SPEAK FOR THE TREES
SAVE THE AMAZON RAINFOREST
The Amazon Rainforest Helps YOU!
- This rainforest contains 90-140 billion tons of carbon.
- Carbon helps to stabilize global and local climates.
- When rainforests are destroyed, it sends copious amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
- This can then cause catastrophic consequences all over the globe.
Causes
- Logging
- Heavy machinery destroys large portions of the rainforest for those selected logs
- Fuel Wood
- Forests are over-cut because there has to be enough wood to supply these people
- Agriculture
- Farmers do not care for the land properly
- The land is stripped of nutrients and becomes barren
- Tourism
- They clear areas to build roads
Consequences
Inhabitants of the Amazon
- 30 million people, including 350 indigenous ethnic groups, depend on the Amazon for agriculture, food, shelter, clothing, and medicine.
- Without the Amazon Rainforest, these groups of people will be without a home and will be forced to relocate.
Amazonian Species
- Millions of species call the amazon their home.
- One in ten species on the Earth in found in the Amazon.
- This includes: 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fresh water species of fish, and over 370 different types of reptiles.
- For many animals, like the jaguar, pink dolphin, and thousands of different types of birds and butterflies, the Amazon Rainforest is a last refuge
- Without their habit, millions of species could become extinct.
Every year, the Amazon Rainforest loses forested areas the size of Delaware.
How can YOU help?
- Buy local grown crops and sustainable foods
- Recycle all paper and buy environmentally friendly paper
- Eat less red meat
- Do a fundraiser to help save the rainforest and donate the money to an organization such as World Wild Life
- Avoid buying furniture that is made of threatened woods from the rainforest such as mahogany and ebony
- Adopt an Acre for $5
- For for ideas, visit www.worldwildlife.org