Live data from Hacker News

In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

nytimes.com

21–30 of 81 posts

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#21
post #4

“The Amazon is ours, not yours,” he told a European journalist. I wonder if there's a scenario somewhere, already worked out, where this is not true anymore. A military takeover of the amazon basin.

It won't happen because Bolsonaro is too cozy with the US government, both have the same anti-leftist "own them libs" political leaning.

Who's going to do it? Europe? Asia?

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#22
post #5

The other day there was a thread on HN where most people agreed that Amazon should pay France more taxes because even though it’s an internet business, it benefits from things done by the French government. Maybe developed countries should start paying a tax to Brazil and other Amazon forest countries so that they can preserve it. After all, most didn’t do a good job preserving their own forests, so demanding underde…

This ^^! Most people do not appreciate what truly being poor is like. If the choice is development or preserving the rainforest, Brazilians deserve the right to choose for themselves

There are ways to develop an economy other than destroying all of your resources within a generation. Any country that does it is doomed to poverty, and it’s kind of hard to feel sympathy for anyone endorsing such short term thinking.

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#23
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least Norway does: "Norway makes annual payments to Brazil as part of a long-term billion-dollar program to curb the loss of Amazon rainforest to slow global warming." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-brazil-amazon-idUS...

Why doesn’t Norway stop making use of all that fossil fuel they sit on?

Because this (or other) fuel is still necessary right now. The way they use the money also benefits the whole country. Cutting down the Amazon is not necessary and merely benefits a small number of farmers.

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#24

This happens when other nations and unions stand by idly instead of immediately threaten sanctions against insane people like Bolsonaro. There needs to be so much pressure on the country, that they riot against people like him and rid themselves of people like him. The moment this guy talked about cutting down trees, other nations should have immediately threatened with heavy sanctions, to stop this thread right away…

[deleted]

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#25
It's a pity things are going in that direction. But i don't think we are in position to judge the Brazilians over this.

I watched a short documentary about this issue recently on Youtube, and the journalists went to some really remote area and spoke with the mayor of town there. The guy was big supporter of Bolsonaro and he said something that is actually very true. He said US and Europe have no right to tell Brazil what to do with it's natural resources, because they have already used theirs to industrialise and develop and now want to prevent Brazil from doing so.

And as unpleasant as it sounds he is right. People in the western world can wipe their buts with toilet paper made from virgin pulp, but Brazil and other poor countries should hold should preserve the lungs of the planet.

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#26
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least Norway does: "Norway makes annual payments to Brazil as part of a long-term billion-dollar program to curb the loss of Amazon rainforest to slow global warming." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-brazil-amazon-idUS...

Why doesn’t Norway stop making use of all that fossil fuel they sit on?

Because that's literally how they fund their entire society? Even with the super high taxes, it's not enough to cover the level of social spending they are trying to maintain. Not to mention that it's also going into a fund for all pensions. In that way, it's great that the government kept control over the fossil fuels and that the money from them at least serves the Norwegian people.

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#27

This happens when other nations and unions stand by idly instead of immediately threaten sanctions against insane people like Bolsonaro. There needs to be so much pressure on the country, that they riot against people like him and rid themselves of people like him. The moment this guy talked about cutting down trees, other nations should have immediately threatened with heavy sanctions, to stop this thread right away…

The minister of Agriculture has been giving permissions for the use of pesticides forbidden elsewhere and still other countries buy our exports.

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#28
post #25

It's a pity things are going in that direction. But i don't think we are in position to judge the Brazilians over this. I watched a short documentary about this issue recently on Youtube, and the journalists went to some really remote area and spoke with the mayor of town there. The guy was big supporter of Bolsonaro and he said something that is actually very true. He said US and Europe have no right to tell Brazil…

That is the same argument Poland throws at Germany to justify the huge amounts of coal it uses and has little plans to reduce. At some point one has to ask at what cost the growth is justifiable and if dumping the same efforts into renewable technology isn't going to pay more dividends in the future when the world has moved on

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#29
post #25

It's a pity things are going in that direction. But i don't think we are in position to judge the Brazilians over this. I watched a short documentary about this issue recently on Youtube, and the journalists went to some really remote area and spoke with the mayor of town there. The guy was big supporter of Bolsonaro and he said something that is actually very true. He said US and Europe have no right to tell Brazil…

I definitely understand that viewpoint (China and other Asian countries say similar things). And specifically for Asia, much of that pollution is technically originating in the west, we’ve just outsourced a lot of our pollution to Asian countries.

The environmental impact of industrialization needs to be built into the cost of goods. Capitalism can solve many of these problems, but right now pollution practically has no associated cost to the end price, which is why we use the cheapest materials that cannot be recycled.

America needs to change dramatically before we can make substantial progress here; we can be the world leader in this issue. But I guess I’m not that optimistic considering the politics right now.

Re: In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall

#30
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This ^^! Most people do not appreciate what truly being poor is like. If the choice is development or preserving the rainforest, Brazilians deserve the right to choose for themselves

There are ways to develop an economy other than destroying all of your resources within a generation. Any country that does it is doomed to poverty, and it’s kind of hard to feel sympathy for anyone endorsing such short term thinking.

Every rich country has done exactly this, so this doomed scenario doesn’t strike me as true.
Post reply on HN