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Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues: Rainforests
by George Clinton
Imagine you are a three-toed sloth traveling at one-sixth of a mile per hour.
You are desperately trying to escape humans who are successfully destroying
the trees that are your home; the trees you cannot live without. Without
this forest how will you survive?
A tropical rainforest is important to everyone, even if you don't know it.
Sadly, rainforests and its inhabitants are being destroyed.
You can't help but wonder, "How many of those extinct species could have
provided us with a cure for AIDS, HIV or another deadly disease?"
Most medicines come from the rainforests of the world. One such medicine
derived from the rosy periwinkle, a small flower that grows only in the
jungles of Madagascar. This flower contains chemicals that fight against
leukemia. Now, thanks to the rosy periwinkle, leukemia patients have a 70%
chance of recovery.
Over half of the species on Earth make their homes in the rainforest, which
now cover only 6% of Earth's land area. The rainforest is populated by some
of the most fascinating animals on Earth.
An estimated 80-85% of rainforest species have not yet been discovered and
they might never be discovered if humans continue to cut down trees for
lumber or burn acres of forest for farmland and cattle grazing.
Without the rainforests you wouldn't have chocolate bars, chewing gum, or
even poultry, to name a few common products. They all originated in the
world's rainforests.
If the destruction of the rainforests continue then many more animals will
become extinct. If more species become extinct or threatened, the food chain
will be affected. For instance, there are rainforest crabs that eat only
coconuts. If the tree that produces the coconuts dies out, so will the
rainforest crab and all of the animals that eat the rainforest crabs. And the
fig flower that relies on only one species of wasps as a pollinator would be
in danger if the wasps became extinct.
In the tropical rainforests, all animals have their own special and unique
way of surviving. There are insects that mimic other animals, or even plants,
to protect themselves from predators. They have evolved over millions of
years to outsmart their natural enemies, however they have not evolved to
survive and live with humans and their machinery.
Humans are also dependent on the rainforests. They are important climate
mediators, contributing to the stability of global weather patterns. They
recycle all of the rainfall they receive. That protects the areas downstream
from disastrous floods or droughts.
How will the disappearance of the forests affect our weather? What will
happen to the people who have lived in the rainforest for centuries? What
will our world be like without the jungle?
The solution is not as simple as it might seem, but it can be done with help
from everyone. First, don't purchase items made from rainforest wood. You
can write letters to lumber companies explaining your concerns. Don't eat
beef from cows that you know were raised on rainforest land. If you do this
you can help preserve Earth's wondrous forests.
Rainforests are important to our everyday lives and everyone should do their
part to save them.
Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues
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