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| tags: | #Amazonia, #Amazon fires, #Brazil, #climate change |
|---|---|
| by: | Yair Oded |
The Amazon is on fire.
This year alone, over 72,843 fires were detected in Amazonia, which constitutes an 83 percent increase compared to the same period in 2018.
The majority of fires were set by farmers and ranchers emboldened by Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, who both in rhetoric and policy promotes the opening of the Amazon to commercial and agricultural development.
The indigenous tribes residing in the areas being incinerated have been putting up a long fight to protect their habitat (which, quite literally, constitutes the planet’s lungs given the amount of CO2 it absorbs and oxygen it produces), often at the cost of their and their loved ones’ lives.
The local tribes of Amazonia can't go at it alone, however, and it is up to all of us to exert pressure in Brazil’s government, as well as on our own, and to signal to massive corporations and agribusiness tycoons operating from within the west that we will not stand idly by as they destroy the Amazon.
Thursday, September 5th, 2019 is the Global Day of Action for the Amazon, during which people from across the globe are encouraged to peacefully protest and rally in front of Brazilian embassies and consulates, as well as corporations profiting and encouraging the annihilation of the Amazon.
This day of action is being arranged through a collaboration of Amazon Watch, the National Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), and Extinction Rebellion. Please visit their websites to learn more about their guidelines for action and of ways in which you can support their cause on September 5th (and beyond).
Alternatively, you may find more information on Action Network’s website.
Every voice counts! We cannot relegate to others the task of protecting our planet and tackling climate change.
Image credit: Amazon Watch
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