'Chocolate forests' are coming to save the Amazon, and all is right with the world.

Fellow chocolate lovers, you're going to be soooooo giddy about this news.

As someone who keeps a bag of chocolate chips going at all times, I've often found myself bummed out by reports on the chocolate industry. Many chocolate producers use cocoa harvested by child labor, which is totally not OK. (It's why I try to buy fair-trade chocolate whenever possible.) Some national parks in West Africa have been demolished to make room for more cocoa farms — again, not OK.

But some recent news out of Brazil has us chocolate fans jumping for joy over our beloved cacao bean.

Keep Reading Show less
environment deforestation chocolate rainforest amazon cocoa farmers cattle ranchers chocolate farming cocoa farming chocolate industry earth restoration
Heroes

This artist is showcasing a new form of graffiti to shed light on deforestation.

"When you cut down a tree, it's like putting down a man."

When Philippe Echaroux, a French street artist, heard about how deforestation is affecting the Surui tribe in the Brazilian Amazon, he decided to throw a massive spotlight on it — literally.

One of several portraits of Surui tribe members. Photo by Philippe Echaroux, used with permission.

He did this by creating portraits of Surui tribe members, then projecting them in light, using the Amazon as his canvas. He calls this method of painting trees with light Street Art 2.0 because it goes beyond spray-painting a wall; it allows him to put a powerful message anywhere without doing any damage and take it down as quickly as he put it up.

Keep Reading Show less
art brazil deforestation rainforest amazon philippe echaroux surui almir narayamoga surui
Most Shared