The farther Trump stays away from the Amazon, the better for addressing this enormous tragedy — not an accident of nature, but a murder-suicide committed by its science-denying, Trumpian new president.
Fires in the old growth Amazon rain forest — the “lungs of the earth” that store great quantities of CO2 and produce 20% of the world’s oxygen — rarely occur in nature. This epidemic of wildfires is human caused. The new president, extreme right-wing Jair Bolsonaro, nicknamed the “Trump of the tropics,” was sworn in January 1 of 2019 and promptly announced that he was “liberating” the Amazon rainforest for the benefit of agribusiness.
The fires — 80,000 and counting — are not the result of lightning strikes or other natural causes; they are human caused by farmers SETTING FIRES to clear up more land for agriculture, with Bolsonaro’s blessing. Only now, with international outcry, has Bolsonaro agreed to send the military and firefighters to bring the devastation under control, while rejecting much of the international assistance offered.
The enormity of the devastation and the long-range damage to Earth’s climate cannot be overstated. We may be at or near a tipping point, beyond which the damage cannot be reversed. It is hoped that the clearing of forests has not reached a tipping point beyond which restoration can no longer be achieved and the damage becomes permanent.
The nation of Brazil was much better off under former widely popular leftist presidents Luiz Inázio Lula da Silva or Dilma Roussef, who expanded and modernized the economy while also safeguarding Brazil’s precious resources, and advanced Brazil’s standing in the world. That was before, under draconian rules imposed by a conservative Supreme Court, liberals were blocked and right-wing fundamentalist Protestant Christians hijacked the elections.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked the queen to suspend Parliament. I can barely imagine the glee this must have provoked in the Oval Office at the prospect of being able to suspend Congress.
Godfreydaniel almost 5 years ago
Trump is the very model of a treason-loving idiot
And hopefully by now the voters all have had their fill of it
His tweets, his rants, his ethnic slurs, and other such inanities
Delusions by the truckload? Only part of his insanities
His constant licking of the boots of Putin (Dear ol’ Vladimir)
His access to our nukes is quite the thing that we all chiefly fear
A cross between a weasel and the darkest Dark Lord of the Sith
Solution? Let’s enact that famed Amendment—right, the 25th!
gopher gofer almost 5 years ago
you’d think he’d be taking advantage of the great opportunity to scout for resort locations…
DD Wiz Premium Member almost 5 years ago
The farther Trump stays away from the Amazon, the better for addressing this enormous tragedy — not an accident of nature, but a murder-suicide committed by its science-denying, Trumpian new president.
Fires in the old growth Amazon rain forest — the “lungs of the earth” that store great quantities of CO2 and produce 20% of the world’s oxygen — rarely occur in nature. This epidemic of wildfires is human caused. The new president, extreme right-wing Jair Bolsonaro, nicknamed the “Trump of the tropics,” was sworn in January 1 of 2019 and promptly announced that he was “liberating” the Amazon rainforest for the benefit of agribusiness.
The fires — 80,000 and counting — are not the result of lightning strikes or other natural causes; they are human caused by farmers SETTING FIRES to clear up more land for agriculture, with Bolsonaro’s blessing. Only now, with international outcry, has Bolsonaro agreed to send the military and firefighters to bring the devastation under control, while rejecting much of the international assistance offered.
The enormity of the devastation and the long-range damage to Earth’s climate cannot be overstated. We may be at or near a tipping point, beyond which the damage cannot be reversed. It is hoped that the clearing of forests has not reached a tipping point beyond which restoration can no longer be achieved and the damage becomes permanent.
The nation of Brazil was much better off under former widely popular leftist presidents Luiz Inázio Lula da Silva or Dilma Roussef, who expanded and modernized the economy while also safeguarding Brazil’s precious resources, and advanced Brazil’s standing in the world. That was before, under draconian rules imposed by a conservative Supreme Court, liberals were blocked and right-wing fundamentalist Protestant Christians hijacked the elections.
Radish the wordsmith almost 5 years ago
What kind of agriculture do they want in Brazil? Raise more cows to sell to McDonald’s? Are we destroying the earth for cheap hamburgers?
Richard S Russell Premium Member almost 5 years ago
Meanwhile, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked the queen to suspend Parliament. I can barely imagine the glee this must have provoked in the Oval Office at the prospect of being able to suspend Congress.
Ally2005 almost 5 years ago
Trump: Amazon has rainforests? That dam Bezos sells everything.