Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Amazon rainforest fires: Ten readers'
questions answered
The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest
tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that spread to nine South American
countries, 60% of which lies in Brazil. The rainforest represents over half of
the remaining rainforests with nearly 400 billion trees. Since one in ten known
species lives in the rainforest, it is the world’s most bio-diversified forest.
And it has been home for indigenous peoples for over ten millenniums and is
also the largest producer of oxygen on the land. The Amazon rainforest is indeed
essential for plants and trees, wild species, and humans.
However, the forest has been aggressively deforested
and converted to pasture to grow cattle and farmland to plant soybeans. The
current Brazilian president has in fact allowed deforestation for farming and
logging much more than his predecessors. Also, people deliberately lit fires to
make more farmland even in the dry season. And these human activities seem to
have caused devastating fires in many parts of the rainforest at an
unprecedented scale and speed, which are emitting carbon monoxide and smog that
can be seen from thousands of kilometers away.
Now, environmentalists, scientists, and even some
world leaders are very much concerned about this year’s Amazon rainforest
fires. But who is to blame? Will the fires choke people in other parts of the
world to death?
Enjoy reading the answers to ten commonly
asked questions about Amazon’s fire.
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