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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle. The Amazon is twice the size of India and sprawls across eight countries and one territory, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. It has about 20% of the world’s fresh water and astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. But governments have historically viewed it as an area to be exploited, with little regard for sustainability or the rights of its Indigenous peoples, and experts say exploitation by individuals and organized crime is rising at alarming rates. “The fires and drought experienced in 2024 across the Amazon rainforest could be ominous indicators that we are reaching the long-feared ecological tipping point,” said Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, an organization that works to protect the rainforest. “Humanity’s window of opportunity to reverse this trend is shrinking, but still open.” There were some bright spots. The level of Amazonian forest loss fell in both Brazil and Colombia. And nations gathered for the annual United Nations conference on biodiversity agreed to give Indigenous peoples more say in nature conservation decisions. “If the Amazon rainforest is to avoid the tipping point, Indigenous people will have been a determinant factor," Miller said. Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon — home to the largest swath of this rainforest — dropped 30.6% compared to the previous year, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. The improvement under leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva contrasted with deforestation that hit a 15-year high under Lula's predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies. In July, Colombia reported historic lows in deforestation in 2023, driven by a drop in environmental destruction. The country's environment minister Susana Muhamad warned that 2024's figures may not be as promising as a significant rise in deforestation had already been recorded by July due to dry weather caused by El Nino, a weather phenomenon that warms the central Pacific. Illegal economies continue to drive deforestation in the Andean nation. “It’s impossible to overlook the threat posed by organized crime and the economies they control to Amazon conservation,” said Bram Ebus, a consultant for Crisis Group in Latin America. “Illegal gold mining is expanding rapidly, driven by soaring global prices, and the revenues of illicit economies often surpass state budgets allocated to combat them.” In Brazil, large swaths of the rainforest were draped in smoke in August from fires raging across the Amazon, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland and the state of Sao Paulo. Fires are traditionally used for deforestation and for managing pastures, and those man-made blazes were largely responsible for igniting the wildfires. For a second year, the Amazon River fell to desperate lows , leading some countries to declare a state of emergency and distribute food and water to struggling residents. The situation was most critical in Brazil, where one of the Amazon River's main tributaries dropped to its lowest level ever recorded. Cesar Ipenza, an environmental lawyer who lives in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, said he believes people are becoming increasingly aware of the Amazon's fundamental role “for the survival of society as a whole." But, like Miller, he worries about a “point of no return of Amazon destruction.” It was the worst year for Amazon fires since 2005, according to nonprofit Rainforest Foundation US. Between January and October, an area larger than the state of Iowa — 37.42 million acres, or about 15.1 million hectares of Brazil’s Amazon — burned. Bolivia had a record number of fires in the first ten months of the year. “Forest fires have become a constant, especially in the summer months and require particular attention from the authorities who don't how to deal with or respond to them,” Ipenza said. Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guyana also saw a surge in fires this year. The United Nations conference on biodiversity — this year known as COP16 — was hosted by Colombia. The meetings put the Amazon in the spotlight and a historic agreement was made to give Indigenous groups more of a voice on nature conservation decisions , a development that builds on a growing movement to recognize Indigenous people's role in protecting land and combating climate change. Both Ebus and Miller saw promise in the appointment of Martin von Hildebrand as the new secretary general for the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization, announced during COP16. “As an expert on Amazon communities, he will need to align governments for joint conservation efforts. If the political will is there, international backers will step forward to finance new strategies to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest,” Ebus said. Ebus said Amazon countries need to cooperate more, whether in law enforcement, deploying joint emergency teams to combat forest fires, or providing health care in remote Amazon borderlands. But they need help from the wider world, he said. “The well-being of the Amazon is a shared global responsibility, as consumer demand worldwide fuels the trade in commodities that finance violence and environmental destruction,” he said. Next year marks a critical moment for the Amazon, as Belém do Pará in northern Brazil hosts the first United Nations COP in the region that will focus on climate. “Leaders from Amazon countries have a chance to showcase strategies and demand tangible support," Ebus said. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .
Podcaster and former host — who has to invoke her famous father, the late Republican Sen. John McCain — blasted Hunter Biden as a “nepo baby” after he received a pardon from his dad, President Joe Biden. The irony of McCain’s comments wasn’t lost on her liberals and progressive critics, who the conservative pundit for her apparent . “No one is above the law except the Presidents [sic] nepo baby is a helluva partying message for democrats,” McCain on Monday morning in reaction to the president giving clemency to his troubled son. Of course, McCain is in railing against the president for issuing the pardon just weeks before his son is scheduled to be sentenced in two separate criminal cases. On December 12, Hunter was set to be sentenced for his conviction on federal gun charges. Four days later, he was to also receive a sentence for the federal tax charges he pleaded guilty to in June. Unsurprisingly, President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans the president’s decision, labeling him a for pardoning Hunter after repeatedly saying before the election he would not do so while insisting “no one is above the law.” Many Democrats, though, joined their GOP counterparts in criticizing the leader of their party. “While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared. At the same time, the president has his move to spare his son prison time and any convictions and potential criminal charges related to Hunter’s business dealings over a decade-plus span. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” he said. Still, McCain deciding to take a swipe at Hunter for having a famous dad was a step too far for some, considering the role nepotism has seemingly played in her own career. As , McCain even has the term in her social media bio. “Meghan, you should never — under any circumstances — use ‘nepo baby.’ How can you not know this?!” Davidson College professor Isaac Bailey on X (formerly Twitter). “Is Meghan McCain talking about nepo babie???” YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella . McCain even received the treatment. “Hunter Biden thinks he deserves special treatment because he has a famous politician father — by Meghan McCain,” the satirical account on Bluesky. This isn’t the first time McCain has been ridiculed for over their famous familial connections. She’s even previously called Hunter Biden the “ultimate product of nepotism,” prompting social media users to label her At the same time, when speaking of the role nepotism has played in her career, she’s her “work ethic speaks for itself” and she “no longer cares” if someone thinks she’s “going to be a lazy, spoiled brat.” Meanwhile, her former colleagues at have the president’s decision to pardon Hunter, saying outgoing commanders-in-chief “do it every time” and they’re “not sure why the pearl-clutching is happening now.”
FIR against PPS officer for sexually exploiting IIT-Kanpur research scholarPaul Bradbury/OJO Images via Getty Images I discussed how Zebra Technologies Corporation's ( NASDAQ: ZBRA ) long-term growth drivers lie in digitalization and automation trends in my previous “Buy” rating in September 2024. Zebra delivered a strong Q3 Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
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