After years of inattention, the whole world has just awaken to what is happening in the Amazon. “Save the rain forest” is the cry of conservationists, politicians, and rock stars. The movement has already sparked a confrontation between rich industrials nations, which are new converts to the environmental cause, and the poorer nations of the Third World which consider outside interference as an assault on their sovereignty. Scientists think that destruction of the Amazon could lead to climatic chaos. Because of the huge volume of clouds it generates, the Amazon system plays a major role in the way the sun’s heat is distributed around the globe. Any disturbance of this process could produce unpredictable effects. As an American Senator has just said: “The devastation is unbelievable. It’s one of the great tragedies of all history”. (Adapted from Playing with Fire, by Eugene Linden)