As part of the nation's "Protecting Amazon" project, the number of Brazilian troops stationed in the Amazon will increase from 17,000 to 30,000. The military will also build 28 new forts in the massive region. From MercoPress:"Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger said the Amazon protection project is part of a greater Brazilian effort to modernize and equip the armed forces, create a rapid deployment force and update its weapons industry."That effort also includes plans for the French-aided development of nuke-powered submarines to protect Brazil's recently discovered offshore oil reserves. You might question why a military buildup would be sold as an environmental feat, but 13,000 soldiers and a nuke-powered sub can probably do more to stop deforestation than those t-shirts we all had in sixth grade.(Photo, "Brazilian Rainforest," by Flickr user nicksarebi.)
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