Amazon Rainforest Deforestation

What?
What am I trying to save? I am trying to save the rainforests around the Earth. They once covered 14% of the
Earth’s surface, but now, they cover less than 6% of the surface, and they are declining fast. Soon, in the next
40 years, all the rainforests will be gone unless we can save them.

Where?
Where am I trying to conserve rainforests? I am trying to conserve all the rainforests, but I am focusing
mainly on the Amazonian Rainforests of South America. The Amazon Rainforests cover approximately 54% of
all the remaining rainforest on the globe, but it is disappearing fast.

Rainforest Spread Around the Globe

Amazon Rainforest
Other
46
54
When?
When will the rainforests be gone? Once upon a time, the rainforests once covered over 14% of the Earth’s
surface, but thanks to Human interference, it is currently less than 6%. Almost every second, about one acre of
rainforest is destroyed. The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most affected rainforests, because it is
approximately 54% of all the rainforests on Earth. If present rates of destruction continue, half our remaining
rainforests will be gone by the year 2025, and by 2060 there will be no rainforests left. The Amazon rainforest
is predicted to be utterly decimated in about 15-25 years. We could have no more Amazon Jungle within our
lifetime.

Why?
Why does saving the rainforest matter? Saving the Amazon Rainforest is very important. One very important
reason is because of our need of oxygen. The Amazon Rainforest is called the lungs of the Earth. Without it we
will have much less oxygen in the air. Roughly about 20% of all oxygen will be gone. Also a typical four-mile
square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 species of flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 125
mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, 60 species of amphibians, and 150 different
species of butterflies. Also 37% of all medicines prescribed in the US have active ingredients derived from
rainforest plants, and scientists have only tested about 1%-2% of all the species of plants just in the Amazon.
This is just like the extinction of dinosaurs. We are presently experiencing the largest mass extinction since the
death of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, but only this time, it’s occurring at a much faster rate, and
the cause was not because of a meteor, it is us. Consider it like a mass homicide plant, animal, and insect
species.
Who?
Who is trying to saving the rainforests? There are many groups that are trying to save rainforests. One is the
RAN, or the Rainforest Action Network. Another is the NWF, or the National Wildlife Federation. There are
many groups out there that you can find. Remember, every one can help save the rainforests. Even if you can’t
help, then just spread the word. If we all work together, then we can save the rainforests.