Save the Rainforests
The destruction of the rainforests is one of the most crucial environmental issues of our time. It is also one of the most misunderstood and neglected. There has been so much propaganda and publicity attached to this crisis that "Save the Rainforests" is becoming almost as cliche as "Save the Whales." Why don't we take this problem more seriously? Is it because we, as Americans, simply don't understand the devastating, long-terms consequences that continued deforestation of the rainforests would have? Is it because our own government is involved in the deforestation, either directly or by financing its development? Or is it because we live in a society of excessive consumption, oblivious to the problems that don't directly affect us in some tangible way? The facts are out there, and the results of continued deforestation of tropical rainforests are very real and becoming more evident everyday. It is a tremendous global concern, one that we can only resolve by popping our protective bubble of ignorance and taking action.Rainforests are the Earth's oldest living ecosystems. They cover only about 6% of the Earth's land mass, yet they are home to more than half the plant and animal species in the world (de Blig, Muller, 2
Tropical plants serve as a vital resource for the eradication of disease, but we could easily lose these plants if these ecosystems and their indigenous cultures are not preserved. One step towards saving them is to increase public knowledge of the importance of rainforest medicine. Why not share this information with the thousands of people who rely on these medicines to treat their cancers and other life-threatening diseases? Their support of the preservation of the rainforests would be immense and the word would inevitably spread. To put it simply, we need to break the cycle of laziness and get pro-active. It is not enough to simply be aware anymore. The roots of this crisis are not "out there" in the rainforest, but embedded in the way we live. They lie in the way we as humans have excessively and unsustainably consumed the Earth's natural resources. The world's economic systems have failed to set a proper value on the environment and we continue to misuse and exploit it. We must find sustainable ways to live if biological diversity, and ultimately the rainforests, are to be conserved. World Resource Institute, http://www.wri.org, November 1999. 28). A typical four square patch of rainforest contains as many as 1500 species of flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 125 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 of reptiles, 60 of amphibians, and 150 different types of butterflies (National Academy of Sciences, 1997). In the Amazon Basin, 18,000 square miles of rainforest is lost per year due to logging, mining, oil drilling, and clearing large tracts of land for cattle ranches and highways. There are dozens of beneficial reasons for protecting this land from deforestation, but I will touch on a two that I feel are particularly critical. Jackson, D. "Searching for Medicinal Wealth in Amazonia," Smithsonian, February 1989. Are there other viable solutions to rainforest deforestation? One idea is sustainable development within the rainforest; in other words, creating a balanced economic system where the integrity of the ecosystem is maintained while the human needs of the present are met without compromising the needs of the future. (RAN, 1999). Sustainably harvested rainforest products are goods that can be replenished such as fruits, nuts and oils. However, it is believed that sustainable products will have a very minimal economic impact because most transnational companies are only interested in huge profi
Some common words found in the essay are:
Oxford University, Change IPCC, Action Network, Stewardship Council, Health Organization, Cancer Institute, Amazon Basin, Save Whales, Blig Muller, Rainforests Earth's, global warming, carbon dioxide, ran 1999, wri 1999, plant animal, plant animal species, animal species, camp jenner zalisko, greenhouse gases, tropical rainforests, arms camp jenner, biological diversity, continued deforestation, rainforest action network, de blig muller,
Approximate Word count = 1652
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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