Michelle of the Amazon

Photo of Mark Finkelstein.
By Mark Finkelstein | December 25, 2007 - 10:41 ET

My ears perked up as soon as I heard that Michelle Kosinski would be reporting from the Amazon on this morning's Today. Might we be treated to another shot of the comely correspondent in a canoe?

Alas, no.

But that doesn't mean the segment was without its diversions. It told the tale of a Brazilian environmentalist in Manaus, on the edge of the Amazon. Ann Curry, long back from her Green Week exploits at the South Pole, introduced the story.

View video here.

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ANN CURRY: It's been a year for taking a closer look at our fragile environment and to learn what we can do to protect the planet. One man is doing his part in what is often called [twice in this segment alone!] "the lungs of the planet", the Amazon. And as he works to protect the Amazon, he found a way to help the poor children of his community.

Kosinski told the story of Rubens Gomes, an environmentalist who runs a school teaching young people in the area to craft guitars and violins from local wood. My favorite line:

"They use only left-over wood from lumber companies certified by environmental groups as sustainable."

Fine. But was the wood organically grown and are the by-products recycled?

Another highlight: approving comments from enlightened ladies back in the US, such as Susan Berresford of the Ford Foundation [pictured here], which supports the school, and Tensie Whelan of the Rainforest Alliance.

Very nice. But would it have killed Today to have shown Michelle in a dugout out on the river?

Note: Speaking of environmentalism, it looks like this story was itself recycled. Note the dateline on Kosinski's report at MSNBC: May 29, 2007.

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.

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"They use only left-over

"They use only left-over wood from lumber companies certified by environmental groups as sustainable."???

What the heck does that mean?

Nortonalec

"the lungs of the planet",

Who decided that?

Ann Curry and Al Gore.

Ann Curry and Al Gore.

I'm eagerly awaiting their announcement, scheduled for next week, of the Armpit of the Universe ;-)

I've Been There

The Old Sailor has been to several ports I would call the armpit. Some even named for body parts further south.

Swabby, I was just

Swabby, I was just thinking, I don't know about the "armpit of the universe" so much, but if God were to give the Earth an enema, surely NYC, home of NBC, CBS, ABC, al-NYT, etc., would be the place He inserted the hose.

And, considering that oceans cover 2/3 of the earth's surface, and phytoplankton in the oceans take in more carbon dioxide and put out more oxygen than all of the forests on land do, I would say the oceans are the earth's lungs.

"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan

This is what happens when

This is what happens when you worship "Mother Earth" over God. It's sad actually, and is really what is at the root of the craziness from the true believers.

These true believers have been looking for their Messiah, enter Algore, who has made a fortune off their gullibility. It's hard to know whether this bunch should be laughed at, or pitied

Guitars?

Guitars for the poor. Isn't that special. Algore's going to jet in with a bushel full of new, environmentally safe parts. Then it's off to Hollyweird for an all-nighter. Scheeze!

NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"

Merry Christmas to all!

It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature

"...a closer look at our fragile environment" ??!!

How fragile is our environment? Let's see.... hmmmmm....

  • 12/25/07: Magnitude 6.2 quake hits Japan

  • 12/24/07: Midwest snowstorm knocks out power to tens of thousands, caused 22 deaths

  • 12/11/07: 600,000 without power; icestorm blamed for 15 deaths

  • 11/16/07: Over 1000 feared dead in Bangladesh cyclone

  • 11/2/07: Thousands homeless after flooding in Mexico

  • 10/31/07: Nearly 1,800 homes and 490,000 acres destroyed in California wildfires

  • 10/23/07: Heavy storms dump 8 inches of flooding rain in New Orleans

  • 10/8/07: More than 1.4 million evacuated in front of Typhoon Krosa

This doesn't look too fragile to me. And let's be careful about believing these stories that say "disasters are more frequent in the past xxx years due to global warming". That's simply not true. If you look closely, you'll actually see that the affects of these events are increasing due to human activity such as: Building close to the shore; Not clearing brush from the forests; Building in areas with a history of landslides; More people living in places like the jungle, where people haven't lived before; etc.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber

Not Canoeworthy

Breaking - Moonbats make comeback in Amazon.

Ha - Good memories Mark.