Some 1,200 new fires have been identified burning in the Amazon Rainforest region this week, Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported Saturday.
By the numbers: There have been 40,341 fires in the Amazon this year, per the New York Times. More than 1,330 square miles burned in the first 7 months of 2019. The largest swaths of the Amazon rainforest, in Brazil and Peru, are burning at the highest rates since records began in 2013 — a rise of 84% compared to the same period last year, according to INPE.
Democratic National Committee delegates voted Saturday against allowing 2020 presidential candidates to take part in a debate focused solely on climate change, the Mercury News reports.
Why it matters: This is a defeat for activists and the majority of Democratic presidential contenders, who have lobbied in favor of a climate-centric gathering. Already 12 official DNC-sanctioned debates have been announced, and CNN and MSNBC are scheduled to host presidential forums on climate change, though many argue that isn't enough.
Brazil prepared for an "unprecedented" operation, deploying 44,000 troops starting Saturday to fight the fires that have blanketed the Amazon region and prompted anti-government protests, as well as global condemnation and widespread concern, reports AP.
Why it matters: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, known as a far-right populist and climate science cynic, authorized use of the national military to battle the blazes on Friday as international pressure mounted. French leader Emmanuel Macron led the charge, threatening to block a European Union trade deal with Brazil had Bolsonaro failed to act, reports the New York Times, adding, "The moves zeroed in on a sensitive spot for Brazil’s pro-business leader: the country’s fragile economy."
400 local farmers have begun to grow coffee trees on the slopes of Mozambique's Mount Gorongosa in an effort to revitalize the quickly disappearing rainforest and boost incomes, reports AP.
The big picture: Nearly 2 decades back, the Gorongosa National Park was considered "derelict" after a brutal civil war and wildlife poaching. "Coffee is a crop that can stop that deforestation," writes the AP. "Shade-grown coffee shrubs produce better tasting coffee beans, so the trees are planted among indigenous trees. Areas that had been denuded of trees now boast verdant slopes of coffee trees interspersed with local trees such as albizias and other crops."
