As most of us know by now, The Amazon forest has been burning at an alarming record rate, making us all fear for the future of our planet.
This is not the first forest fire the rainforest has seen, but it is definitely the longest lasting and biggest one yet. And the only ones to blame are humans.
In a past episode of Patriot Act, host Hasan Minhaj dedicated the show to the Amazon and how we’re inching towards its complete destruction — as if it were a precursor to what is happening right now.
In his signature way, with a humorous take on a very serious issue, Minhaj explains how the ‘lungs of the Earth’, the Amazon, is getting sicker by the day.
The destruction we’re responsible for has depleted the forest of its green cover over the last few years.
And it’s mainly due to deforestation and corporations exploiting the forests for mining, agriculture, and production purposes.
Deforestation has been at such an all-time high, that the forest is seeing the least amount of rain and highest amount of forest fires than ever before.
A major contributor to this mass destruction has been Brazil’s hardliner President Jair Bolsonaro. He’s been lobbying for a more industrially friendly Brazil (compromising on the forest cover), the elimination of the indigenous people (who’ve been protecting the land for centuries), and a rise in commercial farming (causing further destruction to native forest cover).
The episode isn’t even a warning for the future, but in fact, a prediction of what is happening right now.
And rightly put by Hasan and everyone who’s witnessing the disastrous fire in their time, if nothing is done now, the Amazon is going to keep burning and it will mean the end of this planet sooner than we know.
Watch the full episode here: