This past year, more people are beginning to spread awareness on the issue of climate change and what needs to be done to reduce our plastic use and waste footprint. The recent news of the Amazon Forest fires has thrown people into a panic and caused them to jump straight to conclusions, without checking the facts.
The vast majority of the fires burning in the Amazon were started by humans in the service of mining, logging and agriculture. The fires are started by farmers to help make more farming land and to put nutrients into the soil. The fires started to get out of hand because of the unusually dry weather, wind and heat.
When looking at a map of the fires burning this year, as compared to 4 years ago, the fire is actually not abnormal and seems to only be on the fringes of the rainforest. From the news that has been spreading around Instagram and other social media platforms, people get the idea that the actual forest is on fire, which is not the case at all.
Although the fires may not be considerably bigger than the fires from just a couple of years ago, there is no doubt that deforestation has been rising. There were almost three times as many fires this August as there was the previous year. This affected more than 10,000 square miles of land.
Some media accounts have suggested that the fires in the Amazon threaten the oxygen that we breathe.
“The Amazon rainforest- the lungs which produce 20% of our planet’s oxygen- is on fire,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.
This tweet by Macron blew up and created a lot of misunderstanding. Nearly all of Earth’s breathable oxygen originated in the oceans, and there is enough of it to last millions of years.
To help with the reforestation of the Amazon Rainforest, The Rainforest Trust allows you to restrict your donations to a specific project and says 100% of your donation will help stop deforestation in Brazil right now. The Arbor Day Foundation also has a program to help save tropical rainforests which provide habitats for more than 50% of the world’s plants and animals.
There is no denying the fact that the fires in the Amazon rainforest are a horrible issue and put not only the animals that provide necessary nutrients to us but also indigenous people who use the forest as a refuge at risk. It is very important that everyone knows all of the facts so that they can inform others so that those people can then go out and help in any way they can.
Image courtesy of http://cnn.com
