I can't recommend enough watching the The Salt of the Earth[0] documentary. It's not only an impactful review of Salgado's career but also a great (and visual) way to expand our knowledge about the world and its recent history.
Yes, the segment in which he comments about his experience in Africa during the ethnic conflicts is VERY impactful. This movie is a must see for any human being.
This segment is the one I cannot forget too. Especially where Salgado speaks about how he was sick after he returned from Africa. When you see his face when he says he was sick but not in a contagious way you know exactly what he means.
I also found the scenes, where you can see Salgado's face close-up and frontal while he looks at his photos, very strong. I read somewhere the scenes were filmed through a teleprompter which is an interesting artistic technique.
Salgado is a great storyteller. In this [1] interview, he describe his most memorable experiences, including the Reagen shooting (about 44min). The interview is in Portuguese but there is an auto-generated subtitles.
Salgado was with the Reagan entourage in the day the president was shot. A while after the event, he removed those pictures from his catalog to avoid been only know because this event. (Yet, I'm here bringing this up).
Highly recommend watching Powaqqatsi, sequel to Koyaanisqatsi. The opening scene is filmed in Serra Pelada. Does a much better job of capturing the atmosphere than these photos.
Lots of ambitious people in a certain laboratory at a research Institute needed money. Some convicted sex offender gave them money. Why should they refuse?
I feel like the difference is that Vale actively destroys forests, and Salgado wanted to rebuild a forest, the damage and the good are related. Epstein and Media Lab don't share that same relation.
[0] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3674140/