Ever since the news about what’s going on with the Amazon has sprung-up, we’ve had surges of people online and in real life hopping on the bandwagon and wanting drastic action to be taken against the Brazilian government for its activities.

While the Amazon is important, we’re seeing people who didn’t really give two-shits about the environment before, speaking-up and acting like they care, when plenty didn’t raise a fuss with their own countries polluting and environmentally damaging practices beforehand.

Not only do I find it very hypocritical, but it also makes it seriously hard for me to believe at least half of these people actually care about the environment, and aren’t just joining the circlejerk to boost their own egos.

As an Australian, I’ve felt for a long time that our current government doesn’t care enough about the current environmental issues.

Deforestation and illegal fishing activities, widespread drought, having some of the most pollutive coal power stations in the world and the governments own open support for coal usage over cleaner energy alternatives, the illegal dumping of oils and pollutants into the Great Barrier Reef which has bleached the World Heritage Site and ruined it’s ecosystem and lack of care from the government; are just a few of the issues plaguing Australia’s current environmental crisis.

So far, I’ve taken small steps in donating to various environmental and animal causes like the RSPCA, WWF, and Save the Reef, however I’m the first to admit that like many, can still do much more.

Just like if these people really cared about the environment, I think they should focus on their own country first.

Whether it’s Australia, China, U.S., UK, or almost any other nation on the planet, they’ve all got a host of their own environmental problems to worry about, and should be anyone’s first priority.

People focusing on their own country is the easiest and most accessible way that they can make real change, through the power of voting, donations to various causes, joining volunteer environmentalist groups, and electing the right States representatives and government officials such as the Environmental Minister to make actual change.

Joining the Amazon circlejerk and complaining about it online does nothing.

People who want to make a difference need to get off their asses and do something about it, but more importantly - need to focus on making real change locally first, instead of wasting time and energy on nations on the other side of the world that you can’t do a damned thing about, unless perhaps the U.S government or UN decides to take drastic action (which they won’t).