Mongabay: A new study shows that large-scale degradation of the Amazon, either through drying or continued deforestation, would have global consequence, including worsening climate change, causing regional vegetation shifts, and increasing dust in the atmosphere. Deforestation of the Amazon began in the 1960s when small farmers used slash and burn techniques to establish lands for crops. According to the study, by 2001, 13 percent of the Amazon was gone, a total of 800,000 square kilometers …