Llamas are having a moment in the US, but they've been icons in South America for millennia
Llama toys, therapy lamas, petting zoo llamas: llamas are hot in the US, surpassing unicorns in popularity, but their relationship with South American people stretches over 7,000 years.
Dec. 18, 2020 • ~8 min
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Demand for meat is driving deforestation in Brazil – changing the soy industry could stop it
Deforestation in Brazil recently reached a 12-year high, prompting France to cut soybean imports from the country.
Dec. 17, 2020 • ~7 min
sustainability south-america agriculture brazil deforestation amazon-forest meat savanna soy commodities
The world's southernmost tree hangs on in one of the windiest places on Earth – but climate change is shifting those winds
A team of researchers found the southernmost tree and forest on Earth at the extreme tip of South America. Wind limits where trees grow on Isla Hornos and those wind patterns are shifting.
Sept. 30, 2020 • ~6 min
climate-change south-america trees wind discovery exploration
Uruguay quietly beats coronavirus, distinguishing itself from its South American neighbors – yet again
Pandemic devastation surrounds it on all sides, but tiny Uruguay has COVID-19 under control – just the latest win for a country that's always stood out.
June 15, 2020 • ~7 min
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COVID-19 is deadlier for black Brazilians, a legacy of structural racism that dates back to slavery
In Brazil, black COVID-19 patients are dying at higher rates than white patients. Worse housing quality, working conditions and health care help to explain the pandemic's racially disparate toll.
June 10, 2020 • ~8 min
covid-19 coronavirus south-america brazil latin-america racism structural-racism health-equity social-determinants-of-health access-to-healthcare afro-brazilians racial-injustice human-development
How indigenous people in the Amazon are coping with the coronavirus pandemic
The lockdown may be a greater worry than the disease itself.
April 27, 2020 • ~5 min
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See the fossil shell: This extinct turtle was truly enormous
"The carapace of some Stupendemys individuals reached almost three meters, making it one of the largest, if not the largest turtle that ever existed."
Feb. 13, 2020 • ~3 min
south-america fossils turtles featured science-and-technology
The cultural significance of carbon-storing peatlands to rural communities
A group of UK and Peruvian researchers have carried out the first detailed study of how rural communities interact with peatlands in the Peruvian Amazon, a landscape that is one of the world’s largest stores of carbon.
May 21, 2019 • ~6 min
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