USA Today International - 30.08.2019 - 01.09.2019

NEWS USA TODAY ❚FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019❚3A

zon rainforest vanished, experts say.
“The Amazon is the largest tract of
continuous rainforest on the planet, and
it plays a critical role in the (Earth’s) cli-
mate system,” said Laura Schneider, a
geographer at Rutgers University.
One way it does this is by absorbing
carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas
that’s a significant cause of global
warming. “With nearly 100 billion tons
of carbon stored in its trees, it keeps
nearly 400 billion tons of carbon dioxide
out of the atmosphere,” said Daniel
Nepstad, director of the Earth Innova-
tion Institute.
The world emits about 40 billion tons
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
every year. The Amazon absorbs 2 bil-
lion tons of carbon dioxide a year (or 5%
of annual emissions), which makes it a
vital part of preventing climate change.

A giant cooling system

Although fire activity in the Amazon
varies considerably year to year and
month to month, this August stands out
because it has brought a noticeable in-
crease in large, intense and persistent
fires along major roads in the central
Brazilian Amazon, said Douglas Morton
of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Nearly half of the 77,000 fires across
Brazil this year have been in the Amazon
region. About 60% of it is in Brazil; the
vast forest also spans parts of Bolivia,
Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, French
Guiana, Guyana, Peru and Suriname.
In addition to sucking carbon dioxide
out of the atmosphere, the forest acts as
a giant cooling system for the planet.
“All of the water evaporated from Ama-
zon forest trees absorbs energy when it
evaporates – cooling the planet just as

people are chilled by evaporating water

when they are wet,” Nepstad said.

“Iconic species like the jaguar, tapir,

pink river dolphin and harpy eagle are

well known, but the basin contains

10-12% of all the species on the planet. It

is the world’s largest freshwater system,

where over 2,500 species of fish thrive,”

said Carlos Durigan of the Wildlife Con-

servation Society in Brazil.

“The Amazon is home to more wild

plants and animals than any other place

on Earth,” said Jana Gamble of the

Amazon Aid Foundation. “Also, 400 to

500 indigenous tribes call the Amazon

rainforest their home.”

Schneider said that “in addition to

potential disruptions in the climate

system, the Amazon rainforest contains

the highest biodiversity on Earth, and it

has been the home of various indige-

nous communities for centuries.”

Resilient but not indestructible

She said it would be catastrophic to

both biodiversity and indigenous peo-

ple if the trees were to disappear, but it’s

very unlikely that they would.

“Rainforests are resilient ecosystems,

so their disappearance is almost impos-

sible,” Schneider said. “Resilience, how-

ever, depends on the speed and extent of

disturbances like land clearing, and this

is the worrisome part.”

The World Wildlife Fund estimates

that about 17% of the Brazilian Amazon

already is deforested.

Is it accurate to describe the Amazon

as the “lungs of the Earth” or the

“Earth’s air conditioner?”

No, Schneider said. “I wouldn’t use

either of the metaphors. ... The role that

forests play in the climate system is not

linear, for example, cooling the Earth or

absorbing carbon.

“The role of forests in the carbon and

water cycles depends on several aspects

of rainforest ecology, for example how

fast the forest will grow back or respond

to disturbances. Forest ecology is too

complex to be captured in one metaphor.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

Amazon

Continued from Page 1A

The Amazon rainforest hosts about

25% of global biodiversity, says the

environmental group Panthera.

CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

3,

Amazon’s deforestation

rate accelerates

NOTE 2018 data is preliminary

SOURCE Ministry of Environment of Brazil

USA TODAY

Est. annual losses, in square miles:

3,

2,

2,

1,

1,

500

0

’09 ’

2,

3,

The Amazon is home to

more than 30,000 species

of plants, 2.5 million species

of insects, 2,500 species of

fish, 1,500 species of birds,

550 species of reptiles and

500 species of mammals.

Wildlife Conservation Society

The CDC, the Food and Drug Admini-
stration and state health agencies say
they are completing the painstaking
work of tracing common factors that
may have triggered the spate of vaping-
related lung illnesses mainly harming
young adults.
Siegel acknowledged he is not privy
to all the information the CDC has gath-
ered. The agency probably does not
know whether THC is the only culprit,
he said, but the public would likely ben-
efit if the agency warned vapers to avoid
THC oil.
“There are millions of people vaping
out there,” said Siegel, who supports
vaping as a way for adults to quit smok-
ing. “When they get this advice ‘Well, we
don’t know what it is; it’s vaping,’ that
doesn’t help anyone. So I think they
need to try to be specific.”
Marijuana oil vaping was cited in at
least 21 cases of severe lung illness re-
ported by the San Francisco Chronicle
last week. In Utah, officials said mari-
juana oil was a likely culprit in most
cases of lung illnesses in teens. A Wis-
consin man had so much trouble
breathing after he vaped nicotine and
THC oil that doctors put Dylan Nelson
into a medically induced coma and
hooked him up to a ventilator.
Most nicotine-laced liquids in e-cig-
arettes are alcohol-based and can’t
cause “lipoid pneumonia,” the type
cited in many of the lung cases, accord-
ing to Siegel. The oil used when marijua-
na is vaped can, he said.
New York University public health
professor Ray Niaura said the spate of
lung illnesses means “it is unlikely it is
e-cigarettes that have been on the mar-
ket for a long time” unless “something
was either changed or a new product
was introduced into marketplaces.”
Niaura also supports vaping for smok-
ing cessation by adults if the proper
safeguards are in place for the products.
“If it’s nicotine, it’s like a bad batch or
a new player that is unknown,” says
Niaura, a former science director at the
anti-tobacco Truth Initiative. “More
likely, it’s what others are saying and
people are vaping a lot of other things
besides nicotine, such as synthetic can-
nabis or contaminated THC that is mak-
ing an appearance and leading to these
bad consequences.”
Dixie Harris, a pulmonologist at In-
terMountain Healthcare in Salt Lake
City, says a “large portion” of the hospi-
tal system’s 13 vaping-related injuries
involved THC.
Harris said she advises people to
avoid vaping THC products – or any
vaping product that contains oil – be-
cause research suggests that can be a
risk factor for lipoid pneumonia.
“If somebody is going to insist on
vaping, use the products that are from a

reputable place and don’t add extra ma-

terial to your vaping,” Harris said.

The vaping industry blamed tainted

THC sold by unlicensed retailers. The

American Vaping Association wants

federal officials to clarify where the

problems lie.

One of the challenges for investiga-

tors is that teens and even some adults

“are going to be reluctant to disclose the

use of THC to their parents or doctors,”

said Gregory Conley, president of the

vaping association. He said his group

was contacted by a patient with one of

the less serious respiratory illnesses

who said he was only vaping THC, but

he worried going public would jeopar-

dize his college scholarship.

“The truth is that in every case so far

in which a specific e-liquid has been

identified, that product has been a THC-

containing e-liquid, typically purchased

off the street and often in open car-

tridges such that they could contain a

contaminant or other drug,” Siegel said.

Siegel noted that in at least some of

the cases, the use of a THC oil, such as

butane hash oil, was blamed. In Janu-

ary, someone vaping butane hash oil de-

veloped severe acute respiratory illness

that was attributed to the hash oil.

The CDC and Food and Drug Admini-

stration officials defended themselves

Friday, telling reporters the investiga-

tions are time-intensive and are being

conducted in cooperation with states.

Dr. Brian King of the CDC’s Office on

Smoking and Health told reporters that

harmful ingredients in traditional nico-

tine vape liquid had been identified that

included ultrafine particulates, heavy

metals such as lead, cancer-causing

chemicals and flavoring used in e-ciga-

rettes to give it a buttery flavor.

Those ingredients had been related

to severe respiratory illness, he said.

While they haven’t been linked to the

current cases, “we know that e-ciga-

rette aerosol is not harmless,” King

said.

Though the government knows

people use substances including THC

in vape pens, Kind said, “the bottom

line is there’s a variety of things in e-

cigarette aerosol that could have impli-

cations for lung health.”

Public health investigators need to

gather more information about each

case, including details such as what

substances and products triggered the

lung illnesses, said Mitch Zeller, direc-

tor of the Food and Drug Administra-

tion’s Center for Tobacco Products.

He noted that “many of these cases

have involved the presence of com-

pounds like THC, and we need to get to

the bottom of every single case.”

In a statement, Juul said it was

monitoring the reports. The e-ciga-

rette maker added that “reporting also

suggests many patients were vaping

both nicotine and THC” and under-

scores the importance of keeping to-

bacco and nicotine products away

from young people.

“We also must ensure illegal prod-

ucts, such as counterfeit, copycat, and

those that deliver controlled sub-

stances, stay out of the market,” the

statement said.

Monday, the California branch of

the National Organization to Reform

Marijuana Laws warned consumers

not to buy THC vape products from un-

licensed retailers.

Kim Barnes, Dylan Nelson’s mother,

urged other families to come forward if

their loved ones have suffered similar

injuries to prevent more people from

getting sick.

“I don’t want somebody else’s son to

end up like this,” Nelson’s mother, Kim

Barnes, told the Milwaukee Journal-

Sentinel. “That’s why when they told

me I just thought, ‘Well, why isn’t any-

body saying anything about this?’ ”

Vaping

Continued from Page 1A

Dylan

Nelson,

with his

sister,

Andrea,

was

rushed

to the

hospital

with

breathing

problems

after he

vaped

nicotine

and THC

oil.

Doctors

put him

into a

medically

induced

coma.RICK

WOOD/AP

More than 405 police forces nation-

wide have joined video-sharing part-

nerships with the doorbell-camera

company Ring, giving officers poten-

tial access to camera footage taken at

front doors of private homes in numer-

ous neighborhoods, company officials

said Wednesday.

The doorbell-camera devices can

stream real-time video to a user’s

smartphone, tablet or desktop, allow-

ing homeowners to see and talk to peo-

ple on their doorsteps.

The impact is enhanced if an owner

chooses to join Neighbors, an app de-

veloped by Ring that shares informa-

tion among nearby residents, includ-

ing the locations of their video or writ-

ten posts. Neighbors operates as an

open forum for people to ask one an-

other about suspicious activities.

That capability is multiplied

through cooperation agreements be-

tween Ring and police in what the

company sees as a new “neighborhood

watch” in communities nationwide.

The growing arrangements are an

outgrowth of the booming doorbell

surveillance business. More than

3.4 million doorbell recording devices

were expected to be sold last year.

Using the Neighbors app system,

homeowners in a micro-targeted area

can opt to share real-time crime alerts,

including photos and videos taken on

any device, not just Ring’s.

Under the agreements with police,

law enforcement can monitor shared

information. Police, through Ring, can

then request a specific video from a

homeowner’s cameras.

Privacy advocates are appalled.

“By sending photos and alerts every

time the camera detects motion or

someone rings the doorbell, the app

can create an illusion of a household

under siege,” notes Matthew Guariglia

of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“It turns what seems like a perfectly

safe neighborhood into a source of

anxiety and fear. This raises the ques-

tion: Do you really need Ring, or have

Amazon and the police misled you into

thinking that you do?”

Ring Inc. was purchased by Amazon

last year for $853 million.

Doorbell

camera

firm teams

with police

Officers getting access

to private-home footage

Doug Stanglin and Jefferson Graham

USA TODAY