Life Herself is Dying (The Amazon Rainforest)
I live in the Sacred Valley of Peru. I have been doing research, which you can read more about on this website.
I have included a variety of quotes from articles to help inform you of what is going on.
It is a public health crisis.
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“The Amazon rainforest is now emitting more carbon dioxide than it is able to absorb, scientists have confirmed for the first time. The emissions amount to a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to a study. The giant forest had previously been a carbon sink, absorbing the emissions driving the climate crisis, but is now causing its acceleration, researchers said. Most of the emissions are caused by fires, many deliberately set to clear land for beef and soy production. But even without fires, hotter temperatures and droughts mean the south-eastern Amazon has become a source of CO2, rather than a sink. Growing trees and plants have taken up about a quarter of all fossil fuel emissions since 1960, with the Amazon playing a major role as the largest tropical forest. Losing the Amazon’s power to capture CO2 is a stark warning that slashing emissions from fossil fuels is more urgent than ever, scientists said.” — The Guardian
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“Indigenous peoples represent just six percent of the global population, but the World Bank estimates they help steward 80 percent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. For that same reason, experts warn that Indigenous populations are particularly vulnerable to the forces driving climate change: from glacial melt and sea level rise to the deforestation that releases tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year.
“Their livelihoods are often very dependent on climate variables, which is affecting food security,” Escribano explained.
In Samaniego’s case, his village is flanked on all sides by settlers from the high Andes escaping poverty, who are steadily absorbing territory occupied by the Ashaninka for generations.
The incoming farmers have razed much of the humid rainforest near the village to plant groves of citrus, avocado and coffee. That, in turn, has altered the local rain cycles, bringing extreme heat and drought to San Miguel Centro Marankiari.
The result has been the desiccation of his community’s cassava and plantain crops, Samaniego explains. Food and clean water have become scarce. And tensions with the neighbouring landowners have soared.
“We’ve always protected our forests,” Samaniego said. “But outsiders have come in with a mentality to destroy and produce. It’s affecting everything. The climate is changing here in the highlands.” — Al Jazeera
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Major U.S. and Brazilian financial institutions continue to underwrite the destruction of the Amazon by financing mining companies pushing to operate in Indigenous territories, a new report says.
The top financiers include BlackRock, Capital Group and Vanguard from the U.S., along with Brazilian pension fund PREVI, all of which have a stake in, have issued loans to or are otherwise financially invested in nine mining companies to the tune of $54.1 billion.
The mining companies, which include Vale, Anglo American and Rio Tinto, have records of environmental destruction and human rights violations in Brazil and elsewhere, and several already operate close to Indigenous lands in Brazil, polluting rivers and harming the health of native communities.
A bill currently before Brazil’s parliament could allow mining in Indigenous territories, which is currently prohibited under the country’s Constitution; the national mining authority, meanwhile, continues to register applications to mine in areas that overlap into Indigenous territories.
Major investment managers including BlackRock and Capital Group are among more than a dozen U.S. and Brazilian institutions heavily financing mining companies that are destroying Indigenous reserves and their inhabitants’ way of life in the Amazon. — Mongabay
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Why Forests Matter to Us All
Seventy percent of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute as useful in the treatment of cancer only grow in the rainforest.
Deforestation in forests accounts for 11 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
The Amazon produces 20% of the oxygen we breathe
The Amazon stores 80–120 billion tons of carbon, stabilizing our planet’s climate
1/5 of the world’s fresh water is found in the Amazon basin.
Forests provide direct livelihoods to millions of people living in and around them.
Forests provide a habitat for wildlife, insects, and plants, which are essential for the health of our planet
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If you find the above confusing or disconcerting, please email me and let’s start a community together to help figure this out! ashleyheacock@gmail.com
You can also start a conversation on the Community Conversation page.
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My personal solution is organic sustainable farming all across the world. This would reduce cash crops and increase nutrition. We need to start calculating! What is the cost to the environment? What is the benefit to the people?
There is rampant anemia. Read about the children online if you are unaware. You can donate to my project in Peru here.
Here is an example of my excel spreadsheet that could be turned into a System Dynamics model. What would be yours? I think we need something more advanced than Excel. The free software you can personally use is here at Vensim.
Please comment with your questions, insights, etc! I would love for this to be a global cooperative effort! Email me at ashleyheacock@gmail.com
