The Amazon Rain Forest Continues to Burn

By Tess Lampe

     After three long weeks, the media has been stormed with information about the fact that the lungs of our planet are wasting away. You may ask why the phrase “lungs of the planet” was previously stated. The Amazon has had that title for years because the trees that grow within it take in carbon dioxide and “breathe” out oxygen, and oxygen is what most living things (including humans) need to breathe. After three weeks of the Amazon burning, the media finally found out about the unfortunate and ongoing event, the news was spread internationally.
     The fire that started it all seemed to have begun directly above the country of Bolivia and swiftly spread north to the west side of Brazil. When the investigation of this fire began, a farmhouse was found near the fire, although nobody was found within or around it. Two empty petrol barrels and many empty jerry cans were found at the entrance of the farmhouse. This discovery led to the first possible suspect, even though no specific person is yet found. With this information, it is said that the cause could have been a cattle rancher wanting more Amazonian land, so they tried to burn down a small section of the rainforest. However, this obviously caused a much larger problem.
     President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil has created what is known as a “global PR campaign” to give off the impression that everything relating to the burning of the Amazon is under control. During an interview with CNN, Brazil’s foreign master Ernesto Araujo said firmly that “The Amazon is not burning, not burning at all.” Furthermore, the governor of the State of Rondonia (a state in Brazil) also tried to dismiss the “fuss” about the Amazon fires and said that the global talk of the occurrence was just an attempt to “shackle Brazil’s economy.” Many others tried to argue against those who say the fires have caused a crisis, but it is not easy to change to discharge the fact that the Amazon Rainforest may be the most important forest on our planet, and it is burning down.
     Many have described this surge of deforestation as “chaos, chaos, chaos.” Not only is the Amazon currently burning down, but Hurricane Dorian is raging on the east coast of the United States, temperatures are increasing quickly and are hitting record highs, coral reefs are dying, glaciers have been melting due to high temperatures, and floods & droughts are increasing in number and intensity all over the world. These things are happening due to what we call climate change, and events like glaciers melting and floods increasing are what we call a climate crisis.
     By definition, climate change is “a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.” Climate is defined as “the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period,” and crisis is defined as “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” Therefore, a climate crisis is when the weather conditions existing in a certain area are changed negatively, which usually causes great danger to a global or regional (local) area.
     Many European countries conduct trade with Brazil. Ever since the fires started, nothing was done about them, and when Mr. Bolsonaro put out his statements, many European leaders have threatened to cease trade with South America - specifically Brazil. Due to Mr. Bolsonaro’s previous statements about the fires being under control and about the fires being a matter that concerns only Brazil, nothing is currently being done about the Amazon fire. Mr. Bolsonaro and many other Brazilian officials have claimed have claimed the Amazon as their own and as something that belongs to Brazil and the State of Amazonas that is within Brazil. However, when looked into, the Amazon belongs to this planet, and it needs protecting from the fires and from those who decide to take it for themselves.
     The Amazon Rainforest has been on fire for weeks, and despite the nonexistent efforts government officials have been making, we can only hope that someone can help put a stop to it.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/09/amazon-fires-brazil-rainforest
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-06/amazon-rainforest-fire
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1168825/amazon-rainforest-fire-what-is-being-done-to-stop-amazon-fires-how-to-help
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/24/as-eu-threatens-trade-retaliation-brazil-fights-amazon-fires.html