Amazon Fires: a Tipping Point for the Conservation Conversation

The fires in the Amazon have fallen a bit on the popular news charts, but I thought I’d bring them back for a motivating, hopeful message at the unofficial start of the back-in-the-swing fall season. Just hang in there, I promise it gets hopeful and motivating, kind of. Here goes.

The Amazon rainforest is burning. The Amazon rainforest is on fire!!! I don’t know about you, but to me this is an unnerving turning point in the deterioration of our environment. In the course of my lifetime (almost 28 years), we’ve gone from “This is a horrible, yet reversable scenario,” to “We’re seeing the effects, but can still prevent the worst,” to “This is starting to get pretty bad.” We might add— “Uh oh, here comes hurricane season again. I hope no catastrophes happen,” or “Uh oh, here comes forest fire season again…” or “I’m afraid to eat seafood because of the microplastics,” or “The Amazon is going the way of coral reefs!”

But we should never give up.

Amazon Fires Recap — The destruction of the Amazon is a two-fold contribution to climate change. The jungle’s power to absorb carbon from the atmosphere is being depleted at the same time as massive amounts of carbon from burning trees (estimated 500 million tons by the end of 2019) are being emitted into atmosphere. Also, the destruction could be a tipping point for the rainforest itself, which may not be able to self-sustain as an ecosystem, gradually drying out and dying off. This in turn would be a tipping point for climate change across the planet, since the Amazon plays such an important role in processing the atmosphere’s carbon. People are to blame. The fires were started by farmers who had planned and named “fire day” – simultaneously clearing forest land for agriculture and reciprocating Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s call that the Amazon rainforest should be tapped for its economic potential. For two-and-a-half weeks, the media (Brazilian, US, or global) barely covered the story. Then after it became big news, and the G7 nations offered $20 million in aid to fight the fires, plus $12.2M from the UK, $11M from Canada, and $5M from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, plus some millions from online fund drives. In contrast, the fire of Notre Dame earlier this year garnered over $2 billion in a 48-hour period. Granted, people may be hesitant to donate for the Amazon fires, because it’s unclear where their money will go. Apparently much of the aid is allocated toward long term funding for Brazil’s EPA equivalent IBAMA and support for indigenous communities, which is well and good but not the immediate goal. Plus, the Brazilian government is historically so financially corrupt that people couldn’t be sure their money won’t go into the pockets of politicians. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro refused to accept the G7’s $20 million until French President Emmanuel Macron apologized for calling him “extraordinarily rude” (thus ironically proving Macron’s point). Thankfully, Bolsonaro seems to have softened his position and will now accept the aid, also giving the Brazilian military permission to fight the fires, but it’s chilling to think the fates of billions of people may rest on the ego of one dickhead politician. (Sound close to home?)

Anyway. As I was saying, we should never give up.

The silver lining to our crossing over into a more dire stage of the climate crisis is that climate denial is becoming more and more absurd. The influence of climate deniers is waning, and I’d like to point out how we may seize and accelerate the moment. Perhaps the greatest victory of climate “skeptics” has been to politicize this conversation, thus pushing it underground. To be clear, the very first climate deniers weren’t idiots. They were oil industry representatives, among the earliest to know for a fact that fossil fuel consumption would lead to global climate change. They deliberately lied to the public to create a fog around the issue and (here’s the kicker) politicize it. The narrative became that climate change was a socialist hoax meant to bring down the capitalist system that serves us so benevolently. All of a sudden, it became taboo and impolite to talk about climate change at all, especially in mixed company. This is the reality I grew up with. We are finally escaping a period of almost 40 years where people were afraid to talk about global warming in mixed company, because a political hullabaloo may erupt. BUT THIS IS NOT POLITICS – OUR PLANET IS DYING! 

The single best thing you can do, that everyone has the power to enact every day to turn the tide against climate destruction (besides going vegan), is to give a shit and talk about it. Don’t be afraid to bring up how the weather isn’t behaving like it used to (ask, “Why was there no snow last winter in New Jersey?”). Don’t be afraid to use the words “global warming” or “climate change.” Even though acceptance of the issue is more widespread, it still feels awkward at first to breach the conversation with these words. It still may feel “uncool” to care about this subject. But do not succumb to this contrived social pressure – we all need to care about this, right now, as much as possible.

Another conversation to breech is around the plastic problem. The plastic crisis and the greenhouse gas crisis are evil twins. Showing awareness for one shows awareness for both. I remember growing up, I learned how to sort recycling from trash. This was my entry point into caring about environmental concerns. When I started as a child, I didn’t even know why I was recycling, but by the time I got to high school, I couldn’t throw a plastic bottle in the garbage bin without cringing because it didn’t go in the recycling bin. That recycling awareness led to climate awareness.

Do you remember that commercial where all those New Yorkers stop in disbelief of some trash right next a trash can, and then one guy just walks by, picks it up, and throws it away. Well it made an impression on me. Now I make Instagram posts with the hashtag #onepieceatatime where I do the same thing, except usually I’m out on a walk or at the playground with my daughter Olivia. Look around you; plastic litter is everywhere, ridiculously easy to find, left by people who don’t care. Again, I’m trying to do my part, but I’m also trying to spread awareness. This begins by people giving a shit and talking about it. Thus we fight the battle against those who don't care. Be bold. Pick up a piece of trash (or two or three or 20 pieces) off the ground and put it in the nearest trash can. Don’t be afraid to post that action on Instagram and hashtag it #onepieceatatime and while you’re at it, tag me (@Matty_Honz). 

While there are many easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and it is obviously extremely important to do so, addressing the plastic issue is often a more attainable and immediately gratifying way to begin caring about conservation. Carbon emissions are impossible to see immediately, but look around any stretch of ground and there’s plastic everywhere! Start to pick it up and throw it away. Use a reusable coffee mug, reusable containers instead of Ziploc bags, reusable shopping bags, and do so boldly. Then talk about it and post about it. The underlying message is that others have permission to do the same.

The bigger the conversation, the greater the pressure to act on saving our environment. There is no reason that we shouldn’t have extremely efficient cars, widespread renewable energy, and way less single-use plastic in the world. But we still have these things, because oil companies, car companies, power produces, grocery packagers, etc. by-and-large don’t care. That is, they care about money, not about the environment or the consequences of their actions. However, they do respond to consumer demands, and if we all start talking about it, caring, and insisting on responsibility (not just a fringe few, but everybody), we are creating demand and then companies will start to change their ways.

There are still so many people in this world who just don’t care, and it’s not all their fault – it’s in the culture. But now, with information available, it’s everyone’s responsibility. How many times I’ve been at the drug store, buying a single item, and the cashier starts to put it in a single-use plastic bag. I say, “I’m fine without a bag. I try to reduce those,” but in my head I’m screaming, Why would you ever think I need that plastic bag for this stick of deodorant that fits in my pocket?!? That’s crazy! Of course, if you have a position of influence in a company, you can make an even bigger difference. Don’t let the selfish politicians and the industry propagandists win. Be vocal.

The Amazon Fire Stick TV service should probably change its name. And then Jeff Bezos and his company can give $5 billion (no sweat off their backs) to restore the Amazon rainforest. Just think of the marketing and branding possibilities of Amazon (the company) rescuing its name sake! Well, even though it’s entirely within the realm of possibility and great for brands, hugely profitable companies with the resources to change the world for the better do not meet their potential to do so. But, alas, that’s a story for another post.