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Article: Heat is on Amazonian small farmers.(Droughts)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- June 1, 2008
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Amazonian small farmers' responses to climate change shows they are vulnerable to natural catastrophes and risky land use practices, indicate anthropologists Eduardo Brondizio and Emilio Moran of Indiana University, Bloomington. They report that an increase in climate anomalies like El Nino ultimately could drive many small farmers to ruin, forcing them into Brazilian cities that may be ill-equipped to employ, house, and feed them.
The researchers found a rapid decay in farmers' memories even of major climate events. For example, more than 50% of the farmers surveyed in 2002 did not recall the El Nino-caused drought of 1997 and 1998--the worst drought in recent ...