Deforestation is a major environmental issue in our modern world, as over harvesting and forest degradation not only significantly adds to carbon emissions (upwards of 20% of total global carbon emissions!), but also reduces the ability of forests to absorb existing carbon as well. Forests are vital ecosystems that support 80% of the world’s land animals and plants, including rare and endangered species, like the Sumatran tiger and Bornean orangutan.
Read MoreNBC shared photos last week of Amazonian warriors taking back their land from illegal loggers. The Ka'apor Indians have had enough of their government providing inadequate protection of the land, and are taking matters into their own hands - expelling loggers from the area and setting up watch areas. View the images here (warning, violence depicted).
Read MoreA recent story by ABC News reports that as many as half of Amazon rainforest tree species may be on the verge of extinction due to deforestation. The study, published in Science Advances, finds that depending on the degree to which deforestation comes under control in the next 35 years, between 36 and 57 percent of the 16,000 tree species in the Amazon rainforest would be considered threatened.
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