Watch 5:56
Peru looks for reforms after mining decimates the Amazon
In February, Peruvian authorities were sent in to the Amazon Rainforest to disrupt environmental devastation brought on by illegal gold mining. Satellite imagery now shows a 90 percent decline in new deforestation as the government and environmentalists try to initiate…
Watch 8:31
Gold mining leaves heart of Peruvian Amazon a wasteland
A decade of illegal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon has left thousands of acres of rainforest a wasteland. Unpermitted miners cleared vast sections of trees near Peru's border with Brazil and infused the land with mercury, causing an environmental…
Watch 9:24
In Brazil, fires and deforestation threaten Amazon species’ survival
In the Amazon rainforest, record-breaking forest fires and ongoing deforestation threaten the survival of thousands of plant and animal species that call the ecosystem home. Scientists seeking to save them are carefully evaluating which areas of the vibrant Amazon biome…
Watch 9:54
How Amazon deforestation could push the climate to a ‘tipping point’
The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest and a critical line of defense against climate change. But it’s been steadily deforested since the 1970s, with nearly 20 percent of its land area wiped out. This year, pervasive forest fires destroyed…
The Brazilian Amazon saw 30,901 fires in August, the highest for the month since 2010, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. The numbers have drawn international criticism over the government's approach to environmental issues and its pro-business agenda,…
The Amazon's raging fires are leaving some Brazilian children unable to breathe. Heavy levels of smoke in the air are harmful to anyone but especially dangerous for babies and those with underlying respiratory issues like asthma. Despite the health risks,…
In the Amazon rainforest, historic levels of deforestation and fire have prompted global outcry. But what’s driving the devastation? Amna Nawaz and producer Mike Fritz traveled to Brazil to better understand both the physical and political dynamics at play. The…
Here’s a look at some of the numbers that define the fires burning in the Amazon.
There are many reasons to be appalled by this year’s Amazon fires, but depleting Earth’s oxygen supply is not one of them.
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