Washington Monthly Special Report:
A Clear Cut Crisis

Table of Contents

Introduction: Change in the Air
Past efforts to save tropical forests have largely failed. The world community, prompted by rising concerns about climate change, is finally considering a solution that might work.
by Roger D. Stone

The Long Hot Summer
Researchers are starting to make sense of a severe drought that ravaged the Amazon rainforest four years ago. Their findings are terrifying.
by Paul Brown

Big REDD
Right now, there’s more money to be made cutting tropical forests down than leaving them standing. Environmental policymakers are trying to reverse that equation.
by Rhett Butler

From Kyoto to Copenhagen
This December, the world community will meet in Denmark to fashion a new climate change treaty. Deforestation is on the agenda. What are the odds of a deal?
by David Adam

The Brazilian Dilemma
A nation struggles not to exploit its own greatest resource.
by Marcelo Leite

Algae Soup
Biofuels didn’t work out so well the first time around. Will the next generation be better?
by Mark Rice-Oxley

The Case for Big Ag
Industrial farming pollutes rivers, distorts politics, and hurts rural communities. But it might just save the rainforest.
by Michael Grunwald

Forests at Their Limit
One scientist’s ground-level view.
by George M. Woodwell

This special report was made possible in part by the
generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation