A few weeks back, Twitter and Instagram were flooded with pictures of the Amazon rainforest up in flames. Many held a caption akin to: “The Amazon has been on fire for [X] days! Why isn’t anybody talking about this???” Yet a few days later, the topic had all but disappeared from our radar. Now, if you look up the Amazon fire on the news, you are likely to get more pics of a new tablet rather than the biosystem that sustains billions of organisms.
So does that mean the crisis is over?
To put it shortly: no. It absolutely does not. In fact, as of September 23rd, 2019, the fire is still waging war according to Greenpeace.
In order to clear things up, we ought to understand that this is not a single, isolated phenomenon. This year has seen an increase in total fires within this area, according to the BBC; the damage is a result of multiple fires, not a single, massive one. The rainforest is not immune to fires, but this does not make the occurrence any less concerning. Because this is not a single, trackable fire, there is no specific date as to when the fires began nor any estimate on when they will cease. The damage caused by the fires has caused large amounts of ash to flood the skies over multiple countries and is lowering air quality on a massive scale.
We can go into a deep spiral of conspiracy theories when it comes to why these fires started and why they persist, despite the clear threat they pose to the ecosystem. However, there are a few things we do know, based on the relatively limited media coverage:
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Corporations, such as Burger King, Walmart, and dozens of others, are continuing to profit off of destruction to this bountiful natural resource. (1) (2)
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Multiple animal species are endangered due to this disaster.
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Many indigenous people residing in this area are in danger. This makes these fires a humanitarian crisis, as well as highlights the difficulties tribes have faced to keep their sovereignty over their land.
Image from Business Insider
The fires are not over, and neither is their impact. Stay updated, and remember to not let yourself get distracted by what is considered front-page news.