Colombia’s disaster-ridden hydropower project runs second largest river dry – “The greatest environmental crime that has ever happened in Colombia”

By Taran Volckhausen 7 February 2019 (Mongabay) – Colombia’s environmentalists have declared an ecological disaster after the country’s second most important river, the Cauca, was reduced to less than 10 percent of normal flow after the country’s largest hydroelectric dam project Hidroituango took emergency measures earlier this week.Medellin energy company EPM took emergency measures to […]

America conquest cooled Earth’s climate – The Great Dying of the indigenous peoples of the Americas contributed to the Little Ice Age

By Jonathan Amos 31 January 2019 (BBC News) – Colonisation of the Americas at the end of the 15th Century killed so many people, it disturbed Earth’s climate. That’s the conclusion of scientists from University College London, UK. The team says the disruption that followed European settlement led to a huge swathe of abandoned agricultural […]

Brazil’s government may push the Amazon to destruction

By Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade24 January 2019 SÃO PAULO (SciDev.Net) – Brazil’s new government, led by President Jair Bolsonaro, has quickly taken steps to loosen environmental law enforcement. Now a review paper shows that the deforestation that could result may have terrible consequences for the Amazon rainforest, including dramatic biodiversity loss, intensified dry seasons, droughts, […]

In climate change fight, Brazil owes nothing, minister says

By Simone Preissler Iglesias, Mario Sergio Lima, and Bruce Douglas8 January 2019 (Bloomberg News) – Brazil owes nothing in the fight against global climate change and should be paid for its work so far, according to the country’s new environment minister. For Ricardo Salles, the Paris Accord in itself is neither good nor bad, but […]

Amazon deforestation increase continued in November 2018 – Deforestation was four times higher than in November 2017

By Stefania Costa 2 January 2019 (Imazon) – Deforestation continues to increase, according to data from the Deforestation Bulletin (SAD) November 2018 published today by Imazon. The state of Pará contributed with 63% of deforestation alerts registered in November 2018. The areas that suffered the most destruction are mainly in the northeast of the state, […]

Brazil’s new far-right government issues decrees across sectors – Indigenous land claims handed over to Agriculture Ministry

By Anthony Boadle2 January 2019 BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s new President Jair Bolsonaro set to work quickly on Wednesday, with his administration issuing decrees affecting the economy, agriculture and society, while forging closer political ties with the United States. Bolsonaro, a former army captain and seven-term congressman, won elections in October and was sworn in […]

TIME Person of the Year 2018: The Guardians and the War on Truth

By Karl Vick 10 December 2018 (TIME) – The stout man with the gray goatee and the gentle demeanor dared to disagree with his country’s government. He told the world the truth about its brutality toward those who would speak out. And he was murdered for it.Every detail of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing made it a […]

UN: Venezuelan migrant exodus hits 3 million people – “Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have largely maintained a commendable open-door policy”

By Stephanie Nebehay; editing by John Stonestreet 8 November 2018 GENEVA (Reuters) – Three million Venezuelans have fled economic and political crisis in their homeland, most since 2015, the United Nations said on Thursday. The exodus, driven by violence, hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicines, amounts to around one in 12 of the population. […]

World’s last wilderness areas may vanish – “We have lost so much already, so we must secure the last remaining wilderness before it disappears forever”

1 November 2018 (UQ News) – The world’s last wilderness areas are rapidly disappearing, with explicit international conservation targets critically needed, according to University of Queensland-led research.The international team recently mapped intact ocean ecosystems, complementing a 2016 project charting remaining terrestrial wilderness.Professor James Watson, from UQ’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said the two […]

Amazon deforestation in Brazil up 84 percent in September 2018

By Stefania Costa 29 October 2018(Imazon) – In September 2018, SAD detected 444 square kilometers of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, an increase of 84% compared to September 2017, when deforestation totaled 241 square kilometers. In September 2018, deforestation occurred in Amazonas (24%), Mato Grosso (23%), Rondônia (20%), Pará (19%), Acre (11%), Roraima ).Degraded forests […]

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