Can humanity survive without the Amazon rainforest?

The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and covers much of northwestern Brazil, functioning as Earth’s “air conditioner,” as it helps regulate the planet’s global temperature. This week, a Brazilian research center called the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported that the Amazon rainforest has experienced a 77 percent increase in wildfires in the Amazon from the same period in 2018. Multiple news outlets report that more than 9,000 of those fires have been spotted in the past week. The blazes and smoke, as NASA pointed out, are large enough to be seen from space….

Why FEMA isn’t prepared for the next major U.S. disaster

According to every climate prediction model, our rapidly warming world is slated to experience more frequent and severe weather-related disasters. But according to a new investigation from E&E News, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is woefully unprepared for future catastrophes after misspending billions of dollars and countless hours of staff time on relatively minor disaster recovery efforts.

FEMA workers are an important resource for states in the wake of a disaster. They do everything from rescuing survivors to coordinating recovery efforts to providing emergency food and shelter. But they’re not for every occasion: The agency is only supposed to step in and supplement recovery efforts only when a disaster exceeds a state’s ability to cope. But according to…