Some fascinating stuff out there this week:
A fight for the Amazon that should inspire the world - indigenous tribes in the Amazon put their lives on the line to stop oil companies from destroying their homes and the planet’s lungs. The Peruvian president was going to allow logging, drilling and ‘exploration’ of 70% of Peru’s section of the Amazon rainforest. The tribes blockaded the roads - the president ordered the military to attack. The tribes stood their ground. And finally the Peruvian government overturned the ruling, 82 votes to 12. A quote from the linked article:
“There is something thrilling about the fight in the Amazon, yet also something shaming. These people had nothing, but they stood up to the oil companies. We have everything, yet too many of us sit limp and passive, filling up our tanks with stolen oil without a thought for tomorrow. The people of the Amazon have shown they are up for the fight to save our ecosystem. Are we?”
Preserving old-growth forests is vital to saving the planet - however, the world’s most carbon-rich forests aren’t the tropical rainforests of the Amazon, Borneo or Africa’s Congo Basin, according to research by the Australian National University. It’s the tall, old-growth mountain ash forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands. We need to protect all forests, not just the exotic ones! And we could probably preserve them without having the military sent in to deal with us. I’m just saying… 
Climate change science: proof vs belief - this one’s for Senator Fielding, who’s willing to let Exxon tell him what to think. If you’re not qualified to assess the scientific proof of climate change, how do you decide who to believe? Take a look at what each side offers - more of the same consumerism (has it actually made anyone happy yet?), versus the chance to make a better, cleaner, more just world. This is a thoughtful post from the rather good Twilight Earth blog.
