Rainforests cover about 6-7% of the earth's surface, but contain 50% of all the plant and animal life on earth. Many types of foods are found in the rain forests including cocoa, coffee, tea, sugar, rice, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Also, many medicines have been developed from rainforest plants such as quinine, aspirin, and digitalis. A patch of rainforest the size of a village or small town most likely will contain up to:
1,500 species of flowering plants750 species of trees
125 species of mammals
400 species of birds
100 species of reptiles
60 species of amphibians
150 species of butterflies
and over 50,000 different species of insects
There are a few simple things you can do to help save to rainforest!
Recycling is the easiest thing you could do. If you have bottles or cans, try to bring them to your local recycling center. Make sure your school recycles its paper waste - if not, ask your teacher if you can get one to help save the rainforests. Make it a class project! The more we recycle the less demand there is for trees to be cut.
Demand for wood forces poor nations to cut forests. Things made of tropical hardwoods (furniture,doors, etc.) may hurt the rainforests. See if the wood is marked as cut from "sustainable" forests - those are ones that are planted, harvested and replanted for commercial use.
Don't buy products made from ivory, coral, reptile skins,tortoise shells, or cat pelts - help protect the endangered species of the rainforest.
DO buy nuts, cookies and cereals made from rainforest products. It gives farmers there a reason to KEEP the trees & plants and not cut them down for other crops.
A lot of beef used in fast food hamburgers comes from places where rainforests were cut (and continue to be cut) to make grazing land for cattle. Ask next time you buy a burger if they know where their beef was raised... you might educate them as well as yourself!
Use less paper. If you have room on a sheet of paper to write more on it, use that sheet instead of getting another one. If you only need to write a little bit, don't use a big sheet of paper. Use a sheet of smaller paper, or if you have large scrap paper, rip off a piece.
Support organizations like Rainforest Action Network.
Try to buy things that are made out of recycled items. If there is an item with an unreasonable amount of wrapping, don't buy it.
Read and watch the news... sometimes boycotts are organized to avoid using a product because it hurts the rainforests... support those boycotts and make a difference.
Write letters to your elected officials - senators, congressman (in the USA) may be voting on bills that affect the rainforests. Ask them what their stand is on rainforests.