Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

September 5, 2008 9:32:42 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Despite Laws, Amazon Jungle Disappearing

Posted Jan 27, 08 6:29 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – The deforestation of the Amazon jungle is speeding up, and Brazil may be unable to stop it, Time magazine reports. Over the last five months an estimated 2,700 square miles of forest have been cleared—more than twice the size of Rhode Island. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has reacted with tough new regulations banning deforestation in some areas, but many fear they can't be enforced in the wild and against owners whose identity is unknown.

Green groups supported Lula’s election, but now accuse him of bowing to Brazil’s booming agribusinesses by failing to enforce laws. Until Brazil admits agriculture’s role in the problem, little will change, they say. “This is only a surprise if you believe in Father Christmas,” said one Brazilian environmentalist. And with the Amazon region absorbing most of the world's carbon, stakes couldn't be higher.

Source Time

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Half of Amazon Could Be Gone in 20 Years

    Jun 19, 08 6:58 PM CDT
    Half of Amazon Could Be Gone in 20 Years An "unprecedented" combination of ills is threatening the Amazon, and if nothing is done to ease the pressure on the world’s largest rainforest, more than half of it could be gone or withered in 20 years, Rhett Butler writes for Yale Environment 360. After a three-year decline, forest clearing doubled in the latter part of 2007 to help feed the insatiable demand of the growing economies in China, India, Russia, and elsewhere. More »

  • Burning Forests Heat Globe

    May 14, 07 8:56 AM CDT
    Burning Forests Heat Globe Destruction of rainforests is a bigger source of global warming than all the planes, cars and factories in the world, concludes a study reported today in the Independent. It's not just the loss of forests, which absorb CO2, that's the problem. It's the rampant burning of those forests that actually pumps more CO2 into the atmosphere than any sector except energy. More »

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, listens to his Environment Minister Marina Silva during an emergency cabinet meeting at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008....   (Associated Press)
In this 2006 file photo released by Agencia Brasil, a burned area of the Amazon rain forest is seen in Para, Brazil. Brazil will combat rising deforestation in the Amazon by sending extra federal police...   (Associated Press)
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the year's first cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Brasilia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Bruno Peres)   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 5)

Tags

climate change  • global warming  • Brazil  • Amazon.com  • deforestation  • Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva  • Amazon rainforest  • rain forest


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »