- The Amazon rainforest is on fire, and people are taking to Twitter to ask Jeff Bezos to help out.
- Bezos’ multi-billion-dollar company, Amazon, gets its name from the Amazon river that winds its way through the rainforest.
- Bezos has not publicly commented on the crisis.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The Amazon rainforest is on fire, and people are asking Jeff Bezos to do something about it.
This year, the Amazon rainforest has had a record high of 74,000 fires, up from 2018’s total of 40,000. The massive rainforest is now burning up even faster, with 10,000 fires reported in the past couple of weeks. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has no immediate plans to combat the fires, dismissing them as part of South America’s usual dry season.
Now, people around the world are taking to social media to voice their concerns and call others to action. Many of them are specifically asking Bezos for help: After all, he’s the founder and CEO of e-commerce giant Amazon. Twitter users have hopped on the hashtag #ActForTheAmazon (which was created on August 21 to bring awareness to the crisis), steering it directly to Bezos and begging he use his fortune to help end the crisis.
Bezos’ multi-billion-dollar company gets its name from the Amazon river, which winds its way through the South American rainforest. Incidentally, the company also produces the Fire TV and the Fire tablet. This has led to some confusion on Google News, when people searching for the reports on the crisis found Amazon products instead.
As of this writing, Bezos has not publicly commented on the fires. Business Insider has reached out to Amazon's press line for comment.
Here are some of the tweets asking Bezos to help with the Amazon wildfire crisis:
https://twitter.com/Jess__Warren/status/1164649495092760576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
You know what would be a great PR move? @Amazon trying to save the actual Amazon. @JeffBezos #AmazonFire #ActForTheAmazon https://t.co/fSRo91Xcve
— Luiz Rocha, PhD (@CoralReefFish) August 22, 2019
Could @amazon do something for #AmazonRainforest ? #ActForTheAmazon 🙏 @JeffBezos 🌎
— GiulioRanucci.eth (@BlueGoblin) August 23, 2019
The Amazon is burning. This MUST be top of the agenda for world leaders at #G7. @BorisJohnson ensure international action https://t.co/WhbP5Da79G. And maybe tag @JeffBezos if you arent willing to comply instead #ActForTheAmazon #ActForAmazonia Amazon🤝Amazon
— pork (@burntasscheeks) August 23, 2019
@JeffBezos, as an employee of your company which shares this namesake, I demand you use the riches you've made, the power and influence that you have, to lead action and save the Amazon Rainforest. #ActForTheAmazon #ActForAmazonia https://t.co/YlKEZ1Rc41
— 黒井七 (@KuroiShichi) August 23, 2019
https://twitter.com/andrefiguracion/status/1164725637426212864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
@JeffBezos this is the time to take action and save the Amazon rainforest they provide 20% of the planet's oxygen #ActForTheAmazon https://t.co/en7Jy4FcUb
— Nader Shenouda (@NaderShenouda4) August 23, 2019
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