there’s something that all creatures fear in our forest. 

it never breathes. 

it never sleeps. 

it never lives. 

the birds hear it first.  

a foreboding rumble that never seems to stop, 

emanating from a predator hidden in the trees.  

limbs grow heavy as the birds shy away from the sound,  

too loud for them to bear.  

the monkeys see it next.  

a humongous form of metal, 

seemingly growing in height as it gets closer and closer. 

it tears trees from the roots upward, 

with barely a scratch on its steely body. 

the tree frogs smell the burning. 

it penetrates their nostrils with the scent of pollution, 

making their eyes water and stinging their throats.  

the rainforest is unaccustomed to their silenced peeps.  

it scares them to death. 

the beetles feel the fear coursing through the creatures. 

they know their pain and sorrow, 

understanding the detrimental effects this destruction has caused. 

the falling of each tree causes a massive impact, 

each beetle plummeting from the branches to their doom. 

the plants taste the corruption of the forest. 

the refreshing drink of water is replaced with sour oil, 

the metal soaking into their roots. 

they have come to know the forest for centuries 

yet shrivel away from the poisoned soil. 

the creatures have lived in this forest, 

thriving for years upon years. 

but now a new leader has taken over, 

leaving few survivors. 

the machine rules the land. 

the creatures lost the battle 

and feel it in their souls. 

the creatures are now dead, 

while the machine lives. 

—

the amazon rainforest’s beginning stretches back to many, many millennia ago, before the existence of humans. it created a way for billions of creatures to all survive in the same landscape. but recently, within the last 40 years, the amazon has been in trouble. and the results haven’t started to show until these last few years. the amazon rainforest is catching on fire at a vast rate, and the deforestation rate is one the forest can’t sustain. it’s out of control. this occurred because the government and people living near the amazon have little to no regard about what’s happening. thy may seem indifferent, but they have bigger plans on their minds that seem better than that of saving a useless rainforest. the government, as of january 2019, has made drastic changes to the way brazil hosts the amazon rainforest, as well as other countries that like bolivia. this must change so that the amazon can return to its original state of well-being. 

as brazil president jair bolsonaro changes his country’s policies into less environmentally friendly and more economically sound, the amazon starts to burn. many assume that the amazon is burning because of climate change, and while that might play a role, the political changes show where the root problem actually lies. the government allows their own people to participate in the destruction of the forests in the amazon. people destroy large amounts of the amazon for their own gain every day and that continues to rise as less government action takes place. bolsonaro is changing the way people perceive the amazon all over brazil, while the world watches the “lungs of the world” burn. 

something needs to change within the way everyone around the world views the environment. people need to realize that they have a major impact on the environment and how people around the world see the destruction occurring, especially in the amazon. the amazon plays a key role in the prosperity of the world, so to watch it burn is like a cut right to the heart. we see many interconnections with how the government treats the environment and how that, in turn, causes the citizens of brazil to destroy one of the only tropical forests still intact. the people don’t see an issue with what they do since their farming and economy has much more importance than that of the environment. of course, there are always exceptions to these people, as many are also fighting the destruction of the amazon. if the amazon continues to burn, these people will lose their livelihoods and, potentially, their lives. the destruction of the amazon rainforest will leave a lasting impact on how the governments treat the environment and how citizens react to these changes, whether positive or negative. 

perhaps one of the most reported stories in recent weeks leaves much to be desired. in the space of just 48 hours, 2,500 fires had been started in the amazon rainforest, not only placing at risk the trees that absorb 5% of annual emissions, but also the more than 10 million species of animals who claim the rainforest as their home. and, as usual, twitter is abuzz with haunting images of burning trees, most of which come from last decade, but hey, it’s the thought that counts! #prayforamazonas.

which begs the question, considering just how deadly these fires are, brazil must be scrambling to stamp them out, right? if this was what you thought, you’d be surprised.

because the only thing that catches faster than forest fires is a viral phenomenon known as the trump effect. it’s crossed the atlantic, reaching so far as england,/ and now, it could be spreading into south america. the latest victim is brazilian president jair bolsonaro, a long-time opponent of environmental advocacy in brazil, so much so that his people have dubbed him captain chainsaw, which isn’t a becoming title for someone in charge of 60% percent of the world’s largest carbon sink.

with this in mind, it should come as no surprise that when the amazon fires started, he told reporters, “the ministry of justice can send 40 men to combat the fight, but do you understand that? forty men. there are not enough resources. we are in chaos.” 

his failure to meet fire with fire (or in this case, water) was just one act in a docudrama of negligence.

bolsonaro reportedly spent the evening of aug. 23 watching standup from a prominent christian right-wing comic. and to add to the irony, he did this while his pre-recorded speech was broadcasting, the one apologizing for his inaction.

with a national emergency formally declared (48 hours of noxious destruction later), bolsonaro finally had grounds to call in the brazilian army to lend a hand (and pail) to the fire. but a bad taste still lingers in the mouths of many international spectators. 

as early as aug. 28, when these fires first made international news, bolsonaro was calling out environmental ngos in his country, professing that “there is a strong suspicion that people from the ngo’s lost the teat.” he suggested that environmental protection agencies were intentionally destroying swaths of the amazon to “bring about problems for brazil” after losing government funding. and if that sounds like a crackpot idea, it’s because it is.

when reporters asked bolsonaro for the basis of his so-called suspicions, he shot back, “for god’s sake, there’s no proof of that, nobody writes, ‘i will set fire to that.’” because of course, no one could possibly be careless enough to leave a paper trail of environmental neglect. except, that is, if you’re bolsonaro.

in the wake of this amazon disaster, open democracy uncovered incriminating powerpoint presentations used at a february meeting between bolsonaro’s government officials and leaders in the para state of brazil, home to the amazonia national park. one slide read, “development projects must be implemented on the amazon basin to integrate it into the rest of the national territory in order to fight off international pressure for the implementation of the so-called ‘triple a’ project.” triple a here refers to a group of multilateral conservation projects in the amazon rainforest, the andes mountains and the atlantic ocean, all of which bolsonaro has doggedly opposed.

what’s more? the powerpoint continues, “to do this, it is necessary to build the trombetas river hydroelectric plant, the Óbidos bridge over the amazon river, and the implementation of the br-163 highway to the border.” bolsonaro made it easy for us; there is no prevarication here, nor misdirection. the objective is loud and clear: stymie conservation efforts by damaging brazil’s natural resources. and, if you’ll kindly recall bolsonaro’s unfounded accusations of ngos working in his country, it seems he was guilty of the very behavior he decried.

in spite of all this inculpatory evidence, i think the mainstream media gives bolsonaro a lot of undeserved credit. how much of his decision to confront the amazonian conflagration is attributable to his altruistic and justified concern for brazil, and how much is just, uh…sem bolas?

shortly after his whole “40 firefighters” statement, france’s golden boy, president emmanuel macron, publicly threatened bolsonaro with an obstruction of the eu-mercosur free trade agreement, a groundbreaking trade deal between the two blocs that eliminates tariffs on agricultural goods from the mercosur bloc. macron, and virtually any other un member state, would have known that this was an incontrovertible pressure point, not just for brazil but also for argentina, paraguay, and uruguay, the other members of mercosur. 

the timing of this threat and bolsonaro’s reinstated commitment to the amazon fires just seems too quick, too reactionary, too…apprehensive. and, as usual, bolsonaro made his intentions clear when, in his aug. 23, evening speech he said, “forest fires exist in the whole world and this cannot serve as a pretext for possible international sanctions.” i don’t know, what could he possibly be nervous about? 

thankfully for him, a few leaders have stepped in to offer a reassuring squeeze. ok, more like one. in a recent tweet, president trump said, “our future trade prospects are very exciting and our relationship is strong, perhaps stronger than ever before.” sounds like trump really empathizes with bolsonaro’s plight. or maybe their priorities just align really well. after all, both are right-wing capitalists, climate change deniers, and have structured their entire campaigns around building stronger, more self-sufficient economies (fine print: through an unadulterated bashing of foreign competition). 

but the similarities don’t end there. bolsonaro’s rhetoric also displays uniquely trumpian tones, occasionally producing bewildering gems like “brazil is like a virgin that every pervert from the outside lusts for.” in all seriousness, that comment does deserve a second look because it offers us an incisive, behind-the-scenes peek at the primary motive behind his vehement anti-environmentalism: political control. 

bolsonaro has given the logging, mining, and farming industries in brazil clearance to annex land owned by native communities on the sole basis that they manage what he considers unreasonably vast amounts of wealth. similarly, he cannot distinguish between foreign aid and sovereignty infringement. look, for example, at how his administration views norway’s and germany’s generous donations to the amazon fund.

“we’re not naïve,” said brazilian chief of staff onyx lorenzoni, “there’s a view out in the world, sponsored by nongovernmental organizations, that relativizes brazil’s sovereignty over the amazon. here’s a little message: ‘don’t play around with us.’” 

the point is, bolsonaro is digging himself a precipitous hole, especially when he lets his own ego stand in the way of him and a $20 million donation from the g7. 

meu deus. the good people of twitter may need to change their tune. #prayforbolsonaro.