Amazon fires releasing CO2 stored in forests, impacting global climate: ESA

Burning continues in the Amazon despite a 60-day ban on land-clearing fires that was announced last month by President Jair Bolsonaro

New satellite images published on Monday by the European Space Agency show an increase in air pollution in the Brazilian Amazon while fires burned in the region last month. Several maps showed more carbon monoxide and other pollutants in August than in the previous month, when there were fewer fires. The agency said fires released carbon dioxide once stored in the Amazon forests back into the atmosphere, potentially having an impact on the global climate and health.

Burning continues in the Amazon rain forest  despite a 60-day ban on land-clearing fires that was announced last month by President Jair Bolsonaro. Data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research showed the number of fires in all of Brazil has surpassed 100,000 so far this year, up 45 per cent compared to the same period in 2018.

Renata Libonati, a professor in the department of meteorology at the Rio de Janeiro Federal University, said that aside from gases, the burning of forests also released particles into the atmosphere. Health experts say studies show that air pollution, whether it is small particles or gases, leads to an increase in cardiovascular conditions and lung problems, especially among young children and the elderly.

The number of people treated for respiratory issues increased sharply in August at the Cosme e Damia Children’s hospital. But small particles can also be transported by winds in cities that are not immediately close to where the fires are taking place….

Brazil prez causes outrage over Amazon fires; Europe threatens to end trade

Brazil prez causes outrage over Amazon fires; Europe threatens to end trade

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has insulted adversaries and allies, disparaged women, blacks and homosexuals, and even praised his country’s 1964-1985 dictatorshipYet nothing has rallied more anger at home and criticism from abroad than his response to fires raging in parts of the Amazon region.

The far-right populist leader initially dismissed the hundreds of blazes and then questioned whether activist groups might have started the Amazone rain forest firesin an effort to damage the credibility of his government, which has called for looser environmental regulations in the world’s largest rainforest to spur development.

In response, European leaders threatened to end a trade deal with Brazil and other South American nations. Thousands of people have demonstrated in cities across Brazil and outside Brazilian embassies around the world. #PrayforAmazonia became a worldwide trending topic. Pope Francis added his voice to the chorus of concern, warning that the “lung of forest is vital for our planet.”

Bolsonaro finally took a less confrontational approach Friday and announced he would send 44,000 soldiers to help battle the blazes, which mostly seem to be charring land deforested, perhaps illegally, for farming and ranching rather than burning through stands of trees. Some say it’s not enough and comes too late….