Forest fires in larger areas like the Amazon are actually good for it and are a part of the life cycle an ecosystem must go through in order to stay functioning and supportive for all of its inhabitants. HOWEVER, forest fires caused by outside sources, such as big businesses clearing out room for real estate property, do not have the same positive effect. It’s actually the complete opposite.
“There have been a total of 72,843 fires in Brazil this year, with more than half in the Amazon region. That’s more than an 80% increase compared with the same period last year.
The Amazon is also often referred to as the planet’s lungs, producing 20% of the oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere” (CNN).
The Amazon is roughly half the size of the United States, its ecosystems function is important for the whole entire planet as well, not just South America. The smoke from the fires reached all the way to Sao Paolo, which is more than 1,700 miles away, covering the entire city in a dark cloud of smoke at three in the afternoon and quickly transitioning the city from day into night. Needless to say at this point it’s reached an uncontrollable level, but that doesn’t mean anything else will get done about it. The citizens of South America are turning to the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, to place the blame as many environmental groups have been advocating to save the Amazon for years, but Brazil’s environmental policies have only encouraged deforestation, and discouraged environmental preservation. These policies we’re put into place as a means to rebuild the Brazilian economy by tapping into the economic potential the Amazon’s land holds. However, loggers and farmers who worked in the Amazon had to leave their job sites in order for the land to be cleared, so jobs were lost at the same rate that the forest was, further dwindling the economy. In addition, within the past few months Brazil’s Environmental Enforcement Agency has seen its budget cut by $23 million, in order to support Bolsonaro’s pro-business agenda.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns that “if the Amazon reaches a point of no return, the rainforest could become a dry Savannah, no longer habitable for much of its wildlife. If this happens, instead of being a source of oxygen, it could start emitting carbon — the major driver of climate change.”
There is still hope, however, an outside force is currently working on a way to put out the fires and rebuild parts that were lost, surprisingly the outside force is not human.
Africa is no stranger to forest fires, but a majority of the ones there are naturally occurring and cyclic to keep the ecosystem balanced. In the same way that the Amazon rainforest can provide 20% of the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere, Africa can help put nutrients back into the forest itself. When fires burn in Africa, the smoke that’s emitted into the air also works to carry particles within them. These particles are so small that they can be carried in the smoke for thousands of miles, or maybe just 6,500 miles over to the next continent. Researchers have determined that these particles contain phosphorus, and these phosphorus particles are vital to the thriving life in the Amazon rainforest as well as marine plankton in the oceans between the two continents.
This regeneration specifically works within the marine life of both the oceans and the Amazon. The marine life in these regions are especially important for absorbing Carbon Dioxide out of the atmosphere, and keeping the plant life strong, which benefits the entire planet. The Amazon is known for normally absorbing 2.2 billion tons of Carbon Dioxide every year, the more forest we lose, the less it absorbs, and the worse the planet gets.
In order to keep fighting against the destruction of our planet’s ecosystem, there are many other websites and organizations that you at home can support, all of which help to rebuild the forest we are rapidly losing. As previously mentioned the UK organization WWF accept donations specifically for the rainforest on their website, in addition organizations such as Rainforest Action Network and Rainforest Concern have been around for years and have continually worked on the rebuilding of the Amazon.
If you can’t afford to donate, other small ways to help include reducing your paper and wood consumption. A majority of paper and wood products in the US are made from trees that were stripped away from the Amazon. You may just be one person, but small acts like this can make a difference even at a community level. Besides, if a fire in Africa can help rebuild a forest in South America, you can too.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
