Did you hear about the fire in Brazil? The Amazon fire that has been overwhelming the largest country in South America was not mentioned in the news for approximately a week after it started. The Amazon forest is more important than most people know. It regulates global temperatures and local micro-climates, stabilizes ocean currents, and maintains the limited supply of water we have. 

In general, tropical rainforests only occupy 3% of the planet’s area but are home to more than half of Earth’s terrestrial animal species. Because of this fire, the size of 40 football fields was burning each minute. The forest is a crucial part of our ecosystem since it helps maintain our very limited supply of fresh drinkable water, fights against global warming and climate change. Many people have argued that there was no economic incentive to protect the Amazon because it is not of private ownership. 

Millions of people are shocked over this fire, but what many don’t know is that fires happen yearly in the Amazon, maybe not to that gigantic extent but it certainly happens. Fires are really common in that region during this time of the year. Since it is currently winter in South America, the weather is dry, rain is scarce, and there is not much to do to keep small fires from happening. 

Even though there isn’t much to do to keep these fires from happening yearly. Any small step to help the environment is really beneficial to our planet Earth. The Amazon Forest is extremely important for our planet to keep going, trying to maintain it is our duty to our planet.