Tag Archives: Amazon
Brazilian Retailers Punish Deforesting Ranchers Posted by Rachel on Jun 15, 2009
This week, Brazil’s three biggest retailers announced that they will not purchase beef from blacklisted ranchers in the Amazon. According to a recently released report from Greenpeace, certain ranchers in the state of Pará are responsible for deforesting the Amazon and are causing destruction at a rapid rate. In fact, the report shows that ranching…
Amazon Cosmetics Study Posted by Rachel on Apr 1, 2009
The Secretary of Science & Technology of Tocantins state, along with research groups from the states of Amazonas, Pará, and Maranhão are launching a R$6.9 million study to examine the cosmetic properties of Amazon fruits and plants, including the andiroba, copaíba, castanha and babaçu. The study intends to create a network of groups that will…
Amazon Turtle Rescue Posted by Rachel on Mar 24, 2009
A group of volunteers in a remote corner of the Amazon, on the Japurá River near the Colombian border, helped save nearly 8,000 endangered turtles. Run by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, the project required volunteers to carefully watch and monitor nearly 300 turtle egg nests for six months. Later, the eggs…
The Amazon’s Bioluminescent Mushrooms Posted by Rachel on Mar 19, 2009
Brazilian biologist Ricardo Braga-Neto was driving on the highway from Manaus to Porto Velho when he noticed something glowing in the forest. When he stopped his car to inspect the source of the light, he discovered that it was a mushroom. Although there are 64 known species of bioluminescent mushrooms in the world, and the…
Albino Turtles Born in Amazonas Posted by Rachel on Feb 18, 2009
This week, two albino turtles were born on the Abufari animal reserve in Amazonas state. In the second half of 2008, over 381,000 turtles were born on the reserve. According to the director of the reserve, one or two albinos are born for every hundred thousand turtles. Via Globo/ICMBio
World Social Forum Kicks Off in Belém Posted by Rachel on Jan 29, 2009
This week, the northern Brazilian city of Belém is hosting the World Social Forum, a meeting of leftist groups meant to counter the Davos World Economic Forum currently taking place in Switzerland. 100,000 people from environmental groups, feminist organizations, non-profits, religious organizations, and other groups have flocked to Brazil to discuss global issues, the most…
New Biofuel Discovery in the Amazon Posted by Rachel on Jan 15, 2009
Brazilian engineer Otoniel Duarte has made an important discovery during a study in the northern state of Roraima: he found that a species of Amazon palm tree, the palmeira inajá, is capable of producing oil that can be used for biofuel. The inajápalm is a close relative of the dende palm, native to Africa, which…