Rare Environmental Optimism

I don't want anyone out there to think there is a realistic possibility that humans won't completely destroy the rest of the natural world during this century, but this is good news about the Brazilian Atlantic forest. As detailed in depressing detail in Warren Dean's With Broadax and Firebrand, Europeans have completely decimated this forest since their arrival in the early 16th century. At present, 8% is left.

I have seen small bits of this 8%. It's incredibly beautiful. Shockingly so. I admit to being a huge lover of jungle (a scandalous admission I know), so maybe I'm biased, but that forest is lovely. Sadly I didn't see the righteously cool monkey pictured on the link.

As fragmented and threatened as this forest is, if protected it could make a serious comeback very quickly. Nature is resilent, so long as we don't grind it to the roots like hungry goats.