Acting as the planet's air conditioner, the rainforest sucks up millions of tons of greenhouse gases and stores them safely out of the atmosphere. South America's deforestation threatens to unleash a kind of carbon bomb that will add to our already deteriorating climate difficulties.
As he travels across Peru and Brazil, recognized South America expert Nikolas Kozloff talks to locals, scientists and activists about the rainforest and what should be done to avert its collapse. Drawing on his expertise of South American politics, he argues that cooperation between the world's countries is essential in turning back the tide of climate change and that the fate of the planet depends on our response to environmental problems within the southern hemisphere.
Introduction The World's 'Tropical Glaciers' Wrathful El Nino 'Peru's JFK' Jungle Town of Iquitos Hurricane in the South Atlantic From Iquitos to Manaus Soylandia President Lula Grapples with the Amazon Conclusion
NIKOLAS KOZLOFF is senior research fellow at the Council on Hemospheric Affairs in Washington, D.C. and the author of Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics and the Challenge to the US (Palgrave Macmillan 2007) and Revolution! (Palgrave Macmillan 2008). He blogs on CounterPunch and has appeared on PBS World Focus, C-SPAN Washington Journal and The Daily Show.