Andrew, Alaina, Erika, Jenna

Mrs. Harrell

October 9, 2017

Awareness Project

Imagine waking up to the people around you panicking as they look outside and see huge

bulldozers and loud chainsaws demolishing the environment around them. This is exactly what is

happening in rainforests. The worlds rainforests are disappearing at a rate of 6,000 acres an

hour ("Where Are the Rainforests?). These places being destroyed are also homes to many

tribal people, who remain uncontacted about their homes being destroyed, as well as helpless

animals. Deforestation threatens to destroy the very ecosystem that many people and things live

in. Rainforest deforestation is a problem that is affecting many things including animals, plants,

and indigenous tribes.

The worlds rainforests are home to more than two thirds of the worlds plant species and

more than half of the worlds animals (Where Are the Rainforests?). As rainforests continue to

be cut down, these plants and animals are affected. Hundreds of animals are displaced everyday

due to deforestation. A few examples of the many animals perpetrated by deforestation would be

the sloth, toucan, and spidermonkey. Not only animals are affected, but also thousands of plant

species. The rainforest is home to many unique and interesting plant species such as carnivorous

plants, orchids, and the cacao plant. These unique plants can only be found in the rainforest and

without the world's rainforests, however, all these plants would become extinct. Both plants and

animals of the rainforests are in danger of becoming extinct due to their environment being
destroyed, and this may happen much sooner than you would think. Experts estimate that the

last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years (Rainforest Statistics

Facts).

Not only are plants and animals affected, but also people. There are about 50,000,000

tribal people living in world's rainforests (Where Are the Rainforests?). These people depend

on the resources the rainforest provides in order to live. Rainforest deforestation drastically

affects these people because without the rainforests these tribal people will not have a home, a

source of food/water, or any shelter. Some examples of these people living in the rainforests are

The Huli, The Pygmies, and The Yanomami. These tribes have lived here for hundreds of years,

when did we get the right to destroy their home? At the rate that we are losing our rainforests

these people may all be displaced and without a home in as little as 40 years. Many of these

tribes are hunter gatherers which means they completely depend on their environment for food

and shelter. Without any animals to hunt or plants to eat these people would all die.

Many people think and may argue that rainforest destruction does not affect them simply

because it is not directly affecting them now. People around the world are not properly educated

about the dangers of losing our rainforests which is one major contribution to people's beliefs

that rainforests do not have anything to do with their everyday life. Many think they know about

what is going on in the rainforests, but they do not know what is going on to the full extent. For

example, many people are aware of the animals and people losing their homes, as well as plants

being destroyed, but one thing many people do not know is what rate we are losing them at.

Another thing people are not aware of is that rainforests helps stabilize Earths climate. The

abundant amount of trees and plants absorb excess carbon dioxide in the air. A major effect of

too much carbon dioxide in the air is climate change. While many human activities contribute to
releasing carbon dioxide into the air, burning and cutting down trees is also a major contributor,

both of which we do to destroy rainforests (Mongabay). It is estimated that more than 1.5

billion tons of carbon dioxide are released to the atmosphere due to deforestation, mainly the

cutting and burning of forests, every year (Penman). This means that we are destroying areas of

the world that reduce climate change, while also making climate change more abundant on Earth.

Plants, animals, and indigenous tribes are all affected by rainforest deforestation. The

world's rainforests are home to thousands of unique plant and animal species along with millions

of people. At the current rate of deforestation, all of the world's rainforests will be gone by 2060.

Imagine a world without all the amazing plants and animals found in the rainforest. Not only

that, but the millions of people who live there would die. It is up to us to save the rainforests and

everything that they are home to before it is too late.

Works Cited
 Deforestation. WWF, World Wildlife Fund,

www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation.

Mongabay. Why Are Rainforests Important? Mongabay.com, 2004,

https://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/401.html

Penman, Ali. Web Smart Media. CLIMATE & WEATHER. Deforestation and Climate

Change, www.climateandweather.net/global-warming/deforestation.html.

Rainforest Statistics Facts, www.savetheamazon.org/rainforeststats.htm.

Saving the Rainforest,

www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/preserve.html.

http://starttocareoryoullhavenoair.weebly.com/