STORY: Recent Amazon Rainforest fire sparks global attention
STORY: Recent Amazon Rainforest fire sparks global attention
By The Signal Reporter: Kaitlyn Kirby
The Amazon Rainforest caught the attention of the world when news broke that the globe’s largest rainforest was on fire. The Amazon fire start date is still unknown, but by Aug. 20, the fires had burned long enough to cause the smoke to reach the Atlantic coast of Brazil.
By The Signal Reporter: Kaitlyn Kirby
The Amazon Rainforest caught the attention of the world when news broke that the globe’s largest rainforest was on fire. The Amazon fire start date is still unknown, but by Aug. 20, the fires had burned long enough to cause the smoke to reach the Atlantic coast of Brazil.
The Amazon Rainforest, which is 21 sq. million miles, takes up 60% of the country of Brazil and has some of the most diverse group of plants and animals than any other area of the world. The Amazon contains over 16,000 plant species, 390 billion trees and more than a million different animal species. As one of the last remaining rainforests in the world, the Amazon forest fires have become front page news.
The Amazon Rainforest provides oxygen, carbon, plants and water, which are all necessary for the world survival. National Geographic says that 2005 and 2010 were extremely active fire years, even overpowering the data from this year’s fires in Amazon.
August and September are the driest months out of the year, and the dry season continues through November. The wet season begins in December and remains until mid-May.
About 700 million people travel internationally to the Amazon Rainforest every year. That number is expected to double by the year 2020. Tourism is a source of income for Brazil’s economy, and creates work for many surrounding communities of the Amazon.
Cindy Howard, program chair of biological sciences and professor of biology and environmental science in the University of Houston-Clear Lake's College of Science and Engineering, has been leading educational expeditions to the Amazon for 24 years and said that these fires are often intentional.
Howard explains that the Amazon Rainforest goes through two seasons annually, dry and wet which keeps the Amazon functioning properly. Howard also said the process of how the two opposite seasons cohesively work together for the functionality of the Amazon. Families survive off of the wet and dry process. Cutting down trees one year and burning them the next is a part of their daily life and culture.
Farmers who live in the rainforest benefit from a system that flows off of both the wet and dry season annually. RAN.org reports that during the wet season 3.5-7 billion trees are cut down. Then in the dry season the trees are burned, which causes their nutrients to fall back into the soil.
This process is in action so farmers and ranchers can properly grow and harvest their food. Howard points out that communities in the Amazon do not have access to grocery stores, therefore, farming is their main food source.
Howard said both seasons are vital in order for people in this community to survive. The system of cutting in the wet season, and burning in the dry season has been in place for centuries.
Mongabay, a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform, published the article "How many fires are burning in the Amazon?" and included a graph which shows 2005 was the highest burning year. However, in the last 20 years the fires have become more frequent on a larger scale. The Cut says the Amazon has experienced the highest number of fires since 2010.
By deforesting the Rainforest and increasing their farm land that improves the economy of Brazil, it comes at the cost of losing the Rainforest that can’t be replaced.
Cindy Howard
program chair of biological sciences and professor of biology and environmental science at UHCL
I'm glad the world is paying attention now to what's going on down there, but this year is not the worst by any means.
Cindy Howard
program chair of biological sciences and professor of biology and environmental science at UHCL
The future of the rainforest is unknown. There are many things to consider when recognizing something that will heavily impact the planet. By looking at all sides of the story some things should become clear, but with this impactful situation it may be difficult. The Amazon Rainforest’s location, culture, socio economic status and the overall financial stability of the country, are all reasons as to why this issue is impacting the globe on all fronts.