonprofit to save a square foot of rainforest.

2. Send this funny animated “Keep Young and Beautiful” e-card about women who torture and contort themselves to fit into certain clothes and shoes. But don’t worry. It has a happy ending involving an ice cream cone. Again, you’ll be helping out the rainforests.

3. Or try celebrating International Women’s Day with this Celebrating Women e-card.

4. And this Marie Curie animated e-card is a great way to cure the International Women’s Day blues.

5. Now that you’ve put all those cards in the mailbox, treat yourself and treat the world with some care2 “click to donates.” You raise money for organizations and campaigns without paying a cent. When you “click,” a company “donates.” So if you want to support Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women programs, just click here.

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Prince Charles has been a royal treehugger for decades, but his mission to halt the destruction of the world’s rainforests has taken on new urgency as the earth’s temperature rises. The heir to the British throne addressed the European Parliament today and “urged the international community to wage war against “the doomsday clock of climate change” “and to adopt “courageous and revolutionary” measures against the threat,” according to the TimesOnline:

In the simplest of terms, we have to find a way to make the forests worth more alive than dead”Unbelievable as it might seem, we are destroying our planet’s air-conditioning system. But the loss of biodiversity is also terrifying. It has been compared to burning down a library of previous knowledge without first reading the books”

Charles topped off his post-petroleum pep talk with a plea to Europe’s leaders to step up their efforts to tackle global warming:

“Some of the world’s best known and most powerful corporate leaders are now ahead ” in some cases way ahead ” of many political leaders in this debate. Determined and principled leadership has never been more needed. Surely, this is just the moment in history for which the European Union was created”

” The lives of billions of people depend on your response and none of us will be forgiven by our children and grandchildren if we falter and fail.

Find out how you can help fight deforestation at the Rainforest Alliance’s website.

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is now here to give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! If you worry about missing your favorite bloggers’ posts as they push their way down the page each and every week - Never Fear! Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Woody Guthrie: This Grammy Is Your Grammy / This Grammy Is My Grammy

Rambo Fights for Burma’s Freedom + 5 Steps You Can Take To Help Burma In 5 Minutes

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Nicole:

“Yes We Can” Obama Music Video a Unique Celebrity Endorsement

Top 10 US Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Awarding Foundations

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Giulia:

Ba-Da-Bling Commercials Pulled in New York

“Safe Sex or No Sex” Shirts Get Teens Suspended

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Gina:

10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating For A Cause

Close Up: An Introduction to Iranian Cinema and Cinematic Rainbows

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Kerry:

Sheryl Crow’s Apocalyptic Peak-Oil Song

Solar Powered Soldiers Wear Uniforms with Built-In Batteries

Thanks to Care2, a social network website that connect activists from around the world, you can donate to great causes without paying a cent. All you have to do is click on a mouse and you can make a difference. With each click, one of the advertisers on the care2.com website will make a donation towards your cause. (And don’t worry. These advertisers are eco/ human rights/ social justice friendly.) So and support these great causes! It’s easy, effortless, free, and helps the world! What could better?

1) To Stop Global Warming! Carbon, and other greenhouse gases, released into the air by power plants and cars contribute to global warming. Click here and you will be paying for the removal of one pound of CO2 from the atmosphere

2. for the rain forests, which create oxygen and and keep our ecology healthy and in balance. Click here to help the Nature Conservancy save square feet of this dwindling natural habitat!

3. to protect our seals! More than 319,000 harp seals will be clubbed or shot to death this year in Canada. Click here to support the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) TV campaign against this cruel and inhumane hunt.

4. to protect our oceans from pollution, protect whales, dolphins, turtles and otters from slaughter, protect the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and protect yourself from ingesting dangerous levels of mercury? Click here help Oceana save our oceans, our animals and ourselves.
5. for primates. Click here to save chimpanzees, gorillas, and other primates and to support the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife, Research, and Education

by Kerry Trueman

Women love chocolate, and that includes Mother Nature. And why not? It’s good, and good for you,” and now we know, thanks to this delicious report from NPR’s Joanne Silberner, that planting cocoa trees is also good for the planet.

Brazilian cocoa farmers are employing a method called “cabruca” farming, in which they cut down just a few tall trees and plant the lower-growing cacao trees underneath. Rainforests do a stellar job of storing massive amounts of carbon, so finding a way to farm that doesn’t require clearcutting the rainforests is a great step forward. Is there anything chocolate isn’t good for?