Rainforests have many plants with medicinal uses and in fact, there are more than 121 natural remedies found in the rainforest. And, to prove that this isn’t just about essential oils or homemade remedies, 70 percent of cancer-treating plants only grow in rainforests and a fourth of cancer fighting organisms live in the Amazon. Which is rather unfortunate, considering that a fifth of the Amazon has now been destroyed by deforestation. In fact, the Amazon rainforest is actually the largest deforestation front in the world, which if continued, will be tremendously devastating. According to World Wide Fund, the Amazon is home to a tenth of known species on Earth. And according to National Geographic, there are estimated to be around forty thousand types of plants, 1,300 bird species, three thousand fish species, 430 mammal species, and over two million types of insects. Personally, I would like to see many of these animals someday. Or at the very least, I would like my children to have the opportunity to see all that Earth has to offer. With deforestation, that might not happen. Many of you might not care about these animals the way I do, though. But protecting rainforests isn’t just about the wildlife they hold. The Amazon also holds around 400-500 indigenous tribes, around fifty of which have not come into contact with the modern world yet. By destroying this rainforest, those people will have their home and way of life taken from them. The Amazon basin also holds around a fifth of the world’s fresh water and produces 20% of the oxygen. The world already has an issue with water; we don’t need to make it bigger. Plus, not only does deforestation halt oxygen production, it also worsens the world’s already growing problem of climate change. Basically, forests store massive amounts of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. So when these plants are killed, they release this gas, adding to the massive amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. In fact, tropical deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s heat-trapping emissions, which is equivalent to the annual tailpipe emissions of 600 million cars. Forests also protect watersheds and regulate water; their canopies allow rain to slowly trickle down instead of flooding the surrounding areas. Without this protective canopy, the high amounts of rainfall in tropical areas would turn cropland and pastures into mudslides, which would harm local communities. So please, I am begging you, though it isn’t a major problem in America, we need to help keep these places safe from any illegal loggers or immoral cutting practices for the wildlife, people around the world, and even future generations.
