What You Need to Know About the Amazon Rainforest Fire

Image Via The Washington Post

The Amazon Rainforest is the theoretical lungs of the world, and it just had a major fire. This is a huge issue for many reasons, so in this article I will explain everything you need to know about what has happened and what comes next.

So, The Amazon is nearly four times the size of Alaska, and completely full of trees. We all know that trees produce oxygen and take in carbon, and according to The Washington Post, The Amazon takes in about 90 billion tons of carbon. Now imagine what would happen if all that carbon ended up in the atmosphere. This should give you a general idea on why this is a bad thing.

Now onto how it started. Wildfires in North America are often started by lightning strikes, where as fires in the Amazon usually are started by people, both accidental and intentionally. Farmers often burn down trees to make new pastures/fields so this is most likely how it started. No matter how it started, this is terrible and could hurt the environment largely. According to CNBC, it could actually speed up climate change.

You may be thinking, "I live no where near Brazil, how am I supposed to help?" Lucky for you, I made a list (yes I know I make too many lists)

-Donate to The Rainforest Alliance, who will be redirecting 100% of its profits to people working to restore the rainforest

-Join Rainforest Action Network's Protect an Acre program, who has sent over $1 million in grants to protect acres in the rainforest

-Donate to The Rainforest Foundation, who is donating 100% of its donations to support indigenous organizations in Brazil

-Sign the WWF Petition, which calls out south american governments to protect The Amazon

-Purchase an Amazon Rainforest Fire Relief bracelet from Pura Vida, 100% of the profits from this bracelet will be donated to help combat the fires

Thanks for reading! Don't be afraid to go out and make a change!

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/27/amazon-wildfires-how-to-help.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-amazon-rainforest-fires/2019/08/27/ac82b21e-c815-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html?noredirect=on

Image from The Washington Post, I do not own any rights to the image.