Exploratory oil drilling off the coast of Brazil's Amazon rainforest are reshaping life in Oiapoque, a small city in the poor state of Amapa that is receiving thousand of migrants looking for work. Newcomers are clearing forest for makeshift housing as they wait and hope for jobs that may result from the drilling being done by Petrobras, Brazil's state oil company. While the prospect of economic opportunities is bringing hope, the impacts of unplanned urban growth in a city with already poor infrastructure are being felt. Environmental groups warn a spill could devastate fisheries and wetlands while Indigenous leaders also fear the project threatens their territory and way of life.
With Donald Trump settling back into the White House, advocates for the Amazon worry about what his second term will mean for the rainforest. Besides Trump's withdrawal already from the Paris climate agreement, they fear he'll cut U.S. funding for policing that has targeted illegal logging, mining and other things that have damaged the rainforest. They also worry he will back right-wing politicians who favor aggressive development in the Amazon, which is critical for storing carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. Trump's first week back in office was loaded with executive orders that prioritized fossil fuels. He capped the week by freezing new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance.
