"We took a trip to the south of Pará. Marab is eight hours of bumpy roads, off and on pavement, palm tree monocultures, and smoky cattle pastures to the south of BelÈm. The drive was really quite incredible, our first experience of large areas of large scale deforestation. At times, our eyes quite literally could not make out the end of the pastures. Lone Brasil nut trees stretching skyward, standing like champions, like giants, like martyrs. This is the story of an increasingly unfathomable, incomprehensible number of hectares of the Brazilian Amazon. Myriad reasons drive ranching, and are contributing to its growth, especially in Amazonia. Essentially, it is more profitable, easy to cut down rainforest and elude the law in the Amazon." -Andrew Plotsky '09