Op-ed:
The Untold Truths About the Rainforest
Fires
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor /
Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio
“This is an economic signal, not a
climate signal.”
- Doug Morton, Earth Systems scientist
at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
"Climate change"...as in the
"weather"...has not a thing to do with it nor do cows per se...as the
Amazon rainforest is burning simply because of the greed of men. How
so... in a word, “deforestation”... “deforestation” via
illegal logging as well as what amounts to “uncontrolled
burning” to clear out not only brush and small trees but a fair
amount of “old growth” tress as well in order to secure
more land for agriculture...in order to make more money and placate
politicians seemingly out of control.
Opposing factions all feeding off one
another in a chess game of the ancient rainforest itself v. both the greed
of developers and politicians lies. And while the game is currently
ongoing the outcome most likely will be a stalemate with no side
garnering checkmate.
"The Lungs of the World,” as
some have erroneously dubbed the Amazon rainforest...of which 60 percent is in
Brazil...are rainforests that do see its trees storing huge amounts of carbon dioxide
(CO2)...exchanging the CO2 for oxygen thus preventing our atmosphere
from “absorbing” its heat almost like a sponge absorbs
water. Also, while the Amazon soil itself helps to keep the CO2
“locked up,” if you will, it's the trees themselves that
retain water vapor and create
clouds that help to keep the entirety of South America fairly
cool.
And with the Amazon rainforest also
being the most bio-diverse place on Earth as it's home to billions of
trees and roughly three million different species of plants and
animals now in danger of losing their home...a home born before the
time of man...it's a home that can never be fully replaced once
gone...or can it? I'll get to that in a bit.
But first, remember that major forest fires
are an annual occurrence in the Amazon region, but that the rainforest
fires of recent years are not like the wildfires our country has
experienced of late...these fires did not start accidentally by a
lightning strike, a careless cigarette toss, or a campfire not
completely doused out. No... these fires concentrated almost entirely
along transportation corridors, areas of recent new settlement with corresponding
agricultural activity...have been deliberately set to appease the
greed of men. I cannot say that enough...the greed of men...as in greedy
developers egged on by even greedier politicians trying to push forward a misguided
economy driven agenda. These are the very men illegally logging and
setting fires to clear land for cattle ranches and other big money
agricultural development...really...can condos and gated communities be far behind...not so
sarcastically said. And in their greedy minds these ever so precious
“old-growth forests” mean nothing to them but the ka-ching
of money being racked up...money and of course the flexing of ones
political muscle.
But before I get into the actual politics and
the specific politicians involved, here are but four numbers-driven
Amazon rainforest facts, facts that affect us all. Fact one: over the
past 50 years, 17 percent of the entirety of the Amazon rainforest
has been cut down and destroyed by men...with
“replanting”
seemingly a so unheard of word. Fact two: 80 percent of cleared
lands are being used for cattle ranching and the growing of soy to
feed said cattle and other livestock...a parasitic relationship of
sorts. Fact three: between January and August of this year, there
have been 72,843 fires in Brazil's part of the Amazon rainforest
alone, equating to an 80 percent increase in fires from January
through August of 2018. Fact four: the just stated number does not
include a spike in
“deforestation” in general...a spike
equating to more than 1,330 square miles of the rainforest having
been lost since this past January, which is a 39 percent increase
over the same period last year.
And yet even with these alarming numbers, as per the latest NASA satellite data, the total fire activity this year across the entirety of the Amazon
"basin" has been close to average in comparison to the last 15 years...it's just been above average in certain areas like Amazonas and Rondonia and below average in other areas like Matto Grosso and Para. And you just know which areas the media loves showing and reporting on.
Still we have four alarming facts...cause and affect “deforestation” facts that could lead to what
some are calling an actual physical “dieback,” and what others
are calling “ecological suicide” or simply “doomsday”
for planet Earth. But these naysayers are putting the proverbial
“cart before the horse,”
some doing so out of fear of a truth not being told, and some by
those who selfishly want to keep the “climate
change” hoax going just so
they can continue to rake in the big bucks. Alarming indeed, but who's
right?
First,
while it is true that too much “deforestation”
could lead to an increase
in temperature within the rainforest and its surrounding areas, as
well as leading to a certain amount of change in the actual rain
patterns within the
immediate Amazon region, this does not mean that said changes are
permanent, which is what the politicians and the “climate
change”
alarmists don't want you to know.
And
what these folks especially don't want you to know is that while “climate
change”
is indeed a made up money-making scare tactic, the actual science
behind the effects of “deforestation”
is
quite the opposite, and yet the former reeks of greed and political gain while the later simply states truth.
First,
what the “climate
change”
folks...as opposed to the politicians who want to develop that land...want you to believe about
“deforestation”
is
that when a tropical rainforest is either cut down or burnt what's
left is but a barren place of cracked, dry, and hardened mud...a barren
place incapable of supporting life...a place completely stripped of its once
thriving trees and its plant life now also devoid of much needed water...and that with all its life-giving nutrients gone what remains forever is soil so
hardened that plant or tree roots simply can’t get through the hardened soil to grow which in turn will deprive us of much needed oxygen.
This is what we are being told or should I say being
"force fed," and this is a blatant lie... now for the truth.
Simply, the Amazon rainforest, the so-called
"Lungs of the World"...does not now nor has it ever produced 20% of the world's usable oxygen...that's a made up number to help keep the
"doomsday" scenario going. Actually, the Amazon rainforest produces a relatively small six percent of the world's usable oxygen in total. This fact...and yes it's a fact...is according to leading global environmental scientist Dr. Jonathan Foley and is backed up by Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann, amongst others. And Dr. Foley also states that with many
"deforested" areas being replaced by pastures and agricultural croplands... photosynthesis producing pastures and agricultural croplands...which in turn will produce about the same six percent of the world's usable oxygen...replacement oxygen if you will... courtesy of
"Mother Nature" herself.
Also, in recent years researchers have found that tropical rainforests are
“remarkably resilient” as long as some remnants are left
when the forest is cleared, as in enough remnants so as to provide
seeds and refuges for seed dispersers...birds for example...which
indeed are usually left behind often without the
“deforesters”
realizing it. This in turn allows for tropical rainforests, now
called
“tropical secondary forests,” to not only grow back
with what these researchers call
“astonishing speed,” but
to also
“soak up” CO2 as they did
before but to do so at a rate of eleven times faster than that of the
“old growth forests”
remaining in the region. And this is accomplished without any human
intervention at all, even on land that had been cleared for cattle
grazing or growing crops.
And while the rate of “tropical secondary forest” recovery
depends on the amount of rainfall per year, know that the Amazon
rainforest gets on average over 12ft. of rain per year as well as
having it rain roughly 200 days per year even during the so-called
“dry season.” And
with the median time for a rainforest to reach 90 percent of "old-growth" levels being about 66 years even under the worst of
conditions, recovery in general does tend to be much faster.
Simply, the truth is that the
Amazon rainforest will recover on its own even if its entirety were
to be “deforested”...which
it of course will not be. But does that mean that all the “deforestation”
going on now should be allowed especially for the reasons why Brazil's
newest president is “supposedly” allowing
it...no...it most assuredly does not.
Brazil’s anti-environment...as per
his detractors...far-right, very pro-business, climate change disbeliever,
populist President Jair Bolsonaro, who
blamed
NGOs (Nonprofit Government Organizations) for setting the fires
to make him look bad after his administration did cut funding to
NGOs...has been blamed since his January election of encouraging
new settlers to
“invade”
both the protected
indigenous areas and natural parks that had been off limits
for decades. Also, now being accused of weakening Brazil's environmental
enforcement agencies...agencies charged with protecting the
rainforest from illegal logging and
"clear-cutting"...the truth of why
Bolsonaro is doing what he's doing lies somewhere in between.
In fact, last Saturday, two weeks after French President Emmanuel
Macron threatened to block an E.U. trade deal with a South American
bloc that included Brazil over what seemed to him like Bolsonaro’s
lack of concern about the fires, President Bolsonaro...who had once
called measures to protect the rainforest
“obstacles” to
economic growth, but who has now publicly professed to feeling
“profound love and respect” for the Amazon region, and
that
“Brazil is an example of sustainability”...deployed
both military aircraft and 44,000 troops to said region to not only
fight the fires, but to show the world that the military operation
was part of his new
“zero tolerance” approach to
“harms
against the Brazilian environment.”
Too little too late perhaps.
And while President Bolsonaro...who like our President Trump so wanted to pull
Brazil out of the Paris Climate Change Accord, but who was sadly blocked by
Brazil's congress from doing so...continues to face increasing
international criticism fueled on by these very same always miscreant
“climate
change” folks...thankfully last week he saw President Trump coming somewhat to his
defense when Trump tweeted that,
“I told him if the United States
can help with the Amazon Rainforest fires, we stand ready to assist!”
And why this offer of help when
the world seems to be collectively condemning Bolsonaro? Could it be
because these two leaders had recently discussed a “big
trade negotiation” as well as
to find ways for our two countries to work together on environmental
policies that respect what Bolsonaro says to be the
“sovereignty of nations?” It
surely is a combination of both as well as the fact that Trump sees
in Bolsonaro someone a bit like himself...as in someone who is a
“nationalist”...and
no “nationalist”
is not a dirty word as it simply means someone who puts one's own country
first.
But here is where
Jair Bolsonaro...sometimes dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics”
is misguided a bit for his brand
of “nationalism”
seems to be marked solely by what he considers economic success,
while Trump's is rightfully marked by overall “American
exceptionalism,” and not by
putting the almighty dollar sign first. And the true reason why
Bolsonaro seemingly downplays “deforestation” is
that he feels by increasing the amount of cattle and agricultural
lands that it in turn will allow for an increase in Brazilian beef
and agricultural exports, thus making Brazil a key player on the world
economic stage, especially in the drought affected countries of
Africa.
And while now it seems that
international pressure...the right pressure albeit for the wrong
reasons...will hopefully help to keep the rate of Amazon rainforest loss
from climbing any higher...it's Brazilian producers of beef and
agricultural products alone who seem to understand that the now
rightfully perceived negative image of Brazil and President Jair Bolsonaro
himself in regards to said Amazon rainforest will actually hurt
Brazilian exports and thus its economy, as well as hurting the Brazilian people themselves.
The Amazon rainforests do need protecting and
not because of the false “climate change”
narrative or any equally false “doomsday”
scenario, but because these still, as I write this, 2,500 active
fires doing so much harm are simply caused by greedy men...greedy men
like Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, who believes he's doing the
right thing. And maybe in some small twisted way he is...but he's
doing so for all the wrong reasons.
And that remains the saddest truth of
all...that and Bolsonaro's (as I write this) rejecting the $22 million pledged at the G7 summit...monies pledged to aid in helping fight the Amazon fires...that is unless Emmanuel Macron apologizes for his negative remarks made earlier in the week. Checkmate anyone.
Well...maybe those pledged dollars can go where they really would be appreciated as in to help fight the forest fires currently ongoing in Africa...specifically the fires in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo...fires which make the Amazon fires pale by comparison...the fires we're not hearing a word about...and one really has to wonder why. So what say you "climate change" folks, bleeding heart liberals, and your cohorts in the media, as NASA photos don't lie...just saying.
Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.
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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS
partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest
article, The Dangerous Truth of Liberal Word Games.
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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!
Friday, August 30th, from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio,
RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig
Andresen and Diane Sori discuss
'The Untold Truth About the Rainforest Fires'; 'The Dangerous Truth of Liberal Word Games'; and important news of the day.
Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/
