Photo by lynseyaddario | Fires burn along the Trans-Amazonian Highway in Brazil's Amazonas state, in September. Deforestation continues at extraordinary rates across the Amazon, from meat producers and cattle ranchers who clear the land and illegal mining. The most common means of deforestation is by fire—ranchers burn the land in order to create farms to raise and graze cattle. Roughly one-quarter of the Amazon rainforest has already been destroyed since the 1960s; as it disappears, it can no longer absorb as much of the world's carbon emissions as it once did, which accelerates climate change. Photographs made with a grant from the National Geographic Society insidenatgeo #climatechange #the Amazon #LynseyAddario #Brazil