When the water breaks in the Amazon, call the midwife
In photos
Midwives in rural Brazil are more vital than ever in places where depleted rivers – a hazard of climate change – put hospitals out of reach
Photography by Pilar Olivares
Reporting by Pilar Olivares and Manuela Andreoni
Reuters
Tabita dos Santos Moraes, with Priscilla the dog, rests on a journey down Brazil's Tefé River in a boat steered by her husband, Nonato Lima de Moraes. Tabita, 51, has been practising midwifery since her teens.
to view this content.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBC
11 hours ago
- CBC
Researchers look at how N.W.T.'s Giant Mine closure plan can consider climate change
Social Sharing Yellowknife residents had a chance this week to learn more about a research project that's looking at how a changing climate could affect the management and remediation of legacy mine projects, like Giant Mine. A drop-in session was hosted on Wednesday by a research group undertaking a three-year project focused on how the mining sector can adapt to climate change. The Climate Ready Mine project is being led by RFS Energy and the University of Guelph and is funded by the federal government with in-kind support from the Giant Mine Oversight Board. The research group hopes its work will be applicable in a wider northern context, and for other mines as well. Nicolas Brunet, an associate professor at the University of Guelph who's helping lead the project, says there is very little known about the topic. "I had a student working with us for the last year who did a complete review of industry documents, everything, scoured the internet — and our knowledge of how climate will impact [mine] closure planning is in its infancy," said Brunet. He added that the researchers aren't looking to critique the work now happening around Giant Mine's closure, but rather to use the high-profile mine site as a jumping-off point to explore some of the issues. "We don't have any guidance right now, and so you kind of have to invent it as you go," said Brunet. Branda Le, executive director for the Giant Mine Oversight Board (GMOB), says the project and its outcomes will be helpful for assessing how climate change should be factored into the mine's perpetual care plan. Brunet said they hope the research project will offer a different perspective on what mine closure could look like, with a focus on the environmental and human impacts even hundreds of years into the future. This week's information session in Yellowknife was a first step toward keeping the community informed about the research work, and to get some local input. "It's really important for us to talk to people who live here and hear their experiences, and get an understanding from the people that live here," said Laura Guerrero Sanchez, the CEO of RFS Energy. "And so we wanted to introduce the project in person and be able to have these dialogues and hear feedback." One of the goals of the project is to develop an assessment tool to determine how different elements of a mine closure plan can be adapted in response to the impacts of climate change. Sanchez says that could be useful to Indigenous governments, NGOs, and the mining industry itself as it develops final closure plans. A major part of the Giant Mine Remediation Project is determining the long-term management of 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust at the site. The current method of storing it underground was determined as the best temporary solution by the remediation team. Having an assessment tool would help the GMOB determine a long-term plan for dealing with the arsenic trioxide that accounts for climate change, the researchers suggest.


CBC
a day ago
- CBC
How to watch CBC's coverage of 1st all-Canadian Antarctic expedition
Antarctica is like nowhere else on Earth. Icy and unforgiving and not owned by any one nation. But with threats to polar security and the splintering world order, can Antarctica stay neutral and unclaimed? In February, CBC's international climate correspondent Susan Ormiston, along with her producer and videographer, joined polar climate scientists and the Canadian Navy for a month-long journey to the Antarctic. It was the first all-Canadian trip to the continent. With exclusive access, Susan and her team documented stunning vistas, curious penguins and the gritty daily grind of scientific field work as HMCS Margaret Brooke made its way through towering icebergs, beyond the Antarctic Circle to the South Pole. Up close and personal with a melting glacier Some of their footage and reporting was captured in a one-hour special program about the historic Canadian Antarctic expedition. Here's when and where else you can watch:


CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Hot classrooms have P.E.I. teachers' union urging province to take chilling actions
Social Sharing It didn't take long for Prince Edward Island to switch from sweater weather to sweaty weather this spring. Many Island schools that have never had air conditioning became mini saunas as the high temperatures really set in with the start of June, some teachers and students say. "Some classrooms don't have fans… Even with the windows open, it just gets really hot," said Charlottetown student Joey Ho. "Sometimes I get headaches because of how hot it is." "Sometimes I get too hot and I just ask to go on walks and miss like half of the class because it's just too hot. I can't handle it in there," said Emilio Hernandez. Asking for a bathroom break, the high school student said, he will "just go on a walk and refresh myself and come back." "It gets to a point where you're sitting down and you're really uncomfortable because you're sweating," agreed Mohammad Arif. The P.E.I. Teachers' Federation has been feeling the heat too, so much so that it has come up with a multi-year plan that it wants the province to adopt to make the shoulder months of June and September more bearable. WATCH | P.E.I. schools have never needed air conditioning. That's changing, and they're sweltering: P.E.I. schools have never needed air conditioning. That's changing, and they're sweltering 29 minutes ago Duration 3:06 "As climate changes and days get hotter and hotter and more days are hotter and hotter, we need to look forward to the future and say: When is it too hot? When is the heat in the school just too much for the students and the staff to bear?" said federation president Andy Doran. Environment Canada data show temperatures in June have been above historical averages in six of the last 10 years. That's part of the reason why the union would like to see a policy in place within the next six months that sets out what will be done when classrooms and offices are too hot. In addition, it is asking the province to: Supply fans for all teachers who request them. Place at least one cooling centre in every school by 2028. Ensure all schools are climate-controlled within 10 years. Doran has vivid memories of 2021, when classes were in session while the humidex on P.E.I. reached around 40 C. "Teachers were phoning the federation looking for guidance on what to do. Kids were feeling ill. Staff were feeling ill, and that's where we got this whole idea of 'we need to get something put in place,' because there's more and more of these days every year." To illustrate the need for such a policy, the union asked teachers across the province to send in photos of thermometers in their classrooms this week. Some displayed readings as high as 31 C. MLAs invited to schools The federation also asked MLAs to visit local schools to feel the heat for themselves. "They invited me into Birchwood, so I popped in there yesterday morning and I did breakfast program there this morning," said Green MLA Karla Bernard, who was a counsellor with the Public Schools Branch before she was elected. "The difference in the temperature in one day — it was so hot in there this morning, I was sweating just from making breakfast." She said that Charlottetown intermediate school got 30 fans from the provincial government, but they haven't helped much. The Department of Education and Early Years said it has spent $125,436.73 on a total of 1,335 fans "as an interim solution" and they are currently being distributed to Island classrooms. "Teachers also have a variety of educational strategies and practices at their disposal to deliver curriculum that also balances student needs. For example, they can move to different teaching environments, add additional breaks, modify movements, etc.," the department said in an email. The Public Schools Branch told CBC News it has distributed all 1,225 of the fans it received from that tendering process.