Deforesting the Amazon Abstract

Life in the Amazon

The environment is a big concern of mine and of many people in our country. Our environment is slowly being destroyed and it is not just affecting animals and plants, it is gradually affecting us humans as well. Every year about 20 thousand hectares of the Amazon rainforest are lost to cattle ranching, logging, farming and other temporary purposes. Scientist predict that our rainforest could be depleted in as little as 40 years. Oxygen levels are going down and carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere is quickly rising. Trees shouldn’t should not be cut down in such large quantities; they should be protected to keep the world safe for generations to come.

Some people argue that cutting down trees from the forests generate jobs and provide economic security, truth is it just does the opposite. With the new technology available, cutting vast areas of forest can be done by one person with heavy machinery and it does not provide economic security in the long run because a rainforest is not easily renewable. Cattle ranching has risen to be one of the top grossing activities for Brazil in this decade and has proven to overtake competition around the world. Brazil priority is to be an exporting power not environmental protection. Although we cant blame them to want to be No. 1, there is a certain limit for everything and the deforestation has to be stopped.

The Amazon rainforest is home to many different species of animals and some only seen in this specific forest. Some of these species have become extinct because of the continuous destruction of their home. With all the technology and machinery we bring into the forests. Mother nature doesn’t stand a chance at survival. Why are we cutting it down? Why do we need rainforest?

The forests are essential to the earth’s ecosystem not just because of the oxygen they give out but for all the purposes they serve. Many of the plants found in the Amazon rainforest have the potential to serve us medicinally because 70% of them contain cancer fighting agents and are awaiting research. There are currently 121 medical prescription drugs that are derived from different plants in the Amazon. These prescriptions were obtained from only 2% of the plants that have been studied in the Amazon rainforest leaving 98% of the plant species untested. There is incredible potential in finding a cure for AIDS, HIV or other leading causes of death in the world. Protecting this forest would beneficial to our future and those of future generations.

It is time to change the significance of forests. We need to make them more valuable standing that what they currently are cut down. We need to make people realize that they are helping destroy the Amazon by purchasing products that in some way or another are connected to deforestation. We might be the last generation able to make a significant change.