Pig iron production fueling Amazon deforestation Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
September 21, 2005
Pig iron production in the states of Para and Maranhão is fueling deforestation a Brazilian newspaper reports.
Accoding to O Estado, coal-producers are illegally using wood and vegetation from the nearby rainforest to supply coal to iron-working companies in Maraba, Brazil.
The Pastoral Commission for Land reports that the vegetable coal industry has illegally employed "children in slave-like work conditions" as well according to a translation of the O Estado by Amigos da Terra, Amazônia Brasileira, an organization affiliated with Friends of the Earth.
MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)