Much of the world has been shocked with the news that the Amazon is on fire for some time now, with many speculating that it may not have been natural wildfires, but rather the result of fascism. The theory that the newly elected Jair Bolsonaro had orchestrated the fires does make many stop to think that this is a possibility. The fascist President of Brazil, who was elected after the detention of political opponents, has been hostile towards the so-called "Earth's Lungs" and its indigenous tribes.
This along with the timing of the fires sparks major concerns for the future of the planet, with the burning of oxygen producing forests no-doubt bringing us closer to the point of no return. But whether or not you believe the theory that Bolsonaro started the fire, it's pretty evident to all that he's quite lackluster in dealing with the problem. So much so that the Mercosur deal between Brazil and the EU may now be under threat.
You know that it's a serious situation when two of Europe's right wing leaders, Leo Varadker of Ireland and Emmanuel Macron of France, threaten oppose the right wing agriculture deal unless action is taken to stop the fires. Only recently Ireland's main government party Fine Gael supported the deal in the Dáil, but failed to get the motion passed due to opposition from Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil. I had previously speculated that the deal may resurface in the not too distant future, but following the Amazon fires, I think, and indeed I hope, that the Mercosur deal has been put to bed.
While there is no concrete evidence of fascism being responsible for the fires, the right wing deal that has the potential to cripple Ireland's agriculture industry is certainly an incentive to either burn down large sections of the Amazon, or to allow it to continue burning. The initial deal allows for 99,000,000 kgs of Brazilian beef to be exported to the EU, and like all deals there is a possibility that this amount of beef could be increased in the future. For more information on the Mercosur deal and its affects on Ireland and the environment here is the link to my previous article https://seighinoceallaigh.blogspot.com/2019/08/whats-beef-with-beef.html?m=1
The deal has always acted as an incentive to clear the rainforest and to replace it with beef farms, in order to take advantage of the more than generous export levels into the EU markets. But it's such a shame that it has taken millions of burnt trees and thousands of dead animals for people to see what was already in plain sight.
But let's be a little less cynical for a moment, and say that the Mercosur deal didn't have any direct impact on the current Amazon Fires. Well it would still be responsible for a gigantic amount of pollution, which leads to climate change, which leads to forest fires. Just 15 cargo ships produce the same amount of pollution as every single car on the planet combined, and the current levels of beef allowed for in the Mercosur deal would fill over half of a cargo ship.
So to all of the European leaders I say, are more of these fires worth importing beef from a country with a fascist president, into a region that has huge surpluses of beef?
This along with the timing of the fires sparks major concerns for the future of the planet, with the burning of oxygen producing forests no-doubt bringing us closer to the point of no return. But whether or not you believe the theory that Bolsonaro started the fire, it's pretty evident to all that he's quite lackluster in dealing with the problem. So much so that the Mercosur deal between Brazil and the EU may now be under threat.
You know that it's a serious situation when two of Europe's right wing leaders, Leo Varadker of Ireland and Emmanuel Macron of France, threaten oppose the right wing agriculture deal unless action is taken to stop the fires. Only recently Ireland's main government party Fine Gael supported the deal in the Dáil, but failed to get the motion passed due to opposition from Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil. I had previously speculated that the deal may resurface in the not too distant future, but following the Amazon fires, I think, and indeed I hope, that the Mercosur deal has been put to bed.
While there is no concrete evidence of fascism being responsible for the fires, the right wing deal that has the potential to cripple Ireland's agriculture industry is certainly an incentive to either burn down large sections of the Amazon, or to allow it to continue burning. The initial deal allows for 99,000,000 kgs of Brazilian beef to be exported to the EU, and like all deals there is a possibility that this amount of beef could be increased in the future. For more information on the Mercosur deal and its affects on Ireland and the environment here is the link to my previous article https://seighinoceallaigh.blogspot.com/2019/08/whats-beef-with-beef.html?m=1
The deal has always acted as an incentive to clear the rainforest and to replace it with beef farms, in order to take advantage of the more than generous export levels into the EU markets. But it's such a shame that it has taken millions of burnt trees and thousands of dead animals for people to see what was already in plain sight.
But let's be a little less cynical for a moment, and say that the Mercosur deal didn't have any direct impact on the current Amazon Fires. Well it would still be responsible for a gigantic amount of pollution, which leads to climate change, which leads to forest fires. Just 15 cargo ships produce the same amount of pollution as every single car on the planet combined, and the current levels of beef allowed for in the Mercosur deal would fill over half of a cargo ship.
So to all of the European leaders I say, are more of these fires worth importing beef from a country with a fascist president, into a region that has huge surpluses of beef?
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