No, in terms of pure environmentalism, the peasants don't matter... The struggle for the environmental movement is balancing the undenyable pressure of the needs of the environment, with the completely understandable desire for people to live a better lifestyle.

You need to try to read more critically. I'm VERY concerned with the 3rd and 4th world... I recognize that half of them face rampant starvation within a decade, and I'm actually trying to do something about it. (www.WindFuels.com)

But my sympathy for the Brazillian poor does not extend to such an extent that I feel comfortable with them burning down the rainforests just to improve their lot.

That said, the reason that the environmental movement hasn't sounded off very loudly about the rainforests over the last couple of decades is that we don't have any answers. If the carbon credit scheme doesn't work, then the rainforest is lost... Unless someone else can come up with a better idea.

It boils down to this: we need to offer enough financial incentives to the Brazillian government that they would actively police the forest just to keep the incentives coming. As long as food and fuel prices are high, the incentives we would need to exert to bribe Lulu into policing his border are immense. Brazil is the 10th most powerful economy in the world, and it's growing rapidly - partly because they're burning down the rainforest. If we can't offset that growth with an equal or greater financial incentive, Brazil won't change...

Last year Brazil's GDP grew by ~100 billion dollars (ppp). Do you have any ideas?