Can the vision of an American nun save the Amazon?

From hundreds of feet above, the Amazon rainforest seems to never end. There are muddy rivers crisscrossing through the jungle, cities and towns and villages that are home to 30 million people, and a vast sea of green, where indigenous tribes — some never contacted by the outside world — have lived for millennia. The sheer size of the Amazon basin, which stretches from Peru to Brazil, is dizzying: 2.4 million square miles, nearly the size of the continental United States. In the burning season, which lasts from June through August, smoke covers parts of the forest, making it difficult to see from above. This year the fires were so bad they captured the world’s attention. Celebrities posted pictures on Instagram. The president of France offered help. “Our house is burning,” he tweeted.