#SustainableSunday, the Amazon fire facts, and how you can help...

I've never been to the Amazon rainforest, but I can clearly trace my first stirrings of environmentalism back to the third grade, when my mum absolutely dazzled me with picture books like "Under the Great Kapok Tree" and my teacher inspired me with a month-long unit about the rainforest.  We learned all about the trees, the rainforest as a habitat, the plants/animals/insects/arachnids that made their homes there, and ways to preserve it.  We were asked to choose one animal and then used the library to research this animal, wrote a biography of the animal, and then made one out of craft supplies.  I finished my project about the golden lion tamarin monkey so quickly, that I asked to research another animal.  I did.  It was a tree frog.

On Thursday morning, I woke up feeling pretty gross.  I hadn't slept well, was off balance from my growing belly, and was kind of just grouchy overall.  Then I opened Facebook and read the news.  The Amazon Rainforest was on fire and had been for weeks already.

This knocked me down a whole extra notch, especially because I'd woken up late and didn't have time to really dig into what was going on.  Then life continued to be busy, my mom flew in for a random visit, and I've only just now had a chance to look at the facts, consider them, and develop a plan of action.  Armed with that information, I wanted to share what I've found to be the most important facts about what is going on.  All of my sources are listed at the bottom of this post if you'd like to fact check me or do some more research of your own.

: The Amazon rainforest if often referred to as "the lungs of the planet" since it produces 20% of the earth's oxygen.
: The Amazon is home to over 3 million species of of animals and plants and roughly 1 million tribal peoples.
: Initial fires have been thought to either be farmers clearing land or illegal farmers/loggers showing support for the clearing of the land for profit.
: NPR states that in the last month, about 36,000 fires have been recorded.  This is more in one month than in all of 2018.  On the flip side, The Independent reports that Brazil's space research center INPE, had detected almost 83,000 fires in the last month, which is an 84% increase over the fires detected in 2018.
: Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's president, said that he would send the Army to help control the fires, but he has also stated that he "lacks the resources" to contain them.  Many environmental agencies are directly blaming his lack of action on the fact that he wants to sell off and develop the rainforest.
: The Independent recently reported that a slide show, the Brazilian government is planning to build bridges, motorway, and a power plant in the rainforest.  These plans are supposed to be a direct response to the Triple A conservation effort, aimed at preserving 135 million hectares of rainforest.
: It appears that very little is currently being done by the Brazilian government to contain the blaze.  Bolivian president Eva Morales contracted a Boeing 747 "Supertanker" to fly over the rainforest and help drench the fires during the middle of last week.  Thunderstorms were hoped to help.  Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro and American president Donald Trump have both stated that they are ready and willing to assist. Many members of the G7 summit, which is presently taking place, have stated that they'd like to make these fires a focused topic of discussion.  Once the summit closes, I am hoping that more information about containment efforts will be shared.

In the meantime, there are a few rlatively simple ways that you can help protect the rainforest both now, as the flames are still raging and in the future once we start to rebuild.  Here are a few tips:

          :  Reduce the amount of beef you eat.  Land is being rapidly cleared for cattle ranches, so let's decrease the demand for this resource.
          : Avoid products made with palm oil since this is another resource that's lead to rapid deforestation.
          : Use the #ActForTheAmazon hashtag on social media to promote awareness.
          : Swap your usual search engine for ecosia.org.  This search engine plants trees for every search performed.
          : Check out and sign petitions on change.org to motivate politicians to make better choices for the environment.
          : I've teamed up with the the Rainforest Foundation and have created a fundraiser on Facebook.  My goal is to raise $1000 in one month and I'd love your support!  Even if it's just $5!   You can donate HERE.
          : Take a look at more ideas HERE!

Sources: 

Brown, Shelby. “The Amazon Rainforest Is on Fire: What We Know and How You Can Help.” CNET, 25 Aug. 2019, https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-amazon-rainforest-fires-are-still-burning-whats-happening-and-how-you-can-help/.

Hirsh, Sophie. “The Record-Breaking Amazon Rainforest Fires Could Be Detrimental to the Earth.” Green Matters, Green Matters, 21 Aug. 2019, https://www.greenmatters.com/p/amazon-rainforest-fire?gm&fbclid=IwAR2v8fIROWpR6rGdHYjiGutavdfJZnqIV7NGNa5QYJEIQlLKQ_4CsYorBng.

Lohmeyer, Suzette. “The Amazon Rainforest, Ablaze In Brazil.” NPR, NPR, 23 Aug. 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2019/08/23/753721113/the-amazon-rainforest-ablaze-in-brazil. (Photos came from this site, as well)

Zamira Rahim @ZamiraRahim. “Brazil's President Is Actively Trying to Devastate the Amazon Rainforest, Leaked Documents Show.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 23 Aug. 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amazon-rainforest-fires-jair-bolsonaro-ngo-san-paolo-a9075071.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2-OgTqUzaZU-Kmky80QqxcaZ_QjobB4oUM9EVgCU38dN9owaLQjhxBAPg#Echobox=1566549840.