Bookmarked by numerous articles about the disastrous conditions in the Amazon rainforest, this gem of information:
Brazilian Amazon Deforestation Falls In April
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon in April fell 68 percent from last year, according to figures released Friday, welcome news for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he tries to reverse surging environmental destruction.
Satellite monitoring detected 329 square kilometers (127 square miles) of forest cover destroyed in Brazil's share of the world's biggest rainforest last month, down sharply from a record 1,026 square kilometers in April 2022, according to the national space agency's DETER surveillance program.
It was the biggest drop yet under veteran leftist Lula, who took office in January vowing to fight for zero illegal deforestation after a surge in clear-cutting and fires under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
From Inside Climate News:
Jury Says Transmission Line Critical to Maine’s Climate Goals Can Move Forward: The New England Clean Energy Connect, a proposal to build a 145-mile powerline between hydropower dams in Canada and the U.S. state of Maine, can officially move forward, Murray Carpenter reports for Maine Public Radio. The estimated $1 billion plan was rejected by Maine voters in a 2021 referendum. The powerline’s developer sued, and on Thursday a jury voted unanimously in the company’s favor. Environmentalists have said the line is essential for New England states to achieve their ambitious climate goals.
THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS A WOMEN’S ISSUE
In Binta Yahaya’s hometown in Nigeria, women and girls cook over open fires. These traditional cookstoves are a leading contributor to climate change and make up more than half of all global soot, or “black carbon” emissions. The burning of fuels such as wood, charcoal, and kerosene can lead to chronic respiratory infections caused by inhaling the toxic smoke.
After recognizing this health crisis in her community, Binta attended a Women’s Initiative for Sustainable Environment (WISE) Clean Energy Training hosted by Women’s Earth Alliance. There, she gained entrepreneurial, leadership, and technical skills, as well as a grant to launch a clean cookstove enterprise.
Within a week, she had sold 70 clean cookstoves to women in her village. Within a year, she’d sold more than 1,000 clean cookstoves — protecting the planet, and the women of her community.
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