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Criminal violence and illegal activity are driving fires in the Brazilian Amazon
A new report by Human Rights Watch details the major role of criminal gangs in illegally logging the Brazilian Amazon and perpetrating violence against indigenous people and forest defenders (Gizmodo).
Moreover, the report says, the state is ignoring these crimes. Human Rights Watch's acting environment and human rights director Daniel Wilkinson adds that “the situation is only getting worse under President Bolsonaro, whose assault on the country’s environmental agencies is putting the rainforest and the people who live there at much greater risk.” And beef from companies exploiting illegally deforested land has been found in the supply chain for international fast food restaurants McDonald's and Burger King.
US government sues to seize Snowden's book profits
The US Department of Justice has filed a civil suit to seize the profits from Permanent Record, the new memoir by whistleblower Edward Snowden (The Verge). The former CIA staffer and NSA contractor, currently in hiding in Russia, is specifically being sued for not submitting the book to either organisation for pre-publication review.
Facebook to form an oversight board for final moderation appeals
Facebook has announced that it's setting up an oversight board – a self-styled supreme court to hear and pass judgement on controversial moderation decisions (BBC News). Facebook expects the board to hear only a small number of cases every year and says that it will focus on those that will produce "the greatest public benefit". However, there's currently little to indicate that the board will have significant independence or transparency.
Nature documentaries need to get real about climate change
Climate change is lurking in the background of many wildlife documentaries (WIRED). But are they really getting the message across about how our world is being irreversibly changed?
Climate change is often visualised in the same way, says University of Kent researcher Laura Thomas-Walters, with the image of a polar bear on melting ice being a classic example. “Having things which show the impact on humans tend to be more effective.” This could include the depiction of severe weather events such as hurricanes and floods as they affect both humans and wildlife.
Comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) may be our solar system's second interstellar visitor
Astronomers are monitoring what appears to be only the second interstellar object to enter our solar system; an object, presumed to be a comet, dubbed C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) (Popular Science). It was first seen by Gennady Borisov of the MARGO observatory in Crimea, and imagery captured by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph identified a comma and tail, characteristic of a comet, but it's moving much faster than would be expected from a comet local to our solar system.
Should your pets be vegan?
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
