Brazil is home to more than half of the Amazon rainforest, and since the summer, much of it has been ablaze. Forest fires are common in the Amazon, especially during the dry season. However, there has been a significant increase in the amount of fires in 2019 due to illegal deforestation for cattle ranching and other agribusiness ventures, primarily in Brazil. Social media has been the host of public outrage over the fires, amplified by the lack of media coverage when the fires began. Many have pointed a finger at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for the increase in fires. Since the beginning of his presidency in January, Bolsonaro has decreased environmental regulations and encouraged farmers to clear land to promote the economy. Luckily, due to military response and rain, the fires in Brazil started to decrease significantly in September.
Environmental advocates and scientists state that the Amazon is responsible for much of the Earth’s oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. The increase in forest fires is one of many natural disasters that are raising concern over the climate crisis. Hurricane Dorian served as yet another haunting reminder of climate change, as hurricanes are becoming more powerful due to increasing ocean temperatures and rising sea levels. Social media is a platform for conversation and awareness, but passivity is not an option when we need to protect the future. When scrolling through Twitter and Instagram and seeing the fallout of the Amazon fires, I felt helpless. What could I do from Boston, thousands of miles away from the actual fires? What can I do, as only one person among billions? After some research, I compiled a list of ways to help fight climate change, some of which can directly help the Amazon.
- Recycle!
Though seemingly obvious, recycling is one of the easiest ways to be more ecologically conscious. Take the time to sort through your garbage to use the appropriate recycling and compost bins in residence and dining halls. Familiarize yourself with the different types of plastics — they are numerically categorized and labelled next to recycle symbol on products. Certain plastics are more easily recyclable than others, and this number system makes it easier to identify them. GreenLivingTips.com offers a recycling cheat sheet that designates common products that fall into each numerical category.
- Find alternatives to wasteful products
Many products we use in everyday life cannot be recycled or composted. Try finding alternatives to these products if possible. The Rainforest Alliance, an organization that works to preserve biodiversity and promote sustainable livelihoods, offers an extensive list of companies that sell products across a range of categories that are ecologically friendly. They cite sustainable alternatives for coffee, paper towels, skin care, and more. Another way to eliminate wasteful products that requires little effort is to switch from plastic to reusable metal or compostable straws.
- Decrease paper consumption
As college students, we use a lot of paper and saving paper can help the deforestation problem in the Amazon specifically. A large portion of the land in the Amazon is being used for agriculture. Setting fires in the forest is how loggers obtain timber. Reducing paper use will in turn reduce the demand for paper products from the Amazon and other forests across the world.
Alternatives: Consider using a laptop to take notes or buying online textbooks (which can be a cheaper alternative as well!). If you prefer writing notes, smart notebooks are also an option, as what you write on an erasable notebook is scanned to your computer.
- Eat less beef
Another way to help deforestation in the Amazon is to decrease your intake of beef and other dairy products. Much of the land in the Amazon is used for cattle. 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is used for cattle ranching. Farmers are setting fires to the forest to replace it with grassland for cattle grazing.
Alternatives: While I love a good hamburger as much as the next person, eating less beef in favor of other meat or vegetarian alternatives like tofu will reduce the pressure on the cattle industry. Using non dairy milk such as oat, almond, or soy milk is also another alternative. Not only will this decrease of meat and dairy consumption help the strain of the cattle industry but also decrease the amount of methane gas that is emitted into the atmosphere.
- Support conservation organizations
Choose a cause that you are passionate about, whether that’s deforestation in the Amazon or wildlife conservation and find a way to get involved. One organization I have donated money to since hearing about the Amazon fires is One Tree Planted. For every one dollar donated, this organization will plant a tree somewhere in the world that has been victim to deforestation. Even if you can only afford a five dollar donation, that is five trees planted because of you!
- Get political
If the climate crisis is something you are concerned about (which I hope it is) be sure to vote for governmental officials who will actively fight global warming. While individual change is important, a system change is imperative to our planet’s survival and one cannot occur without the other. You can go beyond just voting and write or call your representatives. You can tell them the importance of using their position to call for action in both the government and large corporations.