One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward

With all the new information we now have, one must wonder at the motivation behind an increase in deforestation in the Amazon. The Guardian reports that satellite imaging has revealed a 190% increase in land clearance in August and September of this year, in contrast with last year’s findings. The cause of these actions is individual farmers and logging companies are able to exploit loopholes in protective regulations for their own personal benefit. This is an unsettling reversal in the trend, which until last year showed a decrease in the rates of forest clearance.