South America. The home to many of the Earth’s greatest features. The Andes Mountain Range. Rio de Janeiro. These natural features have captured our interest since we first learned about them in Elementary School. 

But perhaps the most beautiful, most captivating sight in South America is the Amazon Rainforest. We have all learned of this miraculous feature and it continues to baffle us today. However recent events may change what we know to be the world’s largest rainforest. 

About four weeks ago, a wildfire started in the Amazon. The fire still continues to burn in South America and is doing a number on one of Earth’s most brilliant landforms. However, the problem does not seem to be recognized and many news medias refuse to even cover the story. Why does nobody seem to care? Why aren’t we doing anything to stop this disaster from wiping out the Amazon and the animals that live within it. 

One major concern about this event is that many people aren’t even aware of the peril that is facing South America. As it turns, when asked about the fire in the Amazon Rainforest, many people respond with disbelief. But how could these people not know that a gigantic rainforest is being destroyed?

The simple answer is that this tragedy is not publicized. It is hard to believe that even the most reliable news stations wouldn’t report on such a big issue, but this is what seems to be happening. News medias seem to be trying to dismiss this story. But why?

“ I think they are scared to cover the story,” Graham George (‘23) said.“I think they are afraid they will receive backlash from the public because the public doesn’t seem to want to address this issue either.”

But why would anybody give such harsh criticism about such a serious event? Maybe it is true that nobody is bringing attention to this story because they are afraid to cover it. It could also be true that they have more interesting things to cover. 

Many of the people who know about the Amazon fire have been wondering what kind of damage has been done to the rainforest. The real damage seems to be unknown, but there is anticipated damage that could affect the whole globe.

“I think this fire will affect climate change in the long run,” George continues. “There are so many terrible gases being released to the air via this fire that the whole globe could suffer. Plus, if the Amazon gets damaged too much, the oxygen supply for these region may be damaged because the Amazon Rainforest makes up a decent percent of that region.”

Of course, we cannot predict all of the long term effects of fire, but we know one thing: this will not be easy. There will be physical and financial consequences of this fire that may not be able to be fixed. 

But what exactly needs to happen to put out the fire and save the Amazon Region?

This question cannot be answered thoroughly. This fire is very large scale and may continue to burn. This means that if we put out one part of the fire, others will continue to burn. Not to mention how much money and time will be spent on solving this problem. This will not be easy.

“Maybe if we gather a large team of people qualified to fight fires, we could try to help Brazil deal with this problem,” George said.

It seems that George thinks the same way as the people in charge of this catastrophe. According to Fox News, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is sending soldiers to try to take care of these fires. Numbering at nearly 45,000, there still may not be enough people. More than 20,000 fires have been captured through satellite imaging this month. This may be a job even 45,000 men can’t handle.

Though we do not know the effects of this fire or exactly what it would take to put it out, it will cost this world very much. Hopefully these brave men can stop this fire before it causes more problems for the world we know today.