When Notre Dame Burned The World Froze, But The Same Hasn't Happened For The Amazon Fires, WHY?
When Notre Dame burned for 15 hours in April of this year, the world knew about the devastating incident within minutes; the story dominated every nook and cranny of the Internet. Unfortunately, the same hasn't happened for Amazon forest fires which have been burning for the past three weeks.
The Amazon is one of the most important ecosystems and has the capability to combat extreme temperatures and unfortunately, it has been slowly dying for the past few days with a thousand raging infernos slowly eating away at its lush trees, flora and fauna.
But has the world stopped the way it did for Notre Dam? Have people been singing sad songs as a tribute for all that it has given us?
When the Notre Dame was burning, the media reported it within 3 minutes. The Amazon has been burning for 3 weeks, and the news has only just started to cover the story. #PrayforAmazonas pic.twitter.com/HwSCWTHsrs
¡ª Ciara Connick (@ciaraconnick1) 21 August 2019
No.
We have seen none of that happening. It's only now that the world has suddenly woken up after shocking reports of the fire's aftermath in and around the area.
The fires, most of which have been set by farmers clearing their land, are raging in uninhabited areas of rainforest and encroaching on populated areas.
The fire apparently caused the city of Sao Paulo in Brazil to plunge into darkness. Heavy smoke travelling from the burning Amazon rainforest had likely blocked the sun, leading to a citywide blackout.
This is Sao Paulo today, 4PM. The cloud from the burning of Amazon rainforest in Rondonia, covered the city. Sao Paulo is 3300km (2052 miles) distant from Boa Vista. Athens is closer to London than Sao Paulo is to Boa Vista. Just to give you an idea of the damage. pic.twitter.com/rVVBFFxPZS
¡ª Beyond the Shadows (@BeyondDShadows) 19 August 2019
Yes, that's how bad it is, also, just to give you a little more perspective, the fires are so prominent that they can now be seen from space!
Reuters
In total, the blazes have created a layer of smoke estimated to be 1.2 million square miles wide, report Reuters.
With the catastrophe of this scale coming out in the open now, people all over social media are questioning the double standards between Amazon fire and Notre Dam fires.
What are we doing wrong?
#1
When Notre Dame was burning the world stopped. Billionaires and politicians emptied their pockets to help rebuild. Meanwhile the amazon has been burning for three weeks. The difference is, we don't get to build a new earth. When it's gone, it's gone. #PrayforAmazonas pic.twitter.com/o3GC59PHLu
¡ª Francis Maxwell (@francismmaxwell) 21 August 2019
And cap wants to talk about Jill stien ? RT @Y2SHAF: a reminder that the amazon forest has been on fire for 3 weeks now and because of the lack of media coverage people don¡¯t know about it. this is one of most important ecosystems on earth pic.twitter.com/JERjoKbWjE
¡ª John Cusack (@johncusack) 21 August 2019
Why the hell did people care more about a single building with historical significance to a single faith than they do about the Amazon? The role it plays on our planet is a ton more significant than Notre Dame. #AmazonRainforest #AmazonFire pic.twitter.com/1mks1K7aqB
¡ª Cam (@The_CAMusic) 21 August 2019
?Just a little alert to the world: the sky randomly turned dark today in S?o Paulo, and meteorologists believe it¡¯s smoke from the fires burning *thousands* of kilometers away, in Rond?nia or Paraguay. Imagine how much has to be burning to create that much smoke(!). SOS? pic.twitter.com/P1DrCzQO6x
¡ª Shannon Sims (@shannongsims) 20 August 2019
Images of fires purportedly devouring sections of the world¡¯s largest rainforest have gone viral and people have now started a trend called for #PrayForAmazonia.
#1
The AMAZON RAINFOREST has been burning for 3 WEEKS... This is our planet¡¯s lungs covering 20% of the earth¡¯s oxygen being burned away without any media coverage or help. RT to spread awareness #PrayForAmazonia pic.twitter.com/reoTkUjVyD
¡ª FaZe Temperrr (@Temperrr) 21 August 2019
Just found out the most important ecosystem in the world has been burning for 16 days and have never seen anything on the media. We need to spread this and aware everyone of what's happening. #PrayforAmazonas #PrayforAmazonia pic.twitter.com/65dnM0hARP
¡ª Charlie ??owgli (@keliakii) 21 August 2019
The Amazon rainforest provides 20% of the world's oxygen. People are deliberately starting fires in effort to illegally deforest land for cattle ranching. President Bolsonaro is letting this slide!! #AmazonRainforest #PrayforAmazonas pic.twitter.com/9pWraNgWu6
¡ª hannah ? (@negativiq) 21 August 2019
The Amazon Rainforest has been burning for 3 weeks straight and it¡¯s only just being spoken about. Please, help raise awareness of the death and destruction of many types of wildlife. It¡¯s only a matter of time before the whole rainforest is gone. #PrayforAmazonia pic.twitter.com/sk4aM5pt7o
¡ª emma (@its_emmx) 20 August 2019
The National Institute for Space Research has reportedly detected 39,194 fires this year in the world¡¯s largest rainforest, a 77% increase from the same period in 2018.
Earlier this year, there were reports that said that Bolsonaro plans to lift Brazil out of the Paris agreement. Reports allege that new ministers of environment and foreign affairs headed by him have abolished the sections within their ministries that dealt with climate change. He said that the natural resources should be exploited in a "reasonable way."
What can people expect from a leadership like this?
While Notre Dam has the potential to be rebuilt and brought back to life, the same CANNOT happen to Amazon forest, the fire will leave the 'lungs of the earth' barren. It's heartbreaking to see the forest suffer the consequences of mindless human greed.
It's time global leaders woke up to this catastrophe and took the action that it deserves!
