By now you probably know of the devastating fires that are burning the “lungs of the earth”. In Brazil, the Amazon forest is has over 74,000 fires, which is double of last years fires, and it’s only getting worse. Since August 15, 9,500 new fires have emerged, in Brazil. Scientists have recorded that 2019 has the most recorded fires since they started keeping track of these fires in 2013. This is a serious issue.
Right now, the Amazon is burning, and while this is happening, you’re probably thinking that Brazil AND the world are doing everything they can to fix this problem, but you’re wrong. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been largely blamed for the forest fires. Most people say, he didn’t start the spark, but he may as well have. He has, on several occasions expressed his interest in the forest for its land opportunities, and even has talked about chopping large portions of it down for businesses and farmers. He has also refused almost any help from the world, claiming he believes they have other intentions. He recently said, and I quote,
Why do they have their eye on the Amazon? What do they want from there?
-Jair Bolsonaro
The world is in outrage in what is happening, and all over the planet you can see people protesting, in England, Canada, France, Germany, etc.
People don’t want to see the planet we know and love, be loss forever. There is a reason why people say the Amazon is the “lungs of the earth”. The Amazon produces 20% of the world’s oxygen. I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty important. Believe me, it is. Having the majority of the Amazon forest gone would cause catastrophic damages throughout the earth for multiple reasons: it produces 20% of the world’s oxygen, it is one of the most diverse forests in the world, and it would affect Global Warming. This rain forest is more important than you think.
Not only that, but these fires are also affecting cities in Brazil and even the continent. Cities like São Paulo have had the sky darkened, because of the clouds of smoke that are coming from the rain forest. That’s over 1700 miles away (2790km). Around 3pm – 4pm the sky was dark, and people were saying it looked like night time. People have been tweeting about this constantly, and the hashtag #prayfortheamazon has been one of the ways social media has been getting involved.
The amazon has been getting a beating in the last month alone. As we said earlier, the forests has had 9,500 new fires started since August 15, but in the last month alone, the forest has lost the most deforestation ever in its history. The Amazon lost over 519 square miles of forest. Which is almost as big as the city of Tokyo. This is no small thing guys.
I wanted to make this post, to let y’all know what was going on with the Amazon. Because I didn’t know how big it really was until recently. This is an issue that needs to be addressed. If you want more information on Jair Bolsonaro, then watch Hasan Minaj’s show Patriot Act and his episode on Brazil and the Amazon. He goes into much more detail the corruption and stupidity of Jair Bolsonaro.
And right here is Trevor Noah’s video on the Amazon Fires as well. He gives some good information on the subject lets you know what’s going on in a comedic way.
Guys, I usually try to stay either impartial or try not to show my emotions during my posts, but seeing a forest burn, and having a country that isn’t doing much to save it, really pisses me off. So, spread the word of the Amazon. Help fight this issue, whether its civil protests, social media, blog, YouTube, or whatever spread the word, and of course #prayfortheamazon.
By the way guys, this is the first installment of a new series I’ll be doing: Quickies. If you ever click on the Quickie page, than you know it’s something that’s going to be relatively short. I’ll probably make a longer version of this topic, but for now a Quickie was all I was able to do. Watch out for the series, it’s going to be fun for you quick readers out there who don’t want to read my LOOOOONNNNGGGG posts. Hope you guys enjoy, and I’ll see y’all next time!
Jmanthoughts 