*Disappearing Act: Introduction

Do you know anything about the rainforests? Well its only probably one of the greatest sights in the world, and its quickly disappearing. The destruction of the rainforest has been going on fro sometime now, and we are a little late on trying to stop it. Some areas that are being destroyed have hit a record high in destruction rate (Amazon destruction: six football fields in a minute). What do you think will happen if theres not more rainforests left?
*Findings

In the Amazon rainforest alone, there are six football fields worth of trees taken down in just one minute. No one ever thinks of all the damage they are doing to the animals there, and to the world. Half out air comes from the rainforests in the world, its just hurting everyone. In many areas where there is deforestation, they are taking down the trees for commercial interests. One thing they are taken down for is the commercial interests of pasturelands. Some researchers found that the more deforestation there is, the economy slowed down with it (Butler, 2007). The main reasons for destruction are: logging, agriculture (shifted cultivators), cash crops and cattle ranching, fuelwood, large dams, the mining industry, colonization schemes, and tourism (Causes of Rainforest Destruction, 2005).
*Discussion

Many people don’t believe that the destruction of the rainforests causes any problems at all. We know that millions of people don’t even know anything about it at all, so something has to be done. As I said in the findings above, the main reasons for destruction are: logging, agriculture (shifted cultivators), cash crops and cattle ranching, fuelwood, and the mining industry. Logging is when companies mark mature trees, and cut them down for the timber trade. The logging companies say that it is “selective” logging, and claims that it lets everything grow back naturally in a save amount of time to re-cut it down. The next thing mentioned is shifted cultivators. This basically means farming areas that is very small-scaled. These small-scaled farming areas are moved into the rainforest, destroying it. Those people living in these areas allow road ways to be put into the area, which further damages the already crippled rainforest. Some of the people end up moving into the rainforest areas because they are pushed off their homelands. Another factor is cash crops, and cattle ranching. They grow crops, and keep re-growing them in the same spots. The also use fertilizers and pesticides on the plants to maximize their profits. With the cattle ranching, the cows basically out eat the land. They even eat the new sprouts of new trees; this causes nothing new to grow. When its of no use anymore they workers just move on and cut down trees again. Now I’ll move on to the fuelwood and its effects. 1.5 million people still live off of wood for heating their homes and cooking for their families. I know that doesn’t seem possible with all the new technology, but it really is possible. During the mining projects they clear off the land to work established projects. Along with mining projects it comes with terrible pollution like in the water, air, and land. We all know that nothing can survive in polluted habitats if they’ve never been exposed to it before. It al ends up with sad consequences (Causes of Rainforest Destruction, 2005).

A huge factor that helps tell the story of rainforest deforestation is the disappearing number of Indians in the Amazon rainforest. Then, at least five centuries ago, there were ten million Indians. Now, there numbers have diminished to below 200,000. Another researcher put the deforestation at “one and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second with tragic consequences for both developing and industrial countries.” The rainforest is doing a disappearing act on the world (The Disappearing Rainforests, 2005). After reading this information, and maybe even listening to it for the first time, how can people do this for a living? I couldn’t even imagine working for a living ripping down rainforests and knowing I am hurting the world. Not only that, but killing the homes of animals.
*Conclusion

Before I decided to make my research report on the disappearing rainforests, I didn’t know all the background information. Of course I knew that the rainforests are being destroyed everyday, but I never had real numbers behind the pictures on the television screen. The rainforests make a bigger impact on the world then I ever really knew, and now it will stay in my brain forever. The numbers of people who are not informed about the day to day life in the rainforests is extremely unsettling. People need to know about the affects we are putting on the world just for money. More people need to take a stand on the environmental issues at hand.
References
(Amazon destruction: six football fields a minute, 24 May, 2005). Greenpage. Retrieved
December 13, 2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/amazon-destruction.
Butler, R. (2007). Amazon Destruction: Why is the Amazon being destroyed in Brazil?
Retrieved December 13, 2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon_destruction.html.
(Causes of Rainforest Destruction, 2005). Save the Rainforest. Retrieved December 13,
2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_006.html.
(The disappearing rainforest, 1996). Raintree Nutrition. Retrieved December 13, 2007
from the World Wide Web: http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm.
(Rainforests, 2007). The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved December 13, 2007 from the
World Wide Web: http://www.nature.org/fainforests/.