Forests

"As Oregon Gov. Kate Brown crafted a bill in 2018 to enact sweeping limits on greenhouse gas emissions, leaders at an obscure state agency worked behind the scenes to discredit research they feared would persuade her to target one of the state’s most powerful industries."

"The Apple Fire burning in parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties has grown to at least 20,516 acres and is 5% contained, the California Interagency Incident Management Team said."

"Fifteen years ago, Ekwoge Abwe was trekking through Ebo Forest in Cameroon when he heard something cracking in the distance. He scanned the forest, searching for the source of the sound."

"Two Northern California wildfires have merged to form one that exceeds the size of last year’s biggest blaze in the state, fire officials said Thursday morning."

"Nearly 3 billion animals were killed or displaced by Australia’s devastating bushfire season of 2019 and 2020, according to scientists who have revealed for the first time the scale of the impact on the country’s native wildlife."

"With the Amazon rainforest predicted to be at, or very close to, its disastrous rainforest-to-savanna tipping point, deforestation escalating at a frightening pace, and governments often worsening the problem, the need for action to secure the future of the rainforest has never been more urgent."

"The decision to suspend seasonal visas is expected to hurt forestry firms as well as state and federal governments."

"Brazil’s government on Monday fired an official at the national space agency Inpe whose department is responsible for satellite monitoring of the Amazon rainforest, just three days after the release of June deforestation data reflected a continued increase in degradation."

"Trump’s EPA is expected to propose a new rule declaring burning biomass to be carbon neutral, as industry looks to expand its domestic markets." "In rural Southern towns from Virginia to Texas, mill workers are churning out wood pellets from nearby forests as fast as European power plants, thousands of miles away, can burn them."

"Extreme weather has contributed to the vast blazes – with the pandemic complicating the emergency response."