A fire burns along a highway in a deforested section of the Amazon basin on November 23, 2014 in Ze Doca, Brazil. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Brazil's Bolsonaro--Outspoken Proponent of Deforestation--Denounced as 'Sick' and 'Pathetic' for Blaming Amazon Forest Fires on NGOs
"We will not watch our future burn away," said climate campaigners
The Amazon rain forest--the lungs of the world--have been on fire for several weeks, and Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro suggested Wednesday, without evidence, that the fires were started by non-governmental organizations.
"Maybe--I am not affirming it--these [NGO people] are carrying out some criminal actions to draw attention against me, against the government of Brazil," Bolsonaro said in a video posted on his Facebook account, The Associated Press reported. "This is the war we are facing."
"The fires were lit in strategic places," said Bolsonaro. "All the indications suggest they went there to film and start fires. That's what I feel."
Greenpeace Brazil shot back, with its public policy coordinator Marcio Astrini calling the president's statement "sick" and "pitiful."
"Increased deforestation and burning," said Astrini, "are the result of his anti-environmental policy."
In a video that's gone viral, a Pataxo woman expressed anguish as she pointed to the destruction the fires have brought, which she blamed on deforestation for cattle ranching--a practice Bolsonaro has actively encouraged. The video was shared by the U.S. based Sunrise Movement, which said in a tweet: "We cannot tolerate political agendas of deforestation. We will not watch our future burn away."
While the country has been experiencing "epochal deforestation" driven by agriculture--and with it, trampling of indigenous rights--the deforestation has gone into overdrive since Bolsonaro's election. The development prompted Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg earlier this summer to say, "We are literally sawing off the branch we all live on."
The extent of the deforestation was recently laid out by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Data released by the agency showed that deforestation in June was 88 percent higher than it was in June of last year. Bolsonaro responded by calling the data a "lie" and firing the agency's head.
INPE also said Tuesday that the country had already seen over 72,000 fires this year, which marks an unprecedented high. Roughly half the fires, the agency said, have been in the Amazon .
"The fire that we're seeing today is a fire that's directly related to deforestation," Ane Alencar, scientific director of Institute of Environmental Research in Amazonia, said Tuesday.
Despite the raging fires--which can be seen from space--the administration appears to be doubling down on climate destruction, prompting the vocal ire of environmental campaigners.
Brazil's environmental minister was in Salvador in the state of Bahia on Wednesday for the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week and was greeted by loud boos.
As he took the stage, activists held signs reading "Amazonia in flames" and "Against environmental deforestation."
The activists, said 350.org, stood up "for what is right," and urged "him to take action to keep fossil fuels in the ground."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The Amazon rain forest--the lungs of the world--have been on fire for several weeks, and Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro suggested Wednesday, without evidence, that the fires were started by non-governmental organizations.
"Maybe--I am not affirming it--these [NGO people] are carrying out some criminal actions to draw attention against me, against the government of Brazil," Bolsonaro said in a video posted on his Facebook account, The Associated Press reported. "This is the war we are facing."
"The fires were lit in strategic places," said Bolsonaro. "All the indications suggest they went there to film and start fires. That's what I feel."
Greenpeace Brazil shot back, with its public policy coordinator Marcio Astrini calling the president's statement "sick" and "pitiful."
"Increased deforestation and burning," said Astrini, "are the result of his anti-environmental policy."
In a video that's gone viral, a Pataxo woman expressed anguish as she pointed to the destruction the fires have brought, which she blamed on deforestation for cattle ranching--a practice Bolsonaro has actively encouraged. The video was shared by the U.S. based Sunrise Movement, which said in a tweet: "We cannot tolerate political agendas of deforestation. We will not watch our future burn away."
While the country has been experiencing "epochal deforestation" driven by agriculture--and with it, trampling of indigenous rights--the deforestation has gone into overdrive since Bolsonaro's election. The development prompted Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg earlier this summer to say, "We are literally sawing off the branch we all live on."
The extent of the deforestation was recently laid out by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Data released by the agency showed that deforestation in June was 88 percent higher than it was in June of last year. Bolsonaro responded by calling the data a "lie" and firing the agency's head.
INPE also said Tuesday that the country had already seen over 72,000 fires this year, which marks an unprecedented high. Roughly half the fires, the agency said, have been in the Amazon .
"The fire that we're seeing today is a fire that's directly related to deforestation," Ane Alencar, scientific director of Institute of Environmental Research in Amazonia, said Tuesday.
Despite the raging fires--which can be seen from space--the administration appears to be doubling down on climate destruction, prompting the vocal ire of environmental campaigners.
Brazil's environmental minister was in Salvador in the state of Bahia on Wednesday for the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week and was greeted by loud boos.
As he took the stage, activists held signs reading "Amazonia in flames" and "Against environmental deforestation."
The activists, said 350.org, stood up "for what is right," and urged "him to take action to keep fossil fuels in the ground."
The Amazon rain forest--the lungs of the world--have been on fire for several weeks, and Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro suggested Wednesday, without evidence, that the fires were started by non-governmental organizations.
"Maybe--I am not affirming it--these [NGO people] are carrying out some criminal actions to draw attention against me, against the government of Brazil," Bolsonaro said in a video posted on his Facebook account, The Associated Press reported. "This is the war we are facing."
"The fires were lit in strategic places," said Bolsonaro. "All the indications suggest they went there to film and start fires. That's what I feel."
Greenpeace Brazil shot back, with its public policy coordinator Marcio Astrini calling the president's statement "sick" and "pitiful."
"Increased deforestation and burning," said Astrini, "are the result of his anti-environmental policy."
In a video that's gone viral, a Pataxo woman expressed anguish as she pointed to the destruction the fires have brought, which she blamed on deforestation for cattle ranching--a practice Bolsonaro has actively encouraged. The video was shared by the U.S. based Sunrise Movement, which said in a tweet: "We cannot tolerate political agendas of deforestation. We will not watch our future burn away."
While the country has been experiencing "epochal deforestation" driven by agriculture--and with it, trampling of indigenous rights--the deforestation has gone into overdrive since Bolsonaro's election. The development prompted Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg earlier this summer to say, "We are literally sawing off the branch we all live on."
The extent of the deforestation was recently laid out by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Data released by the agency showed that deforestation in June was 88 percent higher than it was in June of last year. Bolsonaro responded by calling the data a "lie" and firing the agency's head.
INPE also said Tuesday that the country had already seen over 72,000 fires this year, which marks an unprecedented high. Roughly half the fires, the agency said, have been in the Amazon .
"The fire that we're seeing today is a fire that's directly related to deforestation," Ane Alencar, scientific director of Institute of Environmental Research in Amazonia, said Tuesday.
Despite the raging fires--which can be seen from space--the administration appears to be doubling down on climate destruction, prompting the vocal ire of environmental campaigners.
Brazil's environmental minister was in Salvador in the state of Bahia on Wednesday for the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week and was greeted by loud boos.
As he took the stage, activists held signs reading "Amazonia in flames" and "Against environmental deforestation."
The activists, said 350.org, stood up "for what is right," and urged "him to take action to keep fossil fuels in the ground."