What is destroying the worlds rainforests?
The driving forces behind rainforest loss are: agriculture, cattle raising, logging, oil and gas pipelines and plantations. Often, a single road will expose deep parts of the forest to slash-and-burn farming by new settlers. When an area can no longer provide food, usually due to topsoil erosion from this unsustainable farming practice, settlers move on to burn a new plot. According to a report by Friends of the Earth, as much as 80 percent of global rainforest destruction is caused by conversion of forests into agricultural land. Where is it occurring? The worst destruction is in Brazil, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia, but there is also widespread forest clearing in other parts of South America and Mexico. Why save the rainforests? The rainforest is home to over fifty percent of all plants and animals on earth. It is the earth’s living lungs–it breathes in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen. Some rainforests are an unexplored frontier, with all kinds of new animals and even new tr
