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A resurgence of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

  The Brazilian Amazon is the size of Western Europe, and in the 41 years I have lived in the region and worked on problems of deforestation, an area larger than France has been cleared. Over the decades, I have watched as economic cycles, swings in commodity prices, and land speculation have led to peaks and valleys in the clearing of the Amazon, with 1995 setting a record for destruction: 11,200 square miles — an area the size of Belgium — fell to loggers, cattle ranchers, and farmers.

  When the annual deforestation rate in Brazil’s Amazon plunged from nearly 11,000 square miles in 2004 to 1,700 square miles in 2012 — an 84 percent decline — I was of course relieved. But I had witnessed too much destruction in the Amazon to celebrate. Unfortunately, these widely publicized declines led not only to the impression among the international conservation community that Amazon deforestation was finally ebbing. It also led to a dangerous illusion taking hold in the capital of Brasília — the belief that deforestation was thoroughly under control, and thus the government could build roads, dams, and other infrastructure at will in Amazonia, without consequences for the world’s largest rain forest.

  Clearly, that turned out not to be the case. Deforestation has trended upwards since 2012, with a sharp 29 percent increase in the rate of clearing in 2016.

(Philip Fearnside. https://daily.jstor.org, 22.04.2017. Adaptado.)

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A resurgence of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

  The Brazilian Amazon is the size of Western Europe, and in the 41 years I have lived in the region and worked on problems of deforestation, an area larger than France has been cleared. Over the decades, I have watched as economic cycles, swings in commodity prices, and land speculation have led to peaks and valleys in the clearing of the Amazon, with 1995 setting a record for destruction: 11,200 square miles — an area the size of Belgium — fell to loggers, cattle ranchers, and farmers.

  When the annual deforestation rate in Brazil’s Amazon plunged from nearly 11,000 square miles in 2004 to 1,700 square miles in 2012 — an 84 percent decline — I was of course relieved. But I had witnessed too much destruction in the Amazon to celebrate. Unfortunately, these widely publicized declines led not only to the impression among the international conservation community that Amazon deforestation was finally ebbing. It also led to a dangerous illusion taking hold in the capital of Brasília — the belief that deforestation was thoroughly under control, and thus the government could build roads, dams, and other infrastructure at will in Amazonia, without consequences for the world’s largest rain forest.

  Clearly, that turned out not to be the case. Deforestation has trended upwards since 2012, with a sharp 29 percent increase in the rate of clearing in 2016.

(Philip Fearnside. https://daily.jstor.org, 22.04.2017. Adaptado.)

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TEXT: Mickey, Pluto and Goofy

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TEXT: Mickey, Pluto and Goofy

Florida Confirms Local Zika Cases

July 29, 2016 − It’s here. The Zika virus, which causes grave birth defects and other brain and nerve
disorders, is being spread by mosquitoes in South Florida, officials said Friday.

Active transmission of Zika seems to be occurring in a small, 1-square-mile area just north of
downtown Miami, Florida Gov. Rick Scott told reporters. The four Zika cases under investigation in
[5] Miami-Dade and adjoining Broward County likely came from mosquitoes in the area, he said.

Three cases involve men, and one involves a woman. Scott did not say whether the woman is
pregnant. Zika prevention kits are being distributed in the affected areas, which include Miami’s
Wynwood neighborhood, an emerging arts district. Wynwood is also called “Little San Juan” because
of its high percentage of Puerto Rican residents.

[10] In a press call on Friday, CDC1 Director Tom Frieden, MD, said that, at present, the agency doesn’t
see a reason to advise people − including pregnant women − to stay away from the neighborhood.
Asked why the CDC is cautioning people not to travel to Zika-affected countries and territories, but
not to Florida, Frieden said transmission in Florida is not expected to be as explosive or widespread
as that seen in areas of Central and South America and the Caribbean.

[15]  Studies indicate Zika poses the biggest threat of birth defects when babies are infected during the
early weeks of pregnancy, when organs and tissues are still forming. And evidence is accumulating
that the virus can also cause a spectrum of brain and neurologic problems which may not be
immediately detectable. “We keep hearing that microcephaly is the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Scott said people who live in the area and want to be tested for Zika should contact their local
[20] health department. He further urged pregnant women to contact their doctors. Still, public health
officials say the development is no reason to panic.

Since the Zika outbreak began last year, 64 countries have reported evidence of mosquito-borne
transmission, according to the WHO. In Brazil, the hardest-hit nation, more than 1,700 cases of a
Zika-linked birth defect called microcephaly have been confirmed in newborns.

[25] The Florida Department of Health has urged residents to protect themselves by draining any places
that could collect standing water inside or outside their homes. They further advised people to
wear protective clothing, including long pants and long sleeves, and to use EPA-approved insect
repellents and mosquito netting.

Adaptado de www.webmd.com

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Early dinosaur relative walked like a croc

  One of the earliest relatives of dinosaurs had some features we associate today with crocodiles and alligators, a study suggests.

  Many palaeontologists have wondered what the earliest dinosaur relatives looked like, as the fossil record in this time period is sparse. Some assumed they walked on two legs, looking a bit like miniature dinosaurs. But the newly described creature walked on four legs like a croc, the journal Nature reports.

  The 2-3m (7-10ft) carnivorous animal, unearthed in southern Tanzania, lived some 245 million years ago during the Triassic Period. It pre-dated the earliest dinosaurs. Prof Paul Barrett, one of the authors on the new paper, said: “This is a little animal that we call Teleocrater. It’s not very big...it probably would have weighed about the same as the average family dog.”

  Teleocrater rhadinus appeared just after a large group of animals known as archosaurs split into one branch that led to dinosaurs, and another branch that led to today’s alligators and crocodiles. Its anatomy combines features present in the last common ancestor of these groups, such as a crocodilian-like ankle joint, with some features considered characteristic of dinosaurs.

  The first fossils belonging to Teleocrater were discovered in 1933 in Tanzania. They were studied at London’s Natural History Museum in the 1950s. But these specimens were missing crucial bones, such as the ankle. Therefore, scientists at the time could not tell whether they were more closely related to crocs or to dinosaurs.

  The new specimens were uncovered in the East African country in 2015, resolving some of those outstanding questions. They show that it is one of the earliest members of the archosaur family tree and that it walked like a crocodilian.

  Teleocrater, along with other dinosaur relatives, lived across a wide range of different regions, from Russia to India to Brazil. The team’s next steps are to return to southern Tanzania to look for more remains and missing pieces of the Teleocrater skeleton.

(Paul Rincon. www.bbc.com, 12.04.2017. Adaptado.)