By HERALDO CAMPOS*
It is hoped that the hunt for the alleged “incendiary ghosts” will continue, justice will be served, environmental damage will be accounted for and the bill will be sent to those interested in the social chaos.
In this dry climate, increased by the smoke caused by criminal fires in the forests of the various biomes of the Brazilian territory, I stopped the other day at a grocery store to drink some “water that the bird doesn’t drink”, because nobody is made of iron.
By chance, the store’s stereo was playing the enigmatic composition “Alcohol” by Jorge Ben Jor, from 1994, which I hadn’t heard in a while. A short excerpt from this song says that “The ghost hunt continues because / Fire is older than the stove”, which reminded me of an article I wrote at that time about water lobbies.[1]
So, in today’s scenario, as the country is in flames, the question that comes to mind is “who is interested in the land devastated by the fires”? The average citizen, the worker, seems to have no peace in his day to day life. He is subject to the most varied types of pressures and constraints that drastically interfere with his well-being, that of his family and his friends.
So, is the fire for loobies at the service of the cattle in the waters,[2] of condominium squatters,[3] of illegal miners,[4] among other well-known groups of speculators and predators of the environment? The investigation into those responsible for deliberately scratching the match on dry vegetation must be expanded and the magnifying glass must be lowered to find the possible perpetrators of these environmental crimes.
It is hoped that the hunt for the alleged “incendiary ghosts” will continue, justice will be served, environmental damage will be accounted for and the bill will be sent to be paid to those maliciously interested in social chaos.
The damage figures are alarming. According to recent data, “In the last two days, Brazil accounted for 71,9% of all fires recorded in South America. According to data from the BDQueimadas system, from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), there were 7.322 fire outbreaks in the last 48 hours until Friday (13).”, the website reports. Brazil of Fact.[5]
“My hope is necessary, but it is not enough. It alone does not win the fight, but without it the fight weakens and falters.” (Paulo Freire).
* Heraldo Campos, geologist, he is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Hydraulics and Sanitation at the São Carlos School of Engineering-USP.
Notes
[1] “Alcohol: to disinfect water lobbies” article from 03/04/1994.
Published in the newspaper’s “Caderno Folha Vale” Folha de S. Paul.
[2] “The cattle in the waters” article from 11/06/2020.
https://cacamedeirosfilho.blogspot.com/2020/06/a-boiada-nas-aguas-cronica-de-heraldo.html
[3] “Condominium land grabbers” article from 17/11/2020.
https://cacamedeirosfilho.blogspot.com/2020/11/grileiros-de-condominio.html
[4] “Get to know the Amazon before it ends” article from 03/12/2023.
https://cacamedeirosfilho.blogspot.com/2023/12/conhecer-amazonia-antes-que-acabe.html
[5] "Brazil accounts for 71,9% of the fires in South America in the last 48 hours”.
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