4 ms·

lol wow I got downvoted _fast_.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
Well, the fires in Amazonia are fake news, in the sense that unlike what social media tells you, it's not out of control but done purposefully by Brazil, it's not record but just like last year and the year before, and the whole "20% oxygen" meme is bullshit. :).
- reilly3000 7y ago
  I think most of the hype is about the current state of affairs, but the genuine concern is about the political policy of burning rainforest for crop lands. While it has short-term economic benefits for the people of Brazil, it has the _potential_ to impact others around the world significantly. The fact that it is done on purpose it what is at odds, not the scale of it in a given timeframe.
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    That I agree with. It's an environmental disaster, but the true causes and scope are completely drowned under the bullshit reporting comparing it to Notre Dame (Q: why there aren't millionaires donating money to firefighting? A: because it's not an uncontrolled fire, but purposeful action) or talking about "lungs of Earth" and running out of oxygen. The true story is about whether sovereignty of Brazil should be violated to protect the rainforest.
- mcintyre1994 7y ago
  What’s your source on it being the same as last year and the year before? From https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49433767 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49433767: > The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) says its satellite data shows an 85% increase on the same period in 2018. > The official figures show more than 75,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year - the highest number since 2013. That compares with 40,000 in the same period in 2018. > Roraima saw a 141% increase, Acre 138%, Rondônia 115% and Amazonas 81%. Mato Grosso do Sul, further south, saw a 114% increase.
  - mikedilger 7y ago
    perhaps https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/24/world/americas/amazon-rain-forest-fire-maps.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/24/world/america...
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    From https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49415973 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49415973: > Meanwhile, US space agency Nasa said that overall fire activity in the Amazon basin was slightly below average this year. > The agency said that while activity had increased in Amazonas and Rondonia, it had decreased in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Also this chart: https://twitter.com/valmasdel/status/1165295012709634048 https://twitter.com/valmasdel/status/1165295012709634048 EDIT: The link from 'mikedilger in a parallel reply is even better. It seems that if you include data from previous decade, and not just since 2012, then current fires are nothing special.
Stratoscope 7y ago
I didn't downvote you, but my guess is that some of the downvotes were because of the boring sarcasm. Sometimes sarcasm works, but it is a tricky thing to get right. As someone prone to sarcasm myself, I have learned the hard way that it rarely helps me get any point across.
vikramkr 7y ago
Your sarcasm was too brilliant for HN - they couldn't handle it here.

Well, the fires in Amazonia are fake news, in the sense that unlike what social media tells you, it's not out of control but done purposefully by Brazil, it's not record but just like last year and the year before, and the whole "20% oxygen" meme is bullshit. :).

reilly3000 7y ago
I think most of the hype is about the current state of affairs, but the genuine concern is about the political policy of burning rainforest for crop lands. While it has short-term economic benefits for the people of Brazil, it has the _potential_ to impact others around the world significantly. The fact that it is done on purpose it what is at odds, not the scale of it in a given timeframe.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  That I agree with. It's an environmental disaster, but the true causes and scope are completely drowned under the bullshit reporting comparing it to Notre Dame (Q: why there aren't millionaires donating money to firefighting? A: because it's not an uncontrolled fire, but purposeful action) or talking about "lungs of Earth" and running out of oxygen. The true story is about whether sovereignty of Brazil should be violated to protect the rainforest.
mcintyre1994 7y ago
What’s your source on it being the same as last year and the year before? From https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49433767 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49433767: > The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) says its satellite data shows an 85% increase on the same period in 2018. > The official figures show more than 75,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year - the highest number since 2013. That compares with 40,000 in the same period in 2018. > Roraima saw a 141% increase, Acre 138%, Rondônia 115% and Amazonas 81%. Mato Grosso do Sul, further south, saw a 114% increase.
- mikedilger 7y ago
  perhaps https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/24/world/americas/amazon-rain-forest-fire-maps.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/24/world/america...
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  From https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49415973 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49415973: > Meanwhile, US space agency Nasa said that overall fire activity in the Amazon basin was slightly below average this year. > The agency said that while activity had increased in Amazonas and Rondonia, it had decreased in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Also this chart: https://twitter.com/valmasdel/status/1165295012709634048 https://twitter.com/valmasdel/status/1165295012709634048 EDIT: The link from 'mikedilger in a parallel reply is even better. It seems that if you include data from previous decade, and not just since 2012, then current fires are nothing special.

Stratoscope 7y ago

I didn't downvote you, but my guess is that some of the downvotes were because of the boring sarcasm. Sometimes sarcasm works, but it is a tricky thing to get right. As someone prone to sarcasm myself, I have learned the hard way that it rarely helps me get any point across.

vikramkr 7y ago

Your sarcasm was too brilliant for HN - they couldn't handle it here.