Climate Change
The Amazon is the world’s most important land ecosystem for mitigating climate change.
The trees in the Amazon sequester or store 25% of the of all total carbon dioxide (CO2) on Earth, making the Amazon one of the most
important land ecosystems for mitigating climate change. The trees store and pull in toxic levels of carbon out of the environment, holding the carbon in their leaves, trunks, branches and roots.
Carbon is a part of every living being and is essential for life. It is estimated that the earth holds around 65,500 billion metric tons of carbon. The human body, itself, is made up of about 18% carbon. Carbon is one of the most important elements on earth with its ability to form bonds with other elements and create a diverse and vast array of compounds. There are over one million described carbon compounds that include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
It is estimated that the earth holds around 65,500 billion metric tons of carbon.
Today the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is creating climate change. The release of greenhouse gases produces a blanket-like effect, trapping the sun’s warmth near the earth’s surface, which is causing the earth to heat up to catastrophic levels. It is a natural process that can warm the planet, but human activities are contributing to unprecedented levels of greenhouse gasses which is causing extreme heat, dangerous storms, fires, drought and flooding, and the unraveling of many of the earth’s critical ecosystems.
Scientists estimate that humans release about nine billion tons of carbon each year through the burning fossil fuels and trees, and through general destruction of ecosystems. Approximately 247 gigatons (billion tons) of carbon is held in tropical forests, with 49 percent stored in central and South America. There are 193 gigatons stored globally above ground in tree trunks, branches, and leaves, and 54 gigatons stored below ground in the roots. The burning of trees is responsible for 30% of all global emissions. We are destroying the trees that are protecting us.
The burning of trees is responsible for 30% of all global emissions. We are destroying the trees that are protecting us.
From the Blog: Climate Change
Amazon Rainforest Trees As Sentient Beings
by Sarah duPont "Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” ― Kahlil Gibran The Amazon Rainforests has the largest amassing of trees, holding three times more trees than stars in the Milky Way. There are around 390 billion trees-so many that they make...
AAF & Abaunza Group: Using River of Gold to help save the Amazon
To further and accomplish its mission to inspire change to protect and preserve the Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Aid Foundation is partnering with one of the world’s most successful experts in creating global change with film to use River of Gold & AAF’s other...
Journeys in Film hosts institute for Educators to introduce Common Core lesson plans aligned with Amazon Aid Foundation’s River of Gold
October 20-21, 2018: Journeys in Film | River of Gold: Teaching about Climate Change and Indigenous Rights with Film will take place at The Museum of Tolerance in cooperation with Journeys in Film, USC Rossier School of Education, and Amazon Aid Foundation. The...
Museum of Tolerance hosts Amazon Rainforest curriculum workshop & River of Gold Screening
Amazon Aid Foundation and the Museum of Tolerance will host a special screening of documentary RIVER OF GOLD, a film by Amazon Aid Foundation, on Sunday, October 21, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, CA. Q&A with filmmaker Sarah DuPont...
Sarah duPont honored by ImpactMania as a Woman of Impact
2017: Sarah duPont, mom of four, educator, filmmaker, and founder of Amazon Aid foundation, was honored last year by Impactmania as a "Woman of Impact." Impactmania is an online platform featuring people and projects that drive cultural, social, and economic impact....
Amazon Aid attends Vatican conference focusing on Pope Francis’ landmark environmental encyclical Praise Be
Sarah duPont of Amazon Aid Foundation attended the conference observing the anniversary of LAUDATO SI’: ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME in early July. This follows a visit Sarah made to the Vatican in February 2018 to screen Amazon Aid’s documentary River of Gold for a group of the Pope’s environmental advisors. The film focuses on illicit and unregulated gold mining in Peru and the environmental consequences for the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people of the region.
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