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Amazon forest destruction speeding up, officials say – CNN.com
The Amazon is being deforested more than three times as fast as last year, Brazilian officials said Monday, acknowledging a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate.
Nearly 300 square miles of Brazilian rainforest was destroyed in August, officials say.Nearly 300 square miles of Brazilian rainforest was destroyed in August, officials say.
Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc said upcoming nationwide elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally.
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Gore calls for coal plant protests – CNN.com
Former vice president and environmental campaigner Al Gore has urged young people to protest against new coal-fired power plants that don’t use carbon capture and storage technology.
September 2008: Al Gore speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.
Speaking at the opening plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York, Gore said: “If you’re a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration.”
