As you may — or quite honestly, may not — have heard, the Amazon rainforest is on fire.
Like SERIOUSLY on fire. You can see it from space.
Commonly referred to as "the lungs of the planet," the Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen and absorbs more than 2.2 BILLION TONS of carbon dioxide in a normal year. So yeah, this is a HUGE DEAL.
WATCH: Brazil's #AmazonRainforest is currently battling a record number of fires.
So now we're all thinking, "Well, how can I help?", right? Here are some ideas!
1. Donate to Rainforest Action Network, which offers a "Protect-an-Acre" conservation program that distributes grants to frontline communities and Indigenous-led organizations.
2. Donate to the Rainforest Alliance which is an alliance of farmers, forest communities, companies, and consumers who are dedicated to more sustainable living.
3. And speaking of the Rainforest Alliance, check out their helpful list of sustainable and rainforest-safe businesses here!
4. Donate to Amazon Watch, a program that fights to protect the rainforest, defend Indigenous rights, and address climate change.
5. Donate to the World Wildlife Fund to help protect all the animals that inhabit the forest.
6. Donate to the Rainforest Trust which has saved over 23 million acres since 1988.
7. Donate to Amazon Frontlines which defends Indigenous rights to land, life, and cultural survival in the Amazon.
8. Donate to One Tree Planted which helps fight deforestation in the Amazon and all over the world. $1 = one tree planted!!!
9. Eat less meat — in doing so, you'll lessen animal agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions!
10. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE — implement any small changes (like these!) that you can to make your carbon footprint just a liiiiittle less.
11. Contact your elected officials and speak out for change.
12. And lastly, SPREAD THE WORD!!! Tell your friends and family about the Amazon rainforest fire. Post about it. Create ART about it. ANYTHING! Just don't be silent!!!
Now let's all do our part and SAVE THE AMAZON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
