Fighting Recession, Level of Deforestation in Brazil Reaches Nine Year High

A worker uses a chainsaw to chop a fallen tree, in Rondonia, Brazil, during June 2017. Deforestation is increasing in the Brazilian Amazon and rose 29 percent between August 2015 and July 2016. According to the National Institute for Space Research, close to two million acres of forest were destroyed during this timeframe amidst a hard hitting recession in the country. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, 'Deforestation causes climate change on a global scale, and is responsible for about 15 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.' (Footage by Joe Carter/Getty Images)