A little over a month ago, we reported that Ecuador was asking Europe to pay to halt drilling in the oil-rich Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian region of the Amazon. Now Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (more commonly known as Lula) is saying that "gringos" should pay to help preserve the Amazon.
"I don't want any gringo asking us to let an Amazon resident die of hunger under a tree," Silva said. "We want to preserve, but they will have to pay the price for this preservation because we never destroyed our forest like they mowed theirs down a century ago."
Lula has stated that since Western nations have already destroyed their own forests, they should pay to help preserve the Amazon. He also said that Western nations contribute more toward environmental destruction than other loggers and farmers. Lula mentioned the false notions that people have about the Amazon and the lack of understanding that about 25 million people live in the Brazilian portion of the Amazon. Sixty percent of the Amazon is in Brazil and the country has been working to reduce destruction in the area. The Amazon absorbs carbon dioxide and is thought to be the world's greatest natural defense against global warming.
Online Source: Associated Press
Image Source: Wikimedia
No comments:
Post a Comment