Brazil's President Accuses Leonardo DiCaprio of Funding Amazon Fires

Located in the north of South America, the Amazon Rainforest is an outstanding area in nature.

via: Getty Images

Not only is it known for being visually incredible, but the area supports some of the widest varieties of wildlife on Earth. Plus, the sheer amount of carbon dioxide inhaling plants there means that it helps to clean the air for the entire planet.

But, for many years, the Amazon has been in trouble.

via: Getty Images

Large areas of the beautiful natural area have been destroyed for human gain, either for the building of roads, the farming of cattle, or simply to make more space for towns and cities.

But the most recent destruction of the Amazon is perhaps the most galling.

Since January this year, the Amazon has been consistently on fire. During August things got even worse when the Amazon Rainforest was rampaged by an enormous and terrifying forest fire.

For some reason, this fire didn't attract many headlines at first.

So people on the internet took matters into their own hands.

Then the news started to gain traction.

And many truly horrifying images have been shared online. There are now fears that we may end up losing all, or most of, the absolutely enormous forest.

Every minute that the fire burns...

We lose another huge area of the Amazon. And once it's gone, the forest as we know it will never come back. This means that there should be a real sense of urgency.

But the burning forest snaps aren't the only horrific images shared.

Because, as the blaze rages on, the effects that the huge fire is having across the entire continent are becoming clear.

And some of the most terrifying pictures?

Many Twitter users are sharing shots that they've taken in the city of Sao Paolo. The sheer amount of ash in the sky is essentially blocking out the sunlight.

The shots look like something from a horror film.

The fact that the fire has released this much smoke into the atmosphere is worrying enough - even when you don't consider the destruction of those millions of all-important trees.

Just look at this.

One Sao Paolo resident decided to test the theory, taking a clear plastic water bottle outside to collect some of the air. This black gas is what the people of the city are expected to breathe in.

Locals shared other frightening images.

Including this one, with the caption: "This is the color of the rainwater that fell here in Mauá."

Here's another.

"Folks ... did you see that it rained black water ?? Seriously no kidding! So the sky was very strange ... gospel."

And some have pointed out this worrying fact.

Many assume that Sao Paolo is close to the Amazon Rainforest - but this isn't really the case. The sheer distance that this disaster has covered should be alarming us.

NASA also shared yet more horrifying images.

via: NASA

These pictures show the sheer volume of smoke that's been released into the atmosphere - along with the great distances that it has spread to and covered.

Many believed that the Amazon was essentially fireproofed.

via: NASA

The fact that it's a rainforest gives us a clue as to how much humidity and moisture it contained. The fact that it's burning up like kindling is truly shocking.

But environmental changes over the years left it vulnerable.

via: NASA

One huge attributing factor to this fire's power is the number of droughts that the area has experienced over the years. On top of this, Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has ignored pleas to take better care of the region.

There are other huge worries, too.

The Amazon Rainforest contains some of the largest animal diversity on Earth - so alongside the loss of trees and plants, millions of animals are being burned alive.

Many are concerned about one man in particular.

via: Getty Images

Since he came to power, the extremely right-wing President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has voiced some pretty worrying opinions about the environment.

He's a man known for prioritizing profit.

And some of his campaign promises revolved around making Brazil more economically powerful. The problem is that he appears not to care about the other costs of making money.

Which means that he's more than happy to destroy the Amazon for money.

Many cattle ranchers are keen to purchase large areas of rainforest land in order to raise cows for meat. The problem is, once the rainforest is gone, it will never grow back.

But that doesn't seem to matter to Bolsonaro.

And many are suspicious that, rather than any sort of accidental forest fire, the blazes raging in the Amazon right now are a deliberate act of deforestation for profit.

Which is a pretty frightening thought.

The idea that someone would prioritize money over life on Earth seems hard to comprehend. But it also means action by the rest of the world is all the more urgent.

Others suspect that things run even deeper.

Some conspiracy theorist view these fires as, not just a move for profit, but a deliberate attack on indigenous people.

And some want institutional action to be taken.

If these fires are deliberate, then someone (or a group of people) are responsible. It's reprehensible that there's not been any sort of investigation thus far.

Because, more than just affecting innocent animals and indigenous people...

The destruction of the Amazon is something that will have an adverse effect globally. Some have even proposed it to be something of an early indicator of the apocalypse. Cheery stuff, we know.

And one indigenous woman has spoken out.

In a video posted to Twitter, she proclaims: "For 2 years we’ve fought to preserve [our reservation] and these assholes came in and burned it down. They are killing our rivers, our sources of life, and now they have set our reserve on fire. Tomorrow we are closing the roads and I want all the media here to see this."

So, is there any hope to be gleaned from this story?

Well, if anything, it's the way that the world is slowly coming together in order to put an end to this horror.

Leonardo DiCaprio pledged a lot of money.

via: Getty Images

The star-studded actor has pledged to donate 5 million dollars to aid the efforts to put out the horrific fires.

He made the announcement through "Earth Alliance."

Dicaprio used this environmental foundation to raise awareness about the issue. He, along with two other philanthropists, set up "The Amazon Forest Fund" so that people could also donate to the cause.

This isn't the first time that he has done his bit for the environment...

It seems as though Dicaprio has become a prominent figure in the fight against climate change. Last year alone, his other charity organization, known as "The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation," raised over 100 million dollars for the cause.

Leo made sure that all of his followers knew how important this fight is.

He wrote on the foundation's website: "When I founded LDF twenty years ago, I did so based on the simple idea that we could make a real difference by directly funding some of the most effective environmental projects."

And now?

Well none other than our good friend Jair Bolsonaro has accused DiCaprio of being behind the fires.

He made the first comment in a Facebook live video.

According to The Guardian, Bolsonaro made the unsubstantiated claim against DiCaprio in a Facebook live video. He reportedly said:

Leonardo DiCaprio, dammit, you’re collaborating with the burning of the Amazon.

Then boom, 24 hours later, he made a second comment.

He made the comment to reporters.

Speaking on Friday, Bolsonaro made the comment about DiCaprio, saying:

This Leonardo DiCaprio is a cool guy, isn’t he? Giving money for the Amazon to be torched.

And then Bolsonaro's son got involved tweeting that DiCaprio had donated $300,000 to ‘the NGO that set fire to the Amazon’.

He made the comments after firefighters were arrested.

Bolsonaro made the allegations after the arrest on Tuesday of four volunteer firefighters who local police accused – again without evidence – of setting fire to the forest to boost fundraising efforts for an international NGO.

DiCaprio has since responded pledging his continued support to the Amazon and the indigenous people.