June deforestation in Brazilian Amazon doubled over same period in 2015

[Translation by Bing Translator.] 22 July 2016 (Imazon) – In June 2016, SAD detected 972 square kilometers of deforestation (the total destruction of forest for other alternative uses of the soil) in the Amazon, with a cloud coverage of 16% of the territory. This represented an increase of 97% over June 2015 when deforestation amounted […]

Superbugs, sewage, and scandal at the Rio Olympics – ‘Untreated hospital waste is the probable cause of waterborne superbacteria, but chemical waste from factories is another culprit’

By Nika Knight1 August 2016 (Common Dreams) – A biology professor has simple advice for athletes and tourists descending on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the Olympics’ start on Friday: “Don’t put your head underwater.” The wire service adds that superbugs—bacteria resistant to most forms of antibiotics—were not the only cause for great concern. Shockingly […]

Expert to Rio athletes: ‘Don’t put your head under water’ – ‘The Guanabara Bay has been transformed into a latrine’

By Jenny Barchfield, with additional writing by Peter Prengaman, Stephen Wade and Diarlei Rodrigues1 August 2016 RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Just days ahead of the Olympic Games the waterways of Rio de Janeiro are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study […]

Amazon forest degradation increased by 5,785 percent over May 2015 estimate

[Translation by Bing Translator.] By Antônio Fonseca, Marcelo Justino, Carlos Souza Jr., and Adalberto Veríssimo16 June 2016 (Imazon) – In May 2016, 34% of the forested area of the Amazon rainforest was covered by clouds, less coverage than May 2015 (39%). States with larger cloud coverage were Amapá (70%) and Roraima (61%). In the analyzed […]

2015 was the worst year on record for murders of land and environmental defenders – ‘We get threatened, vilified, and killed for standing up to the mining companies on our land and the paramilitaries that protect them’

20 June 2016 (Global Witness) – Para la versión española, clique aquí. More than three people were killed a week in 2015 defending their land, forests and rivers against destructive industries. For our new report On Dangerous Ground we documented 185 killings across 16 countries – by far the highest annual death toll on record […]

Financial calamity declared in Rio weeks before Olympics, but Games will go on – ‘It is completely unprecedented’

By Dom Phillips 17 June 2016 RIO DE JANEIRO (Washington Post) — Just weeks before it stages the 2016 Olympic Games, the state government of Rio de Janeiro has declared a “state of public calamity in financial administration” and warned that the situation is so dire it impedes the locale’s ability to meet Games commitments. […]

At 1,066 feet above rainforest, a view of the changing Amazon

By Daniel Grossman6 June 2016 (Yale e360) – We set off before dawn with my guide, Elton Mendes, steering a battered pickup through the Amazon jungle. He reached a hand out of the window and tugged on a stick tied to the wipers, squeegeeing drizzle off the windshield. After a short drive, he parked by […]

The 2016 Global Peace Index records a historically less peaceful and more unequal world

9 June 2016 (IEP) – The 2016 Global Peace Index (GPI) shows the world became less peaceful in the last year, reinforcing the underlying trend of declining peace over the last decade. Results also show a growing global inequality in peace, with the most peaceful countries continuing to improve while the least peaceful are falling […]

Amazon deforestation increases by one third over 2015 – Forest degradation up 733 percent

[Translation by Bing Translator.] By Antônio Fonseca, Marcelo Justino, Carlos Souza Jr., and Adalberto Veríssimo31 May 2016 (Imazon) – In April 2016, 42% of the forested area of the Amazon rainforest was covered by clouds, a lower coverage than April 2015 (55%). States with larger cloud coverage were Roraima (86%) and Amapá (84%). In the […]

Over last 7 years, Amazon deforestation in protected areas totaled 467,000 hectares, destroying 233 million trees and killing or displacing 8.3 million birds and 271,000 monkeys

[Translation by Google.] 9 April 2016 (Imazon) – Creating Protected Areas (PAs) has been one of the most effective strategies to protect the Amazon rainforest, its benefits and the rights of use of the region’s people. Currently, PAs total approximately 112 million hectares, or 27%, of the territory of the Brazilian Amazon.  However, in 2013, […]

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