Brazil has the problem of global warming in the palms of its hands and the government of the world's fifth largest economy does not seem to care. A recent article published on usaday.com states that destruction of the Amazon rainforest increased by 28% from August 2012 to July 2013, after 4 consecutive years of decline (Sibaja, 2013). I'm sure this may surprise some people due to widespread concern about global warming and the effect it may have on future generations, but I don't think the Brazilian government cares or will care unless another global superpower (France, Germany , China, the United Kingdom or the United States) has some form of regulation and oversight to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. Photosynthesis and carbon dioxide go hand in hand. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines photosynthesis as the process by which a green plant turns water and carbon dioxide into food when exposed to light. The Amazon basin contains the largest rainforest in the world with approximately 3.4 million square miles covered in forest and vegetation. To put that amount of land into perspective, it is the size of all of Western Europe with free space (Global Issues, 2013). With increased deforestation in the Amazon comes increased carbon dioxide. Once trees are cut down or die, they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and could become an accelerator of global warming. Since the 1970s, cattle ranching has been the leading cause of deforestation as Brazil turned to beef to grow its economy. The Brazilian real depreciated significantly against the US dollar, causing the value of beef to double. This increase in value led cattle ranchers to expand their pastures at the expense of money. We must realize that their actions, or lack thereof, could have a devastating impact. The loss of the ozone layer due to global warming equates to the loss of human life. Works Cited Destruction of the Amazon: Why is the rainforest being destroyed in Brazil? (n.d.). Retrieved from Mongabay.com: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html"Brazil: Amazon Rainforest Destruction and Reforestation Policies." Global Issues in Context Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Global Issues in Context. Network. December 3, 2013. Sibaja, M. (2013, November 14). Destruction of the Brazilian Amazon increases by 28%. Retrieved from usaday.com: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/14/brazil-amazon-destruction/3541703/Wallace, S. (n.d.). Cultivating the Amazon. Retrieved from nationalgeographic.com: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/last-of-amazon/#page=1