I love writing Op-eds. Sometimes you get lucky and they are published, more often newspapers choose something based on their agenda instead of what matters most. Sometimes your writing just sucks and there are too many stories on your subject already.

Last week I wrote about the Amazon Rainforest Fires. They’ve been burning far too long for so many media outlets to have not reported on them, and yet these fires got virtually no press until just last week. I’m tired of waiting for mass news outlets to respond.

While Americans argue about who to vote for in fifteen months, which celebrity comment to get angry over, and whether pineapple belongs on pizza or not, the lungs of the planet has been burning to ash.

The Amazon Rainforest is burning as you read this.

It is known to experience some wildfires around this time of year. That’s natural. This month old devastation is not.

There is a fire tearing through the most important ecosystem on the planet and I just found out about it last week. Many of us are still just learning of this disaster. Why?

Is our media that blind? Or are they as clueless as we are?

I’ve been following the growing tensions in Brazil for months now. The situation mimics the poverty and struggle of the people suffering in Venezuela. The lack of media coverage is baffling, but I fear that many news outlets don’t know how to properly report these stories or that these governments are restricting access for accurate coverage.

Independent news outlets on YouTube have become my main source. Personal accounts and footage from Brazilians as they protest their government’s mishandling of their country and this situation are appearing everywhere online. They leave me feeling hopeless.

The comments on these posts are full of defeat.

Some blame Climate Change others believe that farmers set illegal fires or accuse Brazil’s leaders for causing the blazes for political reasons. All I know is that the earth’s lungs are being scorched.

It’s like the planet is smoking a massive cigarette and we’re just standing around hoping it doesn’t get cancer. But this is not the time to give up. There are things even Americans can do.

Giving up never saved anyone or anything. It presents no solutions.

Every single person in this country, on this planet, can support the Brazilian protesters, share their stories and give this tragedy more coverage. Everyone can call, write, and track down our leaders and demand action. Best of all, each of us can plant something.

If you own in a house, plant at least one tree. If you rent an apartment, condo, townhouse, or studio, fill it with potted plants and trees. Find a community garden. Start a community garden.

Do not give in. Do not let up. This is not the time to panic, nor is it the time to turn away.

The fire is at our backs.

We can ignore it and wait to burn, or we can step in and work together to ensure that this fire sparks a positive outcome. This writer is currently tending her garden and planting more trees.

Will you join me?