Diálogo Américas The Amazon region is going through its worst drought in more than a century the lowest mark since measurements began in 1902 Fishing activities are collapsing and there is a shortage of drinking water The ongoing drought combined with the effects of climate change and El Niño has caused temperatures in Lake Tefé to rise and led to the death of more than 150 dolphins in late September The drought is impacting all the countries that share the Amazon — eight nations share the territory — yet the Brazilian Amazon which corresponds to some 60 percent of the rainforest is among the most affected by the El Niño phenomenon at the moment The phenomenon is one of the usual causes of this period of drought; however experts point out that illegal activities and the actions of transnational criminal organizations exacerbate and accelerate this process “The model of the region’s economic structure makes a big contribution: the expansion of fires all of this leads to an increase in deforestation promotes the expansion of criminal activities because we also have to analyze that the issue of organized crime has to be interpreted beyond narcotrafficking,” Aiala Colares a professor and researcher at the State University of Pará and one of the coordinators of the Brazilian Public Security Forum’s Cartography of Violence in the Amazon Region environmental problems in the Amazon have reached a very complex stage due to the expansion of organized crime and a combination of various illegal activities that complement legal activities “The advance of environmental crimes related to the advance of organized crime is something that has been building for a long time and we are now at a time when these socio-environmental conflicts are exploding […] The Amazon region today is at the center of disputes involving organized crime cocaine being imported from the Andean countries manganese and cassiterite or other types of ore being smuggled to Europe And now we can highlight the land market linked to the issue of land grabbing,” Colares said The drought has affected the lives of almost 700,000 people in the western part of the Brazilian Amazon Authorities decreed a state of emergency in several cities The Brazilian government has set up a task force to help the affected population and announced the allocation of more than $132 million for the region which sent technicians specialized in public health and environmental surveillance and provided essential medicines and supplies; to the Ministry of Ports and Airports for dredging rivers to improve navigability; to the Amazon Fund; and the Ministry of the Environment The Brazilian Armed Forces have been on the ground since October with some 380 military personnel from the Navy “The soldiers have transported 10,800 food baskets and 1,290 cartons of drinking water to municipalities of Alvarães and the distribution of medicines,” the Brazilian Ministry of Defense told Diálogo in a statement and two vessels were used for the operations there has been an accumulated distance of 2,437 kilometers in river transport and around 85 hours of flight time in Army and Air Force aircraft.” the answer to environmental problems in the Amazon is quite complex and “requires the efforts of all the political players to build a path that can be somewhat productive in terms of inclusion and building a development model that can bring about a culture of good living.” Colares believes that internally it would require an interinstitutional policy attaching various projects integrating police forces and consolidating a federative pact Colares says that it is essential to work together with the other Amazonian countries “getting closer and working together with neighboring countries and at the same time creating a set of strategic actions based on public policies that strengthen the social and political structures of vulnerable regions that are affected by the advance of organized crime,” the researcher concluded For more on security and defense issues around the globe How much of a US$450 pot would you give to a charity that cuts carbon emissions by investing in renewable energy That was the question posed in a recent academic experiment The answers mattered: real money was handed out as a result to some randomly chosen participants The average person gave away about half the money and kept the rest But what if you had been told beforehand that the vast majority of other people think climate action is really important these participants were told that 79 percent of people thought citizens should try to fight the climate crisis because in earlier questions people had significantly underestimated the proportion at just 61 percent Being informed about the true level of support boosted the donations by US$16 for each person but the illusion that climate action is not popular is global So imagine dispelling that myth: such a shift pushing the world over a social tipping point into unstoppable climate progress could be among the most powerful tools available to fight the climate crisis Decades of psychological research indicates that correcting such misunderstandings can change people’s views across a swathe of issues from participating in protests to voting for Donald Trump “We’re sitting on an enormous potential climate movement,” said Anthony Leiserowitz But when you break through these perception gaps you help people understand that they’re not alone and there is in fact a global movement.” who with colleagues undertook the experiments: “We wanted to make a difference to the world as social scientists and economists: what kind of research can we do?” globe-spanning survey that revealed the remarkable fact that people across the world are united in wanting action to fight the climate crisis but remain a silent majority because they wrongly think only a minority share their views we would have underestimated the support,” she says we thought: ‘Wow!’ We had no idea we would find such consistent patterns in so many countries.” The team found 89 percent of people across the world wanted their national governments to do more to fight global heating More than two-thirds said they were willing to give 1 percent of their income to fight the climate crisis they thought only a minority of other people — 43 percent — would be willing to do the same The survey involved 130,000 people in 125 countries which account for 96 percent of the world’s carbon emissions and was published in the journal Nature Climate Change with 97 percent saying its government should do more to fight the climate crisis and four out of five willing to give 1 percent of their income but still had three-quarters of its citizens saying its government should do more and almost half willing to contribute Even in the petrostates of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates the vast majority — about 80 percent — were willing to give 1 percent of their income to climate action How many of these wanted more government action is unknown: these countries did not allow the question to be asked Those feeling the heat most directly had the strongest pro-climate views Those in rich countries were significantly less willing to contribute 1 percent And the countries where people most strongly wanted to fight the climate crisis had implemented significantly more climate policies The more strongly people believed their fellow citizens would contribute their money to climate action the more likely they were to give themselves as Boneva’s later experiments with the US$450 pots showed “These positive interactions suggest that a change in one factor can unlock potent triggering social-tipping dynamics,” the team concluded “Our results suggest a concerted effort to correct these misperceptions could be a powerful intervention is fascinating — but perhaps you are thinking it could be a freak result Many large studies have shown that the public desire for climate action is deep and global and that the misperceptions that fuel a “spiral of silence” on climate are found wherever researchers look A UN poll last year — dubbed the People’s Climate Vote — questioned 75,000 people in countries representing 90 percent of the global population It found 80 percent wanted their countries to strengthen their climate commitments Another recent survey of 40,000 people in 20 of the world’s most polluting countries found that 86 percent of people thought the same but people’s hunger for climate action does not A survey of 140,000 people in 187 countries and territories by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication asked how high a priority climate change should be for the government of their country: 89 percent of people said very high A US study from 2022 found people thought only about 40 percent of their fellow citizens supported climate policies: the real proportion was about 75 percent Other commonly held beliefs have been revealed as false including the idea that people in rich nations are unwilling to give money to poorer nations to help fight the climate crisis A study testing support for the redistribution of money from a global emissions trading scheme from the rich to the poor found the scheme was backed by 76 percent of Europeans and 54 percent of those in the US “There is a silent majority in favor of [action on] climate change,” said Dr Adrien Fabre at the International Center for Research on Environment and Development in France “Making people aware of this would help a lot and bring hope I think a lot of people are self-censoring and not fighting or voting [for climate action] because they think that their ideas are not in the zeitgeist.” Alvarae’s La Baignoire carbon bathtub is a truly unique standalone unit with an edgy and futuristic flair owners can customize their soaking experience depending on their mood or the design scheme of the bathroom The Hong Kong-based design company utilized carbon fiber to craft the light-weight tub with sleek lines and a streamlined look The tub’s elevated bridge structure and the curvaceous half-egg shape add to the futuristic appeal as well the standalone luxury bathtub blends style and function effortlessly while also serving as a one-of-a-kind statement piece A Ukrainian rescuer rests at the site of a rocket attack in Sumy A girl stands among the rubble in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.  Members of the Gaza Circus School relief team perform for children in a ward at the pediatric hospital in Gaza City The Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem during final preparations for the Passover holiday A penitent holds his six-month-old son during a procession through the streets of Seville during Holy Week Christians carry a cross with a young man portraying Jesus during a reenactment of the Passion of the Christ in the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi A demonstrator hits a member of the Argentine federal police during a protest called by pensioners demanding pension increases and opposing economic regulation by the government of President Javier Miel An indigenous man from the Mayoruna ethnic group looks at a sumauma tree - during the Alvarães Indigenous Intercultural Games and Dances in the village of Marajai Children play on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in front of the collapsed Ava Bridge in Mandalay after an earthquake struck central Myanmar Ethiopian Orthodox Christian worshippers visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified A woman reacts as she visits a makeshift memorial at the site of a rocket attack in Sumy.  A man reacts as water is thrown at him during the Songkran water festival to celebrate the Thai New Year in Prachinburi Members of the Real Hermandad del Santísimo Cristo de las Injurias brotherhood kneel before participating in a procession of silence in Zamora Katy Perry kisses the ground after boarding Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-31 rocket on a short mission to orbit Created by My 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