Portions of the Amazon rainforest are emitting more carbon than they are absorbing, mainly due to increased deforestation and fires, a new study says. Published July 15 in the scientific journal Nature, the findings suggest that unless conservation efforts are redoubled, the rainforest could lose its ability to serve as a carbon-absorbing “sink” to counter climate change. In the study, researchers measured carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide concentrations above the southeastern, southwestern, northeastern and northwestern Brazilian Amazon, gathering data in 590 small-aircraft flights from 2010 to 2018. Pilots flew 4.4 kilometers (2.7 miles) above the forest canopy, then took some 8,000 measurements as they descended to within 300 meters (984 feet) of the ground, creating a vertical profile of carbon concentrations. To gauge the carbon balance, they weighed carbon absorption by trees through photosynthesis; carbon emissions from the natural decomposition of organic forest matter; and fire-related carbon...
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Costa Rica began implementing a ban on the import, sale and small-scale use of styrofoam on August 7, joining countries across the region in cutting down on non-biodegradable waste. The prohibition comes as part of the rollout of rules under a 2019 law that gave companies 24 months to transition to environmentally friendlier materials. The objective is to help keep streets and waterways clean and encourage the use of biodegradable materials in businesses. The law bans the sale of styrofoam plates and cups in stores and prohibits restaurants from serving food on styrofoam trays. The health ministry says it is drafting a plan to incentivize the use of alternatives nationwide. “The implementation of this law is a step in the right direction to help restore the health of our rivers and oceans and to reduce and better manage waste from land and sea sources,” Vice Minister of Water...
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The 1.5 million residents of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, recently found their city cloaked in smoke from fires that began as agricultural burns at the outset of planting season but had escaped control, charring public and private woodlands in the region. As of late August, nine municipalities in Santa Cruz Department, the jurisdiction that includes the city of Santa Cruz, had declared red alerts as wildfires burned in 21 locations, spurred by tinder-dry conditions. From January through July, fires consumed 749,000 hectares (1.85 million acres) in Bolivia, according to a report by the nonprofit Bolivian Friends of Nature Foundation (FAN) based on images from the European Space Agency satellite Sentinel-2. By the last week of August, the fires had affected eight protected areas, according to Forest Fire Program Coordinator Yovenka Rosado: San Matías, Otuquis, Valle de Tucabaca, Laguna Concepción, Valles Cruceños, Ñembiguazu, Orquídeas del Encanto and San Ignacio. “Some...
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Rejected four years ago due to concerns over its potential environmental impacts, a massive mining project in Chile’s northern Coquimbo region has been resuscitated by a regional environmental commission. The Coquimbo Environmental Evaluation Commission this month authorized construction of the US$2.5 billion open-pit mine, which is slated to produce 12 million tons of iron ore and 150,000 tons of copper annually over 26 years. Planned for a site 600 kilometers (373 miles) north of the Chilean capital of Santiago, the project calls for the construction of a port 26 kilometers (16 miles) away on the Chilean coast. Iron ore is to be moved to the port through three buried pipelines using desalinated seawater. The Commission rejected the project in 2017 during the progressive administration of Michelle Bachelet, who endorsed the panel’s decision. It found that the environmental-impact study on the project was insufficient. The impact study has...
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