Climate Change is REAL!
- missminority
- Sep 12, 2019
- 3 min read
20% of our oxygen is burning as we speak. The largest rainforest on earth is burning. The Amazon which is our largest ecosystem on earth is burning. It had been burning for a total of 16 days before any major news outlet began reporting it. Then, it was reported that thousands of wildfires were spreading throughout Bolivia. Currently, in Africa there are wildfires spreading rapidly, and again it took the media time to come forward before reporting this. So why is that?
Why is it that we find out about tragedies around the world on social media before we see it on the news? Why does it take people having to retweet something over 1000 times to have people look at it and finally start talking about it. The problem with the media today is that news channels have become too commercialised. It has become part of the entertainment industry. In other cases, we fixate our attention on what is happening to our country. In Britain, we are always updated on Brexit. In the US, they are always updated on the presidential race. Due to this, a lot the goes on in the world we fail to see.
Social media was bombarded with these raw, graphic images of the amazon burning. Many people claimed their outrage over how the media failed to report the devastation. Not only has this been described as an environmental disaster, but a human one too.
This is a tragedy for the indigenous people of the Amazon who have lost their home to the greed and lust of consumption. The indigenous people dedicated their lives to act as stewards of the forest, and became subject to attacks, illegal invasions and deforestation. In essence, the rights of the people were overruled to benefit the interests of powerful industries which led to this devastation. It is this very greed and corruption for materialism is the driving force of disasters to come.
"IT IS HORRIFYING THAT WE HAVE TO FIGHT OUR OWN GOVERNMENT TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT" - Ansel Adams
While the Amazon began to receive mass attention both on news outlets and social media, Africa became neglected. It wasn’t until French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted about the fires that the incident began receiving attention. The fires are covering more than a million miles of Sub-Saharan Africa. Just like the Amazon the forests in Africa absorb CO2 and is home to endangered species. The fire covers several countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon and Madagascar. Even though the fires in Africa are looking more intense the fire in the Amazon, these countries have failed to receive the media coverage they need in order to inform the masses of what is happening. As shown in the image below, there were 902 fires in Angola and 3,395 fires in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, compared to the 2,200 recorded fires in Brazil.
Why is it that climate change is not taken as seriously as it should be? The answer is simple, many people fail to acknowledge the issue as they cannot see it first hand. But what we are seeing in the Amazon and Africa is the result of climate change. In this case, climate change occurred by changes to the forests' temperature, precipitation and the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. This is a human cause, caused by and increase in the use of fossil fuels in transportation, manufacturing and communications.
In order to help rebuild the forests here are some ways you can help:
Sign the Petition: UK government: no trade talks with Brazil until the Amazon fires are out by GreenPeace.
Ecosia - This is a search engine you can use that works just like Google, every search amounts for one tree being planted. The company works with multiple organisations including Eden Reforestation Projects.
Support and donate to organisations like rainforest action network & rainforest trust.
Continue to spread awareness about the issues at hand, not just the Amazon and Africa but all forms of climate change.
Pass on the message,
Miss Minority x
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