Deforestation 2
A decade ago the rain forests seldom came up in every day conversation. Today the tropical woodland is the theme and setting for popular movies such as the Medicine Man, and Arachnophobia. In addition there is an International restaurant chain called the Rain Forest Cafe, the cafe has a rain forest theme, and is located in such countries as the United States, England, and Australia. The Rain Forest Cafe actually donates a percentage of their profits toward rain forest conservation. Rain forests are one of the most beautiful, important, and complex ecosystems on the planet. There are ten billion acres of forest that exist on the earth today (Miller and Tangley xv). A forest is classified as a rain forest when it has from about 80 to 120 inches of rainfall a year (Gay 1). The coloring of some animals acts as protection from other animals. Year round the rain forest maintains nearly a perfect temperature of 75 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit (Gay 8). Due to the rain forest climate the forests contain the most diversity of plants and animals on earth. Another reason for the forests having the most diversity on earth might be that rain forests are the oldest ecosystems on earth. It would probably take only a few hours of poking ar
More than half of all the plant species in the rain forests are trees. The rate of deforestation has risen since the 1500's, and more plant and animal species have died each year. An area of 125,000 square miles disappears every year, and along with it thousands of plant and animal species that will never be seen again (Richardson 106). When rain forests are cut down, the large animals of the forests, such as leopards and apes have a tough time surviving in smaller habitats. This is one of the major factors in the extinction of the animals in the rain forests. The possible usefulness of forest materials to medicine, agriculture, and industry has only just begun to be explored. "At a snap of the fingers, an acre of tropical rain forest literally disappears" (Gay 11). In spite of the fact that forest products are very useful to humans, less than 50 percent of the original tropical rain forests remain (Vandermeer and Perfecto10). At this rate of deforestation, all tropical rain forests will be gone in a very short amount of time. Deforestation is a direct result of many forces in the world that cannot be changed overnight, but there is a growing awareness of the importance of the tropical rain forests. Less than 5 million acres of tropical rain forests are protected in parks and wilderness areas (Gay 8). "Numerous environmental groups worldwide call for boycotts of rainforest timber in order to slow down forest devastation" (Mitchell 23). If people do not act now, then the world will never be able to slow down the destruction of rain forests. Violations by loggers are frequent and because of the few government monitors, loggers illegally cut down many acres every year. No law specifically protects endangered forests, so laws to save endangered species are used to save the forests. "Federal laws allow logging on the remaining 3.3 million acres that belong to lumber companies and other private owners" (Gay 12). In order to stop rain forest destruction logging has to be shut down in tropical rain forests. Tropical rain forests that are being cut down at an alarming rate have many uses in every day life, but are more useful left alone. Every year 12 million acres of tropical rain forests are cut down for logging, farming, cattle ranching, mining, timber, and other wood products (Tangley 69). This is an outrage to many people that hear about the forests being cut down, but not many people do anything to help correct the problem. The tropical rain forest wood is converted to charcoal to fuel steel and brick factories, and cement plants. The fruits and berries from the forests are exported to and imported by many nations wor
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Approximate Word count = 1794
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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