The Amazon isn't "Burning" - It's Being Burned

This is a thing that is happening right now, and (taking a page from the global warming playbook) a think I've been hearing from Bolsonaro's supporters is, "Who even knows how bad it is...deforestation is actually down."

It's so sad to watch us play with words and numbers when the reality is obvious to anyone with eyes. "Deforestation" is down because when you don't count burning, and we don't know how much land has been burned because it's still burning and determining the extent of a forest fire is extremely labor intensive. It takes time to do these surveys. But what we do know for sure is that the number of fires is up all over the Amazon.

And we also know that Bolsonaro's government had decreased inspections dramatically, put military officials in charge of environmental organizations, and fired every scientist who publicly disagrees with him.

There has never been a greater reminder that nationalism is a disaster of an ideology, and that how we imagine the world and who we end up voting for matters. A lot.
siftbotsays...

Double-Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Saturday, August 24th, 2019 1:18pm PDT - doublepromote requested by eric3579.

diegosays...

good video but a rather important thing he missed is, that many governments DO pay brasil to maintain the rainforest-

"Norway has followed Germany in suspending donations to the Brazilian government’s Amazon Fund after a surge in deforestation in the South American rainforest. The move has triggered a caustic attack from the country’s rightwing president.


Bolsonaro rejects 'Captain Chainsaw' label as data shows deforestation 'exploded'
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Jair Bolsonaro, whose move to meddle in the environmental organisation’s governance led to Norway’s decision, reacted by suggesting that Europe was not in a position to lecture his administration.

“Isn’t Norway that country that kills whales up there in the north pole?”, the Brazilian president said. “Take that money and help Angela Merkel reforest Germany.”

After weeks of tense negotiations with Norway and Germany, the Bolsonaro government unilaterally closed the Amazon Fund’s steering committee on Thursday. The fund has been central to international efforts to curb deforestation although its impact is contested.

Brazil’s environment minister, Ricardo Salles, said the Amazon Fund had been suspended while its rules were under discussion.

In response, Ola Elvestuen, his Norwegian counterpart, said an expected payment of about $33.27m (£27.36m) would not take place as Brazil had, in effect, broken the terms of its deal. Norway has been the fund’s biggest donor, and has given about $1.2bn (£985m) over the past decade.

“He cannot do that without Norway and Germany’s agreement,” Elvestuen said. “What Brazil has shown is that it no longer wants to stop deforestation.”

This week Berlin had said it would withhold an expected payment of about $39m. Norway and Germany questioned an initial proposal from the Brazilian government for the fund’s steering committee to be reduced in size, and had warned against any weakening of the structures of the fund.

Grave concerns about the rate of deforestation since Bolsonaro took power have been repeatedly voiced by the Norwegian government and others.

According to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, the government agency that monitors deforestation, the rate increased by 278% in the year to July, resulting in the destruction of about 870 square miles."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/16/norway-halts-amazon-fund-donation-dispute-brazil-deforestation-jair-bolsonaro


while I do agree that for 3rd world ex colonies it is extremely tiresome to hear lectures about ecology from the US and Europe, who tore up the planet to achieve their status and continue to consume far more than 3rd world people do, Bolsonaro is dead wrong here and sadly it has to be said this is what the democracy and capitalism produce: shortsighted win-now, defer the costs decisions.

diegosays...

oh and just to add, take a wild guess where trump stands on this issue... bolsonaro has already announced they are in talks to start mining operations together in the amazon.

The US has been after the uranium in the amazon since the 60s, I have read brasilian govt reports from the time already accusing US mining companies of sending "missionaries" to hand out contraceptives and offer free sterilizations to indigenous people, with greedy stooges like bolsonaro and trump they will finally get what they want.

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