<p>A new study published by Brazilian NGO Imazon estimates that a plan to build a dozen dams on Brazil’s Tapajós river basin would drive the loss of an additional 950,000 hectares of rainforest by 2032. The dams planned for the Tapajós river, a tributary of the Amazon River, are part of a larger government plan for 30 large hydroelectric projects in the Amazon. The study analyzes forest loss beyond the losses that would be directly incurred from flooding and road construction, by considering the deforestation impacts of resulting land speculation and migration.

<p>Following the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC's) passage on September 18, 2014, of a resolution opposing Japan’s "scientific whaling" program, the Japanese government announced last Friday its intention to continue whaling. The non-binding IWC resolution, which passed by a 35-20 majority at the group’s biennial meeting in Slovenia, follows a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)&nbsp;in March, which declared Japan’s whaling practices illegal; the IWC resolution states that Japan should abide by the ICJ ruling.

<p>Christine Milne, leader of the Australian Green party and Senator for Tasmania, weighed in on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), which has been stalled in Parliament due to the inability of major parties to reach a compromise on the target.