Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Amazon Rainforest is Looking a Bit Brown and Wilted

dry amazon photo  
Original photo: Ivan Mlinaric / cc
If the billion acres of Amazon rainforest are 'the lungs of the Earth', then our planet had better get in to see a pulmonary specialist right quick. According to research conducted with the help of satellite imagery, the typically-lush Amazon is losing its greenness -- with an astonishing 618 million acres looking a bit on the brown and wilted side. Scientists studying the phenomenon say that last year's strangling drought is behind the change. There's just one problem though -- the rain's returned, but the green has not.

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