From the 12 April 2004 issue of the Guardian:

"Rapid deforestation and the resulting loss of habitat for vampire bats is to blame for an unprecedented outbreak of rabies in a north-eastern province of the Amazon basin, according to Brazilian officials. Rabies has so far claimed 15 lives around Portel, a sparsely populated region. Seven cases were diagnosed by laboratory tests, but eight patients showed similar symptoms after bat bites."

This is not good PR for our "Eliminate the Rainforest" campaign. Fortunately, we do not rely on good PR to get the job done. On 8 April 2004 the AP reported: "Satellite photos and data showed that 9,170 square miles (23,750 square kilometers) of [Amazonian] rainforest was cut down in the 12 months ending in August 2003, about twice the annual rate of the 1990s." That is an impressive 11 acres per minute. We can do better, folks. If we can do just one extra acre per minute, we will deforest 9,882 square miles this year. Start those chainsaws and light those matches!

- nostradamusfunkadelic, 3:33 PM | |