Biden visits Amazon rainforest, a first for an American president

MANAUS, Brazil — Sunday was the first time a sitting U.S. president visits this city in the middle of the rainforest. A. Two months before a successor who is much less supportive of that endeavor takes office, the president traveled to the Amazon to highlight the significance of addressing climate change.

Using his Marine One helicopter, Biden conducted a spectacular aerial survey of this section of the largest tropical rainforest in the world. He also toured Museu da Amazônia, a “living museum” that highlights the forest’s varied ecosystem. During a respite between the end of one international summit in Lima, Peru, and the start of another in Rio de Janeiro, he visited this isolated location.

As he signed a U.S. contract, he proudly stated, “I am the first sitting president to visit the Amazon.”. S. . decree establishing Nov. International Conservation Day is observed on the 17th. According to him, “the only existential threat to all our nations, to all humanity,” is climate change. “”.

Carlos Nobre, a Brazilian Nobel laureate and an authority on the effects of climate change on the Amazon, accompanied him as he flew in Marine One over the verdant rainforest, with expansive views of the Amazon River. Evidence of fire damage and shore erosion was examined by the team.

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Be mindful of the environment and climate.

“The world’s forests are the most potent tools to combat climate change,” Biden stated.

This trip was part of another attempt to draw attention to a part of Biden’s agenda that President-elect Donald Trump is threatening. In addition to calling climate change a hoax, Trump has made it clear that he would shift federal policy away from tackling it. It is anticipated that, like he did during his first term in office, he will withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Accord, an international pact that binds nations to lowering carbon emissions.

Chris Wright, the leader of the fracking firm Liberty Energy and a debunker of conventional climate science, was also named Trump’s energy secretary on Saturday. Running a foundation that advocates for increased production of fossil fuels, Wright argues that the climate crisis is a myth.

“One of the main focuses of my presidency has been combating climate change,” Biden declared in Brazil. “We don’t have to decide between the economy and the environment. We can accomplish both. “”.

“It’s no secret that I’m leaving office in January,” he continued. If my successor and my nation decide to do so, I will leave them with a solid foundation upon which to build. He stated that “nobody, nobody, can reverse it,” despite the fact that some people may reject or postpone the climate revolution. “.”.

Biden’s visit was held in Manaus, a city of over two million people that is isolated from Brazil’s main highway system and located along the Amazon River.

Biden was particularly moved by what he saw during the aerial tour, according to officials. Speaking under condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the president’s experience, a senior administration official stated, “When you go up and tour as we did with the president, you see the fingerprints of climate change all over this magnificent landscape, whether it’s the drought or the scaring from the wildfires.”. However, we also witnessed this on the ground, and it shows us the amazing blueprint we have to try to take advantage of the chance nature gives us to fight climate change. “.”.

When Biden inquired about the effects of forest fires during the helicopter ride, the official stated that “96 percent of the fires in the Amazon are caused by people.”. They start fires. 96 percent of fires in the American West, on the other hand, are caused by lightning strikes, severe weather, power line outages, etc. Thus, these are criminal activities that are done with intent. “.”.

Following the flight, Biden spoke with local Indigenous leaders and environmentalists at the Museu da Amazônia. The museum is situated on a tiny section of the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve, a study area in what many people believe to be the Amazon River’s birthplace and the entrance to the Amazon.

Additionally, Biden announced $50 million in new donations to the Amazon Fund, which supports rainforest conservation. Of the $500 million he intended to contribute to the fund over the ensuing years, that amounts to a $100 million commitment overall.

“Who knows? Maybe he’ll come down here and see the forest and see the damage being done from drought and other things and change his mind about climate change,” a senior administration official said in response to a question about whether Trump can be expected to keep the commitment. In order to be honest, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Biden initially paused during the museum tour when a small group of people stood in front of him and rattled maracas as part of a welcome ceremony. For a few minutes, the president addressed the welcoming party alongside his daughter Ashley Biden and granddaughter Natalie Biden. He then stopped by a pond with big lily pads to talk with a few more guides.

Although Biden is the first president to visit the Amazon in his current role, Theodore Roosevelt made a trip there after losing the 1912 election, when he was running for a third term.

Roosevelt, who was in his fifties at the time, referred to it as his “last chance to be a boy.”. The voyage was perilous, involving runs-ins with piranhas and alligators as well as episodes of hunger and malaria.

Biden’s journey wasn’t as good. He was given an aerial tour by military helicopters while under strict security. For just a few hours, he was on the ground in a massive limousine as Brazilians stood in the median strip of a highway and lined the streets, waving and filming with their cellphones as the motorcade went by.

“The fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity and generations to come,” the president said, sounding almost nostalgic as he discussed challenges he will not be participating in as a government official. “.”.