After weeks of a large portion of the Amazon rain forest being on fire, the news finally reached the masses and got a lot of reactions from celebrities. Most people on social media complained about not only the lack of coverage of the tragedy but also the lack of action from the Brazilian government and other people of power.
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The Amazon is the largest tropical rain forest ecosystem on Earth, and the damage caused by these fires could be a devastating blow to our climate. The Amazon is widely known to be the planet's lungs, as it provides us with 20% of the oxygen in our atmosphere and helps absorb the carbon dioxide. Millions of animals and indigenous people are being hurt because of these fires, and the damage caused by these fires is likely to have a major impact on climate change.
Thousands of indigenous people are losing their homes.
Actor Mauricio Islas shared this video of an indigenous woman in Brazil lamenting the loss of the reservation her people had spent two years building. She pleaded to the media to cover the issue so that people around the world would be aware of what's happening. The fires are so massive that NASA reported the smoke can be seen from space.
Many are comparing this catastrophe to the attention the fire at Notre Dame received.
Celebrities shared some heartbreaking images from the Amazon and expressed their frustration with the startling difference between the wide media coverage of the April 2019 fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris–as well as the millions of dollars in donations from famous billionaires–and the meager coverage of the Amazon fires. The rain forest is said to have been ablaze for nearly two weeks before it got the world's attention.
Environmentalists are declaring that the fires were started by people.
There has been a big push for deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon as of late. It has been reported that President Jaír Bolsonaro has also limited the work that government agencies are able to do to protect the rain forest. This might seem like an issue that directly affects Brazil, but this is a worldwide issue.
Celebrities like J Balvin provided ways to help.
Aside from spreading the word and educating people on what's going on, you can also take action. It is recommended that people donate or work with several foundations like the WWF, the Nature Conservancy, Conservación Internacional, Fundacion Tropenbos, Amazon Conservation Team, Amazon Conservation Association, and Amazon Watch.
Alejandro Sanz said humans were to blame.
The loss of such an important aspect of our planet will deeply affect the Earth's people going forward. The singer said human beings who sit idly when things like this happen will be to blame for our extinction.
The fire has reached other countries in South America.
The forest fires have also hit parts of Bolivia and Paraguay as well as Brazil. The fires have been linked to deforestation. The National Institute for Space Research reported that there have been more than 74,100 fires in the Brazilian Amazon since January.
