Thu, 5 Oct 2023 19:26:25 +1100
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/15/brazil-operations-against-mining-camps-amazon-rainforest>
"Like mechanised Valkyries, nine helicopters filled with armed men and women in
camouflage uniforms swoop over dense forests and remote rivers – but this is
not a scene from Apocalypse Now, it is a Brazilian government mission to
forestall catastrophe in the Amazon rainforest.
The aircraft from the country’s two main environmental agencies, Ibama and
ICMBio, fly for hours above the Tapajós basin, then break formation when they
approach their targets: illegal goldmining camps that are contaminating the
waters and earth of the forest.
As the helicopters descend in a cloud of dust, the surprised prospectors flee,
abandoning their excavators, dredges and high-pressure pumps. The environmental
agents leap out and secure a perimeter, then set fire to every piece of
equipment and every drop of fuel. Plumes of thick, black smoke billow up into
the sky, a signal that illegal mining will no longer be permitted in
conservation parks, Indigenous territories and other areas under the protection
of the state. The agents then fly off to refuel and move on to the next target.
For the past four days, this has been the routine of Hugo Loss, an Ibama agent
who says he and his team have neutralised 43 dredges, 33 excavators and 30 pump
engines in Operation Xapiri, one of the biggest federal actions against illegal
mining in more than a decade.
For him, it’s about not just protecting the environment but fighting for
justice. The goldmines enrich criminals, he explains, which gives them economic
and political power that they use to promote a vision of society in which a
wealthy minority benefits at the expense of a poor majority and a wrecked
habitat."
Via Future Crunch:
<https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-school-meals-transit-us-ecuador-conservation/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
"Like mechanised Valkyries, nine helicopters filled with armed men and women in
camouflage uniforms swoop over dense forests and remote rivers – but this is
not a scene from Apocalypse Now, it is a Brazilian government mission to
forestall catastrophe in the Amazon rainforest.
The aircraft from the country’s two main environmental agencies, Ibama and
ICMBio, fly for hours above the Tapajós basin, then break formation when they
approach their targets: illegal goldmining camps that are contaminating the
waters and earth of the forest.
As the helicopters descend in a cloud of dust, the surprised prospectors flee,
abandoning their excavators, dredges and high-pressure pumps. The environmental
agents leap out and secure a perimeter, then set fire to every piece of
equipment and every drop of fuel. Plumes of thick, black smoke billow up into
the sky, a signal that illegal mining will no longer be permitted in
conservation parks, Indigenous territories and other areas under the protection
of the state. The agents then fly off to refuel and move on to the next target.
For the past four days, this has been the routine of Hugo Loss, an Ibama agent
who says he and his team have neutralised 43 dredges, 33 excavators and 30 pump
engines in Operation Xapiri, one of the biggest federal actions against illegal
mining in more than a decade.
For him, it’s about not just protecting the environment but fighting for
justice. The goldmines enrich criminals, he explains, which gives them economic
and political power that they use to promote a vision of society in which a
wealthy minority benefits at the expense of a poor majority and a wrecked
habitat."
Via Future Crunch:
<https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-school-meals-transit-us-ecuador-conservation/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
