WHY ARE THE RAINFORESTS SO
IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE?

For many reasons. From the trees we get wood for building our houses, furniture, musical instruments, boats and so much more.

We also get paper from the trees so we can read the funnies, do our home work and read books about the rainforests.

Trees give us fuel so we can be warm in the winter. In earlier years before there were stoves, people used the wood for cooking too.

Without the trees, we wouldn't have very much fresh air because they give off oxygen that we need to breath. They also trap dust for us in their leaves.

We get food from the trees, some of them we talked about earlier.

Some of the tools your dad might use could be made from wood too.

Scientists have discovered medicines from some of the plants.

So you see, the rainforests are very important for people and these reasons here are just a very few.

ARE THERE PEOPLE
LIVING IN THE RAINFORESTS?

In some of them there still are, but not as many. They live in small groups called "tribes" and they know how to survive by using the trees for food, shelter and medicine.
They don't plow the land or destroy it.
Most of these tribes live in the forests of Africa, South America and South East Asia and are known as hunter-gatherers.
They kill animals for food by climbing the trees and using bows and arrows or blow pipes.
They also know what berries, seeds and roots are safe to eat. They keep each of their groups small so there will be enough for everyone to eat.

ARE THE RAINFORESTS IN TROUBLE?
WHY?

The rainforests are in big trouble for many reasons.
Nature helps destroy the forests a little from diseases, forest fires and hurricanes.
The biggest destruction has been caused by people in these ways.

Pollution. This is caused from cars, factories, power stations and aerosols. These all make invisible gases that are sent out into the air, mix with water droplets in the air and makes what is called "acid rain". Winds can carry these gases a very long way also causing "acid snow" The acid rain or snow falls on the trees, rivers, lakes and the soil, killing the trees.
Over half of the rainforests in Germany have been killed by acid rain.

Some Farmers destroy the rainforest by cutting down the trees, burning the under brush and plowing the soil using big machines to grow crops.
Because the soil is so poor, the crops can not be grown in that same field again, so they just move on cutting down more trees and burning more brush leaving the previous fields abandoned.
Trees take a very long time to grow and if farmers keep cutting and burning, the forests will be used up. Large areas are also cleared so cattle can graze.

Flooding kills the forests too. Flooding is caused by the building of dams. Dams are used to power electricity.

The cutting of hardwood trees to make mahogany furniture also can deplete the rainforest.

Breaking the tops of trees and carving into the bark also kills.

Mining kills the rainforest also because roads are being built, again, cutting down the trees to make roads so people can get inside and maybe create a town to live in.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO PEOPLE IF
THE RAINFOREST IS GONE?

Very simply, people will be gone too and this is why.
Remember we talked about the gases going up into the air? There is a layer above us that protects us from the sun called the "ozone layer", well these gases are punching holes in this ozone layer making the sun hotter on the earth.
The rainforests don't like all that heat, so it doesn't rain as much as it used to and the rainforests die from lack of water and the earth heats up more.
Without the rainforests, scientists cannot continue to explore the plants for more medicines that could end diseases like cancer and others.
Killing of the rainforests also is killing the tribes that are living there because their food and water is being poisoned. This is all very sad for people and the future of our beautiful earth.

Most of the graphics on this page used
were made for use ONLY on my pages.
Please be kind and do not take them.

This many people have visited the rainforest 2.