THE AMAZON RAINFOREST IS ON FIRE

8/23/2019

Photo: OpenDemocracy.net

Fires are always burning in the Amazon. But wildfires have surged 83% since this time last year, according to Brazil's space agency. Satellites have spotted more than 9,500 wildfires this past week.

- Philip Reeves of NPR.org// Environment

Photo: Eric Worrall

The Amazon Rainforest supplies 20% of the world's oxygen.
BBC refers to the Amazon as The Lungs of the Planet.

Covering 2.1 million square miles, the Amazon Rainforest is home to more than half the world's species of animals and plants. The rainforest spans across nine nations, with 60% contained within Brazil followed by 13% in Peru. The Amazon represents over half of our planet's remaining rainforests.

Photo: Ueslei/ Marcelino/ Reuters via NPR

NPR's Phillip Reeves was sent to the Amazon to research the situation hands-on. Some of his discoveries revealed that, "According to Brazil's Institute of Space (ph), there've been more than 74,000 fires this year, and that's up more than 80% of last year."

Mr. Reeves stated that in the past, droughts were a major cause for the spike in fire activitiy, however, environmentalists are saying there's no drought this year. Mr. Reeves said, "...And they're in no doubt that people are causing most of these (fires) in order to clear land, often for cattle."

Read the full interview of NPR's Philip Reeves here.

Photo: World Atlas

According to the World Wildlife Federation- The Amazon River makes up around 15% of the world's total river discharge into our oceans, containing the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world.

With a suspected cause of the increase in fires being human-related, we here at
Adventure Pickle pose the question- What can YOU do to make the world a better place?