A Third of the World's Coffee Up in Flames
Image by Victor Moriyama of Greenpeace
I thought that might wake a few people up. This headline is obviously not entirely factual, but let’s be honest, how much in the mainstream media really is these days? Now I have your attention, though, let’s talk about the Amazon.
Last week, I received a smoke signal as news started surfacing about the Amazon rainforest fires. How had the biggest forest in the world been engulfed for THREE WEEKS, barely making a headline, while the world stressed about self-care and other global crises like airport strikes and Brexit. In fact, if one were to Google the word Amazon, the $134.5 billion dollar multinational technology company continued to hold prime position in the search results. At the first photo of the Amazon forests, I felt my chest tighten - I wonder if that’s what an asthma attack feels like - as I watched black clouds billowing up.
Not just one fire. Thousands of fires. NINE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED fires (adding to the 74,000 that had been observed by NASA since January) engulfing hundreds of kilometres of one of the most fertile and vital ecosystem on Earth. And I watched as the lungs of our planet (which usually produce 20% of the world’s oxygen) instead smouldered like a wheezing Camel cigarette-filled lung.
Was it a coincidence that I’d just been reading an article about scientists’ groundbreaking progress into creating a drug for animals with lung cancer? Groundbreaking? Come on. Big business pouring millions into more drug development to bandage over cancers spreading through society like… well… wildfire is not groundbreaking. It is simply another siren call to the fact that money and profit for a few trumps any effort to secure sustainability and the roots of global wellbeing.
Did I say Trump?
Funny, not a tweet from him on this. A stance of solidarity perhaps with the 1,300 Amazonian bird species whose existence was at stake. I imagine that he’s really just too busy, though, trying to figure out how to get his orange fingers on Greenland to send his usual “prayers and heartfelt condolences”. Given that his response to the 2018 California fires was to “do as Finland does and rake the forests” as a preventative measure, I’m not sure he’d really have much to say this time. How and where does one begin raking out the corruption and greed that sparked this blaze?
According to data from The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), this June saw an 88% increase in deforestation compared to 2018. Deforestation of one of the world’s greatest weapons in the fight against climate change, to clear ground for more cattle ranches (Brazil currently exports 1.9 million tonnes of beef a year), oil drilling and mines.
And where were the cries of “we will replant!”?
Let us not forget that after the April Notre Dame fire, Emmanuel Macron promised they would rebuild Notre Dame, describing the cathedral as “our history, our literature, the epicentre of our life.”
As fire burnt through much of the cathedral’s roof (made up of hundreds of oak beams, some said to date back to the 13th century) a worldwide tragedy was declared and millions of Euros were rapidly rung up for the sacred restoration.
I decided to take a look at the billionaires who generously donated to this reconstruction:
French business magnate and art collector Bernard Arnault, Chariman and Chief Executive of LVMH Moet Hennessy - Louis Vuitton SE, the world’s largest luxury-goods company. Arnault promised to donate €200m (£170m). With a net worth of $108 billion he enjoys the comfort of being the richest person in Europe and second-richest in the world.
When it comes to global sustainability, however, LVMH is “hoping” to ensure more of its leather and fur products come from strictly monitored tanneries by 2020. Isn’t that nice. It also has no set emissions reduction target covering any of its supply chain and shows no evidence of minimising textile waste or reducing potent chemicals.
François-Henri Pinault, CEO of the luxury goods group Kering, which owns brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, Boucheron, Yves Saint Laurent and more, said that his family would give around $113 million.
Fun fact: This extensive family business began with Francois Pinault Senior’s timber trading business.
The Bettencourt family, part-owners of L’Oréal, pledged €200m. If anyone is wondering where L’Oreal stands on the sustainability scale. The personal care company directly purchases less than 370 tonnes of palm oil a year (0.1% of the world’s supply) and is dedicated to ensuring that none of the ingredients and raw materials used in its products. Don’t let us down, L’oréal! Remember, the forests are worth it.
Patrick Poyanné, CEO of Total, said the energy company would donate €100 million to the restoration of the cathedral. I wonder how Total is going with its “commitment to better energy”? In 2016 Total acquired $2.2-billion in upstream and downstream assets from Petrobas (the Brazilian Petroleum Corporation), reinforcing Total's position in Brazil through access to new fields in the Santos Basin. Total aims to be 20% low-carbon by 2035. Keep up that commitment, Total.
Martin and Olivier Bouygues of the eponymous construction, media and telecoms firm personally donated €10m. The company is said to be a supporter of the UN Global Compact encouraging businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies.
Walt Disney Company pledged $5m. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll make that all back with a nice kids’ show about an Amazonian Indian princess… and a jaguar… and a sloth… and a fire.
Henry and Marie-Josée Kravis. The billionaire power couple are ranked the 25th highest donating individuals according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Donations to eco NGOs however
Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, said the city would provide €50m and organise an international donors’ conference to coordinate gifts from abroad. Wouldn’t it be nice to know who was at that conference?
Sylvain Charlois, of the Charlois group, France’s biggest producer of oak, said it would take several years to generate a big enough stock of ask logs to replace the 1,300 that originally made up Notre Dame’s roof, and called on France’s timber merchants to make donations.
Even more noteworthy, perhaps, is that the director of UNESCO, the UN’s culture agency urged that work to protect the 12th Century structure from water damage was crucial, with “the first 24 to 48 hours” will be crucial to the building’s future. The Amazon fires have been raging for over 504 hours now and the future of the forest is bleak. UNESCO has been particularly quiet about this heritage site.
Brazil’s president, who came into power wielding a promise to restore the country’s economy by finding other uses for the Amazon forest, has formally stated that he did not have the resources to stop these fires, while blaming everyone else for the devastation. Today, however, he decided to send the army in.
And despite the smoke, it is as clear as a raindrop on a Ranitomeya amazonica’s back (that’s the Poison Dart Frog for anyone interested) that the value placed on anything today remains pegged to one thought process: How will this benefit us in monetary terms?
If we as a global community cannot honour the earth that nourishes us, a dame without whom Notre Dame would cease to stand, then all hope is lost. And no, a ticket to Mars won’t save you.
Anyway, let me leave you now as you down a double espresso in precisely the same amount of time that more than 1½ soccer fields of Amazon rainforest are destroyed.
PS. If anyone needs to order some nice air-purifying house plants, however, Amazon.com apparently has some they can ship to you within hours. They come in allergy-free soil and sterilised peat moss (I guess in case you’re not accustomed to nature). According to Amazon.com: “Efficiency in homes and offices has been tied to air quality and large plants give significant results.” The online store also says that, according to a NASA study, “plants clean your air, add oxygen and filter toxins.” Not exactly rocket science, but anyway. Meanwhile, the world waits to see the online shopping company’s carbon report. Last year, over 7,000 companies disclosed their carbon footprints with the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), Amazon received an F rating for refusal to disclose data.
So, how can those of us without billions help in some way?
Support the Rainforest Action Network
Support the Rainforest Alliance and businesses affiliated with it.
Support Jungle Keepers.
Ditch the Google engine for Ecosia, the search engine that uses its ad revenue to plants trees (instead of planting your private information).
Shop with a conscience and suss out the supply chains of the products you use and the food you consume. Support fair trade, ethical farms and businesses that promote sustainability and genuine local community empowerment.
And remember the old Native American Indian proverb…
We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.