How to Help Stop the Amazon Rainforest Fire

Making an Environmental Impact

Eat less beef, cheese, and pork. One of the biggest causes of the fires in the Amazon Rainforest is local farmers who are clearing land to raise cattle or pigs. Cattle especially require a large amount of land so they can graze. If people start consuming less beef and dairy on a large scale, farmers in the Amazon may begin growing more environmentally-friendly crops, like barley, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. Try incorporating more plant-based meals into your diet, including protein-rich foods like beans, soy, and nuts. If you don't want to give up beef, try to choose meat that comes from pasture-raised cows, which may have less of an environmental impact than farm-raised beef. Did You Know? Brazil is currently the world's largest exporter of beef.

Use fewer wood and paper products. In order to access timber in the rainforest, corporations often set fires to clear out underbrush. To help prevent that, try limiting how many paper and wood products you use, buy recycled products whenever possible, and recycle your own paper and wood waste so it can be reused by someone else. Instead of buying a brand new piece of furniture, for example, you might check local consignment shops, antique stores, and online marketplaces for a secondhand piece. To reduce the amount of paper you use, make small changes like switching to online billing, using cloth towels instead of disposable paper towels, and printing on both sides of a sheet. Recycle paper products like office paper, magazines, cardboard, and phone books.

Purchase rainforest-safe products. One way you can make an impact is by supporting corporations that have dedicated themselves to sustainability efforts in the Amazon Rainforest and around the world. Try checking for products that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), for instance, or the Rainforest Alliance (RA). These organizations award certification to companies that focus on environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Products certified by the FSC will bear a logo that features a checkmark and a tree above the letters "FSC". You can also check their database by visiting https://us.fsc.org/en-us/market/find-products/fsc-certificate-database. RA-certified products have a green frog on the product label. You can also find certified products by going to their website at https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/find-certified.

Don't buy products from corporations that negatively impact the Amazon. Just as purchasing rainforest-friendly products can impact conservation efforts, you might also be able to help protect the Amazon Rainforest by refusing to support corporations that do not protect the environment. Become an informed consumer, and research the corporations you buy from. If a corporation supports deforestation or environmental deregulation, avoid buying the goods that they produce. Try doing research on sites that allow you to educate yourself about different products and corporations. For instance, you might visit the Ethical Consumer at https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/.

Supporting Conservation Efforts

Donate funds to organizations supporting rainforest preservation. The drastic rise in the number of fires in the Amazon Rainforest has led to an increased awareness of the issue. As a result, there are a number of organizations working to prevent fires in the region, as well as to help protect Indigenous people and native wildlife. Just be sure to donate to an organization that sends directly to the front line to make the biggest impact. A few of those organizations include: Amazon Watch: Protects Indigenous communities and works to stop the destruction of the rainforest. To learn more, visit https://amazonwatch.org/get-involved/amazon-protectors-fund. Rainforest Alliance: Focuses on preserving plant and animal life in the Rainforest, as well as educating people about how to live more sustainably. Visit their website at https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/ World Wildlife Fund: A nonprofit that works to conserve wildlife and protect endangered species. Learn more by visiting https://support.wwf.org.uk/donate-amazon. Earth Alliance's Amazon Forest Fund: Distributes 100% of funds to combating the fires, protecting the rainforest, and helping with relief efforts. Visit them at https://ealliance.org/amazonfund/. Amazon Conservation Team: Fights climate change and helps empower Indigenous tribes to protect the rainforest. You can donate to them at https://4agc.com/donation_pages/7c8a347f-b26b-48a0-b1fa-67d94b89126e. One Tree Planted: Fights to stop deforestation, including in the Amazon Rainforest. Learn more and donate at https://onetreeplanted.org/collections/latin-america/products/amazon-rainforest-peru?variant=18289541382206.

Sponsor an acre of land through the Rainforest Action Network. If you donate to the Rainforest Action Network's Protect an Acre program, those funds will go toward helping more than 200 local communities take back control of their land. That can then help them make a stand against corporations like logging companies and paper mills that are responsible for some of the fires in the rainforest. To learn more about the Rainforest Action Network's Protect an Acre program, visit https://www.ran.org/issue/protect_an_acre/.

Buy land through the Rainforest Trust. This organization has been operating in the Amazon Rainforest since 1988, and they've saved millions of acres of land. When you purchase land through the Rainforest Trust, corporations can't use that land for logging, mining, or other practices that require them to deforest and burn the land. Learn more and donate by visiting https://www.rainforesttrust.org/.

Fighting for Political Change

Sign a petition to show your support for change. While it might not seem like putting your name on a list can make much of a difference, if enough people sign a petition, it can really catch the attention of politicians and corporate leaders. To find petitions that support preserving the Amazon Rainforest, try visiting sites like: Change.org: Search on the main page of the Change.org website to find a number of petitions that deal directly with the Amazon Rainforest, such as this one: https://www.change.org/p/extinguish-the-fire-in-the-amazon-forest-reforestate-burned-zones-save-and-heal-all-the-animals Greenpeace: This petition is directed at the Brazilian government, which has enacted policies that have led to a record number of fires: https://act.greenpeace.org/page/39922/petition/1?_ga=2.65401002.547443292.1566484769-36951589.1566484769 NRDC: The National Resources Defense Council has an open petition at https://act.nrdc.org/letter/amazon-forest-190905.

Vote for political candidates who support environmentally-friendly policies. Even if you don't live in Brazil, you can still help elect political leaders who will take climate change and sustainability efforts seriously. As more of these leaders take office around the world, it will put more pressure on other politicians to support these causes, as well.

Write to your local representatives to encourage them to support regulation. One of the biggest reasons that there are so many fires in the Amazon Rainforest is that corporations are allowed to operate unchecked. Write letters to your local representatives asking them to support legislation that would pressure the Brazilian government to regulate their corporations and punish those that don't comply. You can also call your representative if you prefer. If you live in the United States, you can find a list of representatives, the committees they're a part of, and their phone numbers at https://www.house.gov/representatives.

Protest to send a message to world leaders. Look online to find a climate-related protest near you, or somewhere that you might be able to travel to. In particular, keep an eye out for protests related to the policies that are affecting the Amazon Rainforest—although supporting any environmental efforts will help put pressure on leaders around the world to be more serious about safeguarding their natural resources. One site where you can find upcoming protests is https://strikewithus.org/.

Join a climate activism group if you're deeply passionate. If you really want to reform the economic and environmental policies that are impacting the Amazon Rainforest, find a climate activism group near you. As a member, you might combine a number of different efforts, like writing your representatives to push for legislative change, attending or organizing protests, and spreading the word on social media. Two well-known groups that are fighting for climate change are the Sunrise Movement and the People's Climate Movement.