Amazon Fires

Samantha Bilello
October 29, 2019

The Amazon has been on fire for decades- but why are we hearing about it now?

The Amazon is home to one million indigenous people and three million species of plants and animals. With 80,000 fires currently burning in the Amazon, all of these people and species are at risk.

This year, a huge increase in fires in the Amazon has put one of the world’s most important forests in danger.

Image result for amazon fires images — An aerial photo of the Amazon in northwestern Brazil.

While this may not seem like a big deal all the way up in Massachusetts, we are affected too. The smoke from the fires has traveled as far as the Atlantic coast, impacting our quality of air.

On a bigger scale, the Amazon produces about 6% of our oxygen.

Not only this, but as the fires burn, more carbon is released into the atmosphere. The release of carbon is a large factor in global warming.

According to Yale studies, cattle ranching is the cause of 80% of Amazon destruction. These farmers need to clear more and more land in order to keep up with the high demand for soy, beef, and milk products. They do so by burning the forest.

The Amazon is undoubtedly burning at an alarming rate- but there are still things you can do to help.

Reduce the amount of beef, soy and palm oil that you consume. When buying these products, check the labels to make sure they were produced in the U.S., not Brazil.

Know what companies use resources from the Amazon, and do your best to avoid them. A list of companies and brands to avoid are…