{Restoring Amazon rainforest – Earth and Leaf Editorial} {extract below}   Marina Silva began her career as a rubber tapper before becoming Brazil’s youngest elected senator at age 35. Now, as the country’s environmental minister, she is making incredible strides in Amazon rainforest preservation. As the journal Nature detailed for its annual “Nature 10” series, Silva became involved in eco-friendly efforts after meeting environmental advocate Chico Mendes in the mid-1970s. The conservationist, a tapper like Silva, was killed in 1998 by a cattle rancher who had bought a rubber reserve with the intention of deforesting the land. Mendes, as noted by History.com,  fought for the preservation of sustainable reserves and…