Deforestation has been an ongoing problem for decades now, and one of the most vulnerable locations right now is the Amazon Rainforest. We are all aware of the recent fires that were contributing to the destruction of the rainforest, but natural disasters like this are not the only thing to worry about. President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro has been pushing commercial development of the Amazon rainforest since he ran for president in 2018. Not only is this concerning for the natural environment, which is already struggling with pollution and survival, but there are many indigenous tribes that live in the amazon rainforest, isolated from the modern world. By commercializing this land, Bolsonaro is pushing these people into today's society, and away from the lives they had been living. Bolsonaro has said "the indigenous person can't remain in his land as if he were some prehistoric creature," and "where there is indigenous land, there is wealth underneath it."
I personally am appalled by President Bolsonaro and his pushing of the commercialization of the Amazon rainforest. I think that indigenous tribes have every right to maintain the lifestyle they have lived for however long, and that encroaching on their culture and pushing them out of their home is criminal. I'm also very upset because the Amazon rainforest is one of the major oxygen-producers on earth, and that by destroying it, the human race itself is being damaged. There's also the pollution aspect, which would only become worse if the rainforest was used for industry.
If you want to watch a super cool video about some indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest, click here (it's in Spanish partly but there are subtitles).
How do you feel about this issue?
Source
6 comments:
Brazil is not only cutting down trees, but they are cutting down trees for livestock grazing (usually cows). The actual process of doing this pollutes with all of the gas powered equipment needed to clear cut large areas of a forestry. But it also removes trees that suck up pollution (in the form of co2) and creates even more pollution with all the methane that results from lots of cattle in one area. This also completely destroys entire habitats and large, complex ecosystems for an area with one species of cattle-feed and one species of cow (a huge loss for biodiversity). So I do agree that what the Brazilian government is doing and allowing here is not right. They are single handedly harming the environment (maybe past repair) and destroying cultures that have lasted for thousands of years. And I hope there is a way to end this destruction but in the highly corrupted and sold-out state the Brazilian government is in it is hard to do that.
While I do agree that the deforestation of the Amazonas (the ~28% of the Amazon that is within the country of Brazil) is probably not in the best interest for animal diversity and the environment, I do think that there are slight over assessments of its implications and its negative affect overall. In the summary there was mention of the Amazon rainforest being one of the “major oxygen-producers on earth”. And while in a sense this is correct, most of this oxygen is used by plants in respiration during the night time (probably over 50% I would assume), with the rest used to aid in breakdown of microbes and dead plant leaves (essentially the amount of oxygen given beyond the forest is negligible). Now this isn’t to say that the rainforest does not help the planet (I assume the Amazon stores and absorbs enormous amounts of CO2), it’s just the overall conclusions may be misplaced. With regards to the displacement of indigenous groups, I do agree with the fact that this is largely inhumane. Moreover, the potential end of hundreds of animal species and plantlife, while maybe not incredibly impactful to the environment within the United States, is still something we should abdicate against. On the bright side (if there is really one), this may mean more workers are needed for the commercial projects, likely leading to economic growth (GDP doesn’t take into account the externality like environment to certain extents). And hey, since everyone is going vegan, I guess it doesn't hurt to have more soy producers :(
Although I see how removing forest land could be in Bolsonaro's commercializing interests, I think he could also view this issue from a different perspective: the rainforest houses tribes and animal species not found in any other part of the world, making Brazil unique. Instead of conforming to every other country's goal of gaining more money, Bolsonaro should realize that the rainforest is an integral part of distinguishing Brazil and that removing it would make Brazil less special. In reality, Bolsonaro's goal is hurting Brazil, not helping like he claims.
I don't think Bolsonaro is looking at the big picture when it comes to commercializing the Amazon rainforest. I agree that this action will benefit Brazil in some ways, but the impact of deforestation will be so large and irreversible when considering the side effects. First, the world is already facing a climate crisis and what feels like almost inevitable environmental doom at this point. Our only hope of stopping this is to protect what nature we have left and work to lower our impact on the environment. Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest would work directly against this. The Amazon rainforest is home to an incredible amount of biodiversity (which is extremely important to the balance of nature) and helps counteract the buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere. The many different species are not only important to the ecosystem but also have the potential to greatly help humans too. Many of the organisms might have properties that have medicinal potential or could be used for other products, some of which might not have even been discovered yet. It is also inhumane to displace all the indigenous groups and destroy their way of life for profit. The way Bolsonaro looks at the indigenous groups and only sees the "wealth underneath [the land]" portrays how he is only focused on material wealth instead of the rich history and identity of these indigenous groups. He is missing that these are people and that forcing them to move might end/erase an important part of Brazil's identity.
I do not think that Bolsonaro was being as considerate as he should be. The rain forest is responsible for gathering a large percentage of the carbon and keeping our atmosphere healthy. Without the rain forest a lot of the carbon in our atmosphere would not be eliminated and their might not be oxygen for us to breathe. The rain forest already has been going through a lot like Olivia has said and it doesn't need to get manually cut down in order to build more commercial buildings. The rainforest already has been catching on fire and has been very destructive and we do not need more methods of destroying the rain forest. If the rainforest loses more of its volume many organisms and species will become extinct and humans will need to find an alternate method to eliminate the excess carbon dioxide.
Many of the comments above express concerns with the deforestation's effects on things like carbon footprint and greenhouse gases. While those are very valid criticisms of this situation, I think that people didn't really talk as much about the impact on the indigenous population. One of the most appalling things to me was the fact that he merely wanted to push out this population for the purpose of Brazil's economic development. This is very reminiscent of the beginning of America, where settlers pushing into Native land (That they had previously set aside for them) for the mere purpose of economic development. I fear that if this continues there may be many consequences for the people there that stretch beyond losing their home, as if their immune systems haven't developed, they may be quickly wiped out by common diseases. Additionally, the Uru Eu Wau Wau people have already endured illegal deforestation on their protected land, and should not have to give up their home for the purpose of farming cows. (Especially when agriculture is only ~5% of Brazil's income).
Post a Comment