Save the Rainforest

The tropical rainforests are home to the greatest variety of animals and plants on eath. Yet, at the present rate of destruction, there will be little remaining by the year 2035.

Threats to the rainforest

There are more people on earth today than at any time in history. They both food and the land which to grow it. Rainforest is being destroyed as people clear land to make room for housing and farming.

Almost all of the remaining rainforest is found in Third World countries. These poor nations see the forest as a valuable resource to be sold for profit. In some countries, the sale of timber can finance much-needed hospitals and schools, as well as aid in eco-nomic growth.

What is it?

Occupying 4 million square miles of the wettest land in the world, the evergreen tropical rainforest is a com-plex habitat. Its animal and plant communities coexist in a unique balance with a cli-mate that they largely create themselves. Nearly all life is concentrated in the treetops.

All life at risk

The rainforest is vital to man’s survival. The plants it contains are used for both food and medicine. One in 10 of the most commonly used medi-cines are derived from plants of the rainforest.

More importantly, the earth’s atmosphere is sus-tained by the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange that takes place when plants con-vert sunlight into energy. The rainforest, with its many plants, plays a huge role.

As the rainforest is burned, millions of tons of carbon dioxide are released into the air. This upsets the balance of atmospheric gases and con-tributes to global warming known as the greenhouse effect. The rainforest also helps to regulate rainfall and wind currents by absorbing much of the harmful solar energy. Its destruction would affect weather patterns throughout the world.

The continued destruction of the rainforests will not only kills plants and animals, but also will adversely affect the earth’s atmosphere. Rain-forests absorb a great deal of solar energy. If they are destroyed, the earth will likely experience global warming.