Daniel Beltra, a Spanish photographer, is traveling the world to capture the world’s three major rainforest regions. We have some of his amazing shots from the first leg of the trip… the Amazon! From cattle men in the deforested Mato Grasso region of Brazil to smiling native Indian children pointing down the barrel of his lens Daniel captures a compelling array of images from this important part of our planet.

In the depths of the Amazon rainforest, the poorest people in the world have taken on the richest people in the world to defend a part of the ecosystem none of us can live without. They had nothing but wooden spears and moral force to defeat the oil companies – and, for today, they have won.

With about 90 days to go before lift off from Boston, I am well on my way planning and preparing for the trip.

The leather we use everyday from our shoes to our hangbags and wallets may very well trace back to cattle raised on deforested Amazon ranches.

Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies has approved a measure that would speed up paving roads across the country, including paving a road that environmentalists have long-fought, BR-319. Environmental groups across the nation have warned of widespread deforestation if the measure passes the Senate and is signed by the president. Read the rest of this article here.