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Deforestation in the Amazon has increased 190 percent, satellites show

This information comes right before Brazil's presidential election.

By Thor Benson
Amazon. (CC/Ramblagir)
Amazon. (CC/Ramblagir)

BRASILIA, Brazil, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- According to a Brazilian nonprofit called Imazon, over 150 square miles of forest was cleared in the Amazon just in the month of September. That means there has been an 190 percent increase in deforestation since the same time last year.

The information is based on satellite data collected by the nonprofit. The Guardian claims this is part of a trend resulting from the government building relationships with agribusiness groups and lowering the priority of environmental goals. The government is expected to release its official numbers for the level of deforestation in the coming weeks.

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Mongabay.com claims much of the purpose of deforestation in the Amazon is due to a growing desire to have more land for cattle ranching. They claim while many countries in South America continued heavy deforestation between 2000 and 2012, Brazil significantly lowered its level of deforestation in that time, but that trend now appears to be changing. The Amazon region is widely regarded as one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, and many medicines have been developed from the unique species found in the forest.

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Many have accused organizations like McDonald's for threatening the Amazon by sourcing vast amounts of their soy animal feed from regions of the Amazon that have seen increased deforestation.

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