"1/ It cannot be exaggerated what a threat to the planet Jair Bolsonaro is.
From the @washingtonpost: “Huge tracts of the Amazon, which serves as
the lungs of the planet by taking in carbon dioxide, storing it in soils and
producing oxygen, are ablaze.”
2/ The cause is not in doubt: “INPE tracks deforestation in Brazil, and its
data has shown a huge increase in the Amazon this year. In early August,
INPE found 1,330 square miles of rainforest had been lost since January
alone, which is a rate 40 percent higher than in 2018.”
3/ Shown by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, "the
fires have led to a clear spike in carbon monoxide emissions as well as
planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions, posing a threat to human health
and aggravating global warming."
4/ This satellite image from @NASA has horrified Brazil and the world. It’s a
potent omen of what Bolsonaro is doing to the world:
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1164302110244126720
5/ Yesterday, as pressure grew, Bolsonaro claimed the fires were started by
environmental groups. That got International coverage. What many don’t
know is 3 weeks ago, Bolsonaro fired a key scientist for warning - with data
- of exploding deforestation:
Brazilian institute head fired after clashing with nation’s president over
deforestation data
Scientist had defended satellite data showing rising forest loss
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/brazilian-institute-head-fired-
after-clashing-nation-s-president-over-deforestation
mentions
6/ It’s well-known that Bolsonaro’s political coalition relies on religious
fanatics & supporters of a reversion to the country's military dictatorship.
But as important is the country’s toxic agro-industry, which is getting
everything it wants and more.
Hundreds of new pesticides approved in Brazil under Bolsonaro
Many of those permitted since far-right president took power are banned in
Europe
7/ This agro-business industry, and Bolsonaro's subservience to it, is
destroying not only the Amazon with fires & deforestation, but also the
ecosystem that sustains it. Look:
8/ There’s also a grave human cost: the Amazon is where many indigenous
tribes live. Their leaders have often been murdered by industrial interests.
Bolsonaro has been explicit in his contempt for them, giving implicit license
for violence against them:
"We are in great danger": In Amazon, indigenous Waiapi chief is killed by
illegal miners
In Brazil, a Waiapi chief was killed in the northern Amazon by illegal gold
miners. Human rights activists say these invasions have increased since
President Jair Bolsonaro took power.
9/ A key figure in all this is Bolsonaro’s Environment Minister - Ricardo
Salles: an extreme, previously obscure extremist from a “new” radical anti-
government party: @partidonovo30. Salles ran twice for Congress & lost,
including 2018. It's vital the world understand who he is:
10/ Last year, when Salles ran for Congress with @partidonovo30 & lost, he
used an ad showing *bullets* as his political platform to "solve" political
adversaries and environmentalists. Few ads are more deranged &
psychopathic. Look: theintercept.com/2018/08/19/can…
11/ Salles was such a fringe & despised figure that even federal prosecutors,
in the chats we obtained, spoke of him as a monster. One leading
prosecutor, @jcarloscr, said last year: Salles Is “not just any fucking crazy.
He’s an enormous crazy fuck.” #VazaJato
12/ As we reported in February, Salles - as a state environmental official -
got caught altering an environmental map to benefit miners. He was
convicted on Dec 18: fined & lost political rights for 3 years. 2 weeks later,
Bolsonaro chose him as Minister
13/ Salles is now the subject of an impeachment petition. He was loudly
booed when he appeared in public yesterday. But even with him gone,
Bolsonaro remains captive to, & supportive of, the destruction of the
Amazon which endangers the world
Brazil environment minister heckled over fires
Ricardo Salles is booed after figures suggest a record number of fires are
burning in Brazil.
13/ Bolsonaro is a genuine, archaic monster of the type frequently seen
during the Cold War. He is already threatening Brazilian democracy. But he
also arguably poses the greatest danger to the planet, as @newrepublic
recently argued:
Brazil Is a Bigger Threat Than Either Iran or China
Anyone who says otherwise isn't taking climate change seriously.
https://newrepublic.com/article/154547/brazil-bigger-threat-either-iran-
china
I should add: one valid grievance the Brazilian Right has about the Amazon
is anger over other countries - the US and in Western Europe - who already
developed industrially & are destroying the planet, now demanding Brazil
save them by not exploiting its own internal resources.
Preservation of the Amazon is imperative for the survival of the planet & the
species. That's a scientific fact. So they world should work with Brazil to
ensure it happens, not just demand it of them. Rich countries that are
destroying the planet - US, Europe, China - should pay.
Bolsonaro responds to President Macron by basically accusing him of
exploiting the Amazon fires for political gain, dismissing the global outcry as
interference in Brazil's "internal affairs," and claiming Macron is
"sensationalizing" the problem. Typical Bolsonaro - but....
There are valid points buried in Bolsonaro's derangement: you can't live in
an already-developed western country that is destroying the planet,
enjoying the benefits of that development, & demand others not exploit their
resources to save you - at least without paying. And....
Macron's call for G-7 nations to take action about the Amazon - without
involvement from the countries in the region - does smack of arrogant
colonialism. The Amazon isn't France's to control. It's nice that France is
already rich & developed. They can't dictate to others.
All that said: Bolsonaro's appeals to national sovereignty and the need to
exploit the Amazon would be more compelling if they intended to use that
for the benefit of the Brazilian people. They don't. They intend to strip it &
sell it to the highest bidder & enrich themselves.
Bolsonaro is simultaneously denying the severity of the Amazon crisis and,
worse, recklessly claiming environmental groups started them, because he
knows the world recognizes he's to blame. He can't escape that
responsibility, as @davidmirandario said today in Congress [English]:..."
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