Amazon fires: Brazil leader Bolsonaro rejects G7 aid - as NASA confirms ‘uptick in fires'
Daily Express - By GEORGINA LAUDPUBLISHED: 09:30, Tue, Aug 27, 2019 |
FIRES are continuing to blaze across the Amazon rainforest but Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has rejected offers of aid from the G7 - despite NASA confirming an “uptick in fires”.
Fires raging across the Amazon rainforest have captured the attention of the world, with devastating images showing scorched trees and blackened earth. When the G7 Summit took place this weekend, world leaders agreed to release funds to Brazil to combat the fires, offering both financial and logistical support. However, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has rejected the more than £18million pledged.
Amazon Rainforest fire current status: How much has been burned?
Macron furious as Brazil president mocks wife Brigitte - Amazon row
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the funds would immediately be available to Brazil, to allow fire-fighting planes to stem record blazes in the rainforest.
Brazil has rejected the offer and has so far not explained as to why, but Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Macron had clashed on social media last week.
Mr Bolsonaro had accused Mr Macron of adopting a “colonialist” mindset at the summit.
Within minutes of the G7 offer of aid, Mr Bolsonaro said Brazil was being treated like “a colony or no man’s land,” and denounced the creation of an international alliance to save the Amazon as an attack on his nation’s sovereignty.PROMOTED STORY
Read More: Amazon rainforest fire: How to spot the FAKE photos as Twitter reacts
Amazon fires: Flames are continuing to tear through the Amazon (Image: PA)
Mr Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni, told the G1 news website that “we appreciate the offer, but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe”.
Mr Lorenzoni also suggested the aid was hypocritical, given the recent fire at Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral.
He said: “Macron cannot even avoid a foreseeable fire in a church that is a world heritage site. What does he intend to teach our country?”
Mr Macron said the Amazon, while mostly Brazilian, is a world issue and that his message to Mr Bolsonaro was: “We cannot allow you to destroy everything.”
However, Mr Bolsonaro has now said he will accept the promised G7 aid, if Mr Macron retracts his "insults"
Read More: Amazon rainforest fire: What is being done to stop Amazon fires?
Amazon rainforest fire: How did the Amazon fire start?
How big is Amazon rainforest? How much of the rainforest is left?
Speaking to reporters in Brasilia on Tuesday, Mr Bolsonaro appeared to adopt a slightly more conciliatory stance.
When questioned about comments made by Brazilian federal deputy Onyx Lorenzoni, Mr Bolsonaro said: "Did I say that? Did I?"
He then said of the offered aid from the G7: "First of all, Macron has to withdraw his insults. He called me a liar.
"Before we talk or accept anything from France ... he must withdraw these words then we can talk.
"First he withdraws, then offers (aid), then I will answer."
Amazon fires: Trees and vegetation have been decimated by the blazes (Image: REUTERS)
The rejection of funds came as NASA confirmed an uptick in fire activity in the Amazon in 2019.
NASA satellites found 2019 is the most active fire year in the Brazilian Amazon region since 2010.
Douglas Morton, chief of the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center explained that August 2019 has been a noticeable month as it has brought a noticeable increase in large, intense, and persistent fires burning along major roads in the central Brazilian Amazon.
Mr Morton said: “Satellites are often the first to detect fires burning in remote regions of the Amazon.”
Read More: Amazon fires latest news: What the Amazon fires mean for animals
Amazon fires: The Amazon rainforest in numbers (Image: EXPRESS)
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on the Terra and Aqua satellites are NASA’s primary tool for detecting fires.
And at this point in the fire season, MODIS active fire detections in 2019 are higher across the Brazilian Amazon than in any year since 2010.
NASA also warn the state of Amazonas is on track for record fire activity in 2019.
Critics of Mr Bolsonaro blame the president’s lack of laws against farmers, loggers and ranchers using fire to strip the forest quickly - using what is known as slash and burn agriculture.
DON'T MISS
Cristiano Ronaldo posts fake image of Amazon rainforest fires - PICTURES
Amazon fires from space: NASA satellites shows harrowing devastation - MAP
Macron furious as Brazil president mocks wife Brigitte - Amazon row - COMMENT
Amazon rainforest: Fire pushes us to tipping point says expert
Mr Bolsonaro’s approval rating has sunk to 29.4 percent, a poll on Monday showed - as world leaders apply pressure to stem the blazes and save the Amazon rainforest.
The Amazon is often described as the “lungs of the world”, due to its ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
A disturbing NASA map has revealed the shocking surge of carbon monoxide (CO) pumping into the atmosphere as a consequence of the ravaging fires.
Carbon monoxide levels have been detected up to 3.4 miles (5.5km) high in the atmosphere - the levels of which have suddenly risen to 160 parts per billion by volume .
Amazon fires: President Bolsonaro has rejected the offer of aid from the G7 (Image: GETTY)
NASA said local values, close to where fires have broken out, are expected to be “significantly higher”.
The poisonous gas can linger in the atmosphere for weeks - or even months - bringing with ti dire implications for air quality and climate change.
NASA said: “A pollutant that can travel large distances, carbon monoxide can persist in the atmosphere for about a month.
“At the high altitude mapped in these images, the gas has little effect on the air we breathe; however, strong winds can carry it downward to where it can significantly impact air quality.
“Carbon monoxide plays a role in both air pollution and climate change.”
RELATED ARTICLES
- Amazon fires satellite images as Bolsonaro enjoys comedy club night
- How long will it take for the Amazon rainforest to be wiped out?
- Amazon forest fires pictures: Latest images show rainforest devastatedSponsored
WHO and WHAT is behind it all ? : >
The bottom line is for the people to regain their original, moral principles, which have intentionally been watered out over the past generations by our press, TV, and other media owned by the Illuminati/Bilderberger Group, corrupting our morals by making misbehavior acceptable to our society. Only in this way shall we conquer this oncoming wave of evil.
Commentary:
Administrator
All articles contained in Human-Synthesis are freely available and collected from the Internet. The interpretation of the contents is left to the readers and do not necessarily represent the views of the Administrator. Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). Human-Synthesis will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. Human-Synthesis grants permission to cross-post original Human-Synthesis articles on community internet sites as long as the text & title are not modified.
The source and the author's copyright must be displayed. For publication of Human-Synthesis articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites. Human-Synthesis contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.