Harry Potter to Make Fewer Trees Disappear in His Final Appearance

Here's a cute article on the seventh and last Harry Potter book, which Scholastic will publish using greener methods than the last six books in the series. Scholastic received a lot of criticism, especially from Greenpeace, for not using enough recycled paper in the production of the sixth Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Scholastic, Inc., U.S. publisher for the popular novels about the boy wizard who battles the forces of evil while attending Hogwarts Academy, worked with the Rainforest Alliance to develop a plan to print the newest Harry Potter novel on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Perhaps this is another thing I can add to the list of reasons why I love Harry Potter.

Global deforestation rate slows

The UN has just released the "State of the World Forest's Report" stating that the rate of deforestation is starting to decrease. In the 1990s, forests were disappearing at a rate of 9 million hectares a year, and this has now slowed to 7.3 million. Countries such as China are forerunners in this reduction thanks to tree planting initiatives. It's a bit of good news, but nothing to become complacent about.

"Deforestation continues and it continues at an unacceptable rate, however there are signs of potential change," said Wulf Killmann, a forestry expert at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which published the report.

The destruction of forests not only reduces habitat available for wildlife but also adds to the greenhouse effect because the carbon stored in trees is released into the atmosphere.