Amazon Wildfire Poster - The Truth

Most of what's circulating online about Amazon, including it being the "lungs of the earth" is incorrect. Read further:

As I was pondering over what topic I needed to choose for my next poster, I decided I should ditch the usual method of picking someone else's quote and designing something based on that. I'd much prefer making a poster that means something more, so, I figured Amazon was a hot topic (Not sorry for the pun).

Here's what I learned while researching on this topic. Amazon is NOT THE LUNGS OF EARTH. It does not produce 20% of earth's oxygen. The net effect of Amazon rainforest on the amount of oxygen in the global atmosphere is virtually zero. The trees itself consume almost most of the oxygen it creates.

Experts say that the greatest production of oxygen comes from the ocean, precisely from plan microorganisms called phytoplankton. About 50%. It's safe to say we won't die of asphyxiation because of Amazon burning.

Check this. The number of Amazon wildfires in 2019 is indeed 80% higher than in 2018 but it's just 7% higher than the average over the last 10 years ago as pointed out by Dan Nepstad - tropical ecologist, climate change expert. A full 80% of Amazon rainforest is still standing.

The global hysteria over Amazon is baseless and frightening. Of course deforestation is an issue and politics is involved but the poster I already made is now useless as it was based on the "lungs of earth" myth so let me use this to share with you all why fact checking is important.