Thousands of troops have been deployed in Brazil to help fight thousands of fires in the Amazon rainforest.
Several residents in Porto Velho said what appeared to them as fog were actually billows of smoke, which they fear would affect their health and cause respiratory problems, Agence-France Presse reported.
The Amazon is referred to as Earth’s “lungs,” because its forests release oxygen and store carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas that is a major cause of global warming.
In addition, if the fires are not put off quickly, the rain forest will be lost and restoration would be nearly impossible. Oxygen supply would decrease dramatically.
The New York Times posted an explanatory story on the importance of the rain forest and the significance of the actions the Brazilian government is taking to address the environmental problem.
The Times pointed out that there has been an increase in the deforestation rate in Brazil since Jair Bolsonaro took office as his government scaled back efforts to fight illegal logging, ranching and mining.
It can be recalled that Bolsonaro declared during his campaign that the protected lands in his country are “obstacles” to economic growth.
Brazil has plunged into recession in 2014 and so became more reliant on agricultural production, particularly beef and soy that are perceived to be drivers of deforestation as land clearing was required.
The number of fires identified by satellite images is the highest since 2010 with 40,341, according to Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research agency.
The cause of these fires could be attributed to natural fires but these are rare and most of these fires were set by farmers preparing farmland adjacent to the Amazon for next year’s crops and pasture.
Today, much of the burning land are areas cleared of trees and set for agricultural use.
Brazil’s part of the Amazon lost more than 1,330 square miles of forest cover in the first half of 2019, a 39 percent increase over the same period last year.
Bolsonaro had put the blame on non-government organizations without evidence to prove his claim.
It was on Friday that Bolsonaro said he would direct the military to enforce environmental laws and to help contain the fires.
