The Amazon Rainforest fires have carried on for far too long. Since August 23rd, the rainforests have been burning, yet little seems to have been done about it. Across social media many have shared their concern for the health of the rainforest, those living within the rainforest, and the planet. It has almost been a month and the fires still burn.

Originally, these fires began by farmers using slash-and-burn techniques to put nutrients in the soil and clear land for crops. It happens the most during the dry season, but since Brazil has banned setting fires to clear the Amazon, new fires continue to pop up in protest to the ban. This is also affecting the indigenous people of the region, as the sacred land that they live on is being burned away. 

According to independent.co.uk, 48 hours after the government banned illegal deforestation of the Amazon on August 23rd, almost 4,000 new fires popped up. The fires were lit by extremists trying to counteract the government’s ban. CNN said that most of the extremists are cattle ranchers and loggers who want to clear and utilize the land.

One of the main impacts the fires have are on the indigenous people living inside of the Amazon. The people who live in the Amazon consider the land sacred and the Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, has not done much to consereve the land. France24.com said that President Bolsonaro would not accept $20 million in aid offered by G7 countries to fight the Amazon fires. Even Brazil’s enviromntal agency can’t do much, as The New York Times said that “the country’s main enviromental agency, Ibama said that their mission had been hobbled in recent years as a result of […] political interference and a weakening of enviromental regulations.”

Another impact that the fires have is the amount of carbon dioxide that it removes from the air. The Amazon Rainforest converts a crucial amount of the carbon dioxide in the air. According to sciencedaily.com, the Amazon Rainforest helps counteract climate change by absorbing about 1/4 of the Carbon Dioxide released each year from the burning of fossil fuels each year. Sometimes the Amazon is called the lungs of the planet, while that is not true, the Amazon is still vital to the planet. According to National Geographic, the Amazon is not compared to, “a pair of lungs, but to a giant air conditioner that cools the planet—one of our most powerful in mitigating climate change, alongside other tropical forests in central Africa and Asia—some of which are also currently burning.”

If nothing is done to help put a stop to the Amazon Rainforest fire, the damage will become irreversible. Here are seven organizations you can donate to to help the rainforests.