As the Amazon fires spread, so too did these baseless statistics

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Topline : As the news of the fires in the Amazon rainforest spread, international outrage and condemnation also arose unquoted statistics: Amazon produces 20% of the world's oxygen. Emmanuel Macron tweeted . Actor Leonardo Dicaprio posted it on Instagram. CNN included it in coverage .

The only problem? No one knows where the number came from, and it doesn't seem to

• Mathematically, it is impossible for the Amazon to produce so much oxygen, said Jonathan Foley, the former executive director of the California Academy of Sciences and founder of Project Drawdown, a research group focused on k lima changes. & nbsp;
• Foley believes the number could have its origin in the fact that all tropical forests (including those in Africa and Indonesia) produce 20% of the oxygen from land-based sources.
• By combining land and oceans, which also produce oxygen, tropical forests make up only 10% of the world's oxygen. Foley estimates that it is only possible for the Amazon to produce 6%, and this reduces.

Still, even without worrying about oxygen, the Amazon is important to the environment, Foley said. It stores carbon, which, once released into the atmosphere through burning, produces hazardous carbon dioxide emissions that warm the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. In fact, Amazon stores 25% of the world's carbon, according to a 2015 paper published in Nature . & Nbsp;

"The more carbon that can be removed from the atmosphere and inserting more stable forms is a good thing, and forest vegetation is one of the good ways to store carbon," said Robin Chazdon, a professor at the University of Connecticut . & nbsp;

The Amazon is also a hotspot for biodiversity, or the thousands of species – including insects, wildlife and plants – that live in the rainforest. While the Amazon continues to burn, these species are in danger, Chazdon added.

In the end, the oxygen of the Amazon does not mean much, scientists say.There is plenty of oxygen in the atmosphere that has been built up for thousands of years.Although the Amazon was completely destroyed, the supply of oxygen into the atmosphere would not be in danger , said Foley. Oxygen levels are primarily regulated by long-term geological forces, such as plate tectonics, not oxygen from photosynthesis, he added.

"The Amazon is so precious and deforestation is a major problem for climate change, biodiversity and indigenous people living there, ”Foley said. "But we can scrap one thing from the doomsday list here, we don't have to worry about the world's oxygen levels."

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Topline : Like news of the fires in the Amazon rainforest spread, sparked international outrage and condemnation, as did an unquoted statistic: Amazon produces 20% of the world's oxygen, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted . out on Instagram. CNN included it in coverage.

The only problem? No one knows where the numbers came from, and that doesn't seem to be true.

• Mathematically, it's impossible for the Amazon to produce so much oxygen, said Jonathan Foley, the former CEO of the California Academy of Sciences and founder of Project Drawdown, a research group focused on climate change.
• Foley believes the number might have tt originates in all tropical forests (including those in Africa and Indonesia) producing 20% ​​of the oxygen from land-based sources.
• By combining land and ocean, which also produce oxygen, tropical forests make up only 10% of the world's oxygen. Foley estimates that it is only possible for the Amazon itself to produce 6%, and this reduces.

Still, even without worrying about oxygen, the Amazon is important to the environment, Foley said. It stores carbon, which, once released into the atmosphere through burning, produces hazardous carbon dioxide emissions that warm the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. In fact, Amazon stores 25% of the world's carbon, according to a 2015 paper published in Nature .

"The more carbon that can be taken out of the atmosphere and put into more stable forms is a good thing, and forest vegetation is one of the good ways to store carbon," said Robin Chazdon, a professor at the University of Connecticut.

The Amazon is also a hotspot for biodiversity, or the thousands of species – including insects, wildlife and plants – that live in the rainforest. While the Amazon continues to burn, these species are at risk, Chazdon added.

In the end, the oxygen from the Amazon doesn't mean that much, scientists say. There is plenty of oxygen in the atmosphere that has been built up over thousands of years. Even if the Amazon was completely destroyed, the supply of oxygen into the atmosphere would not be at risk, Foley said. Oxygen levels are primarily regulated by long-term geological forces, such as plate tectonics, not oxygen from photosynthesis, he added.

"The Amazon is so precious and deforestation is a major problem for climate change, biodiversity and indigenous peoples living there," Foley said. "But we can itch a thing from the doomsday list here, we don't have to worry about the world's oxygen level. "