Lush, green rainforests may be something you’ve only briefly imagined when dreaming of a tropical vacation, but did you know that the health of the world’s rainforests has a huge influence on the quality of your daily life?
The rainforest is often described as the “lungs of our planet”. The Amazon rainforest alone is responsible for producing more than 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe! As a bonus, by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen for us to breathe, the rainforest actually reduces greenhouse gases and fights global warming.
But sadly, we are losing the earth’s rainforests to feed the world’s voracious appetite for cheap timber and cheap agriculture. Check out these stats. You won’t believe them, but they are true!
- 54 of the 193 countries in the world have already lost 90 percent or more of their forest cover. Rainforests that once covered 14% of the earth’s surface now cover only 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could disappear in less than 40 years.
- 1.5 acres of rainforest is lost every second (that’s 50 million acres a year – an area roughly the size of Oregon)
- Almost half of the world’s plant and animal species will be destroyed or seriously threatened over the next 25 years due to deforestation of the rainforest.
- We are losing approximately 137 species of plants and animals every day due to the deforestation of the rainforest. That equates to 50,000 species a year!
- As rainforest species disappear, so are many possible cures for life-threatening diseases. Currently, 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant-based sources. Twenty-five percent of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from ingredients from the rainforest! Many more could be developed, as scientists have only tested about 1% of tropical trees and plants.
- Most rainforests are cleared with chainsaws, bulldozers and fires to obtain wood and then followed by agricultural and ranching operations. In Indonesia, the current rate of logging could wipe out native forests in as little as 10 years. The forest has already been totally destroyed in countries like Haiti and the Ivory Coast, where you can hardly find a tree anymore.
Worse still is the fact that rainforests don’t regenerate like our temperate forests in Vermont do. Once they are gone, they are gone forever and along with them the wonderful diversity of plants and wildlife that inhabit them.
So now that you know why rainforests are such a big problem, you’re probably wondering, “What the heck can I do about it?” Well, this is where green consumerism comes in. Every day when you are shopping, you make decisions that affect the health of the rainforest. It’s true. Do you buy soy, beef or wood based products, for example? If so, it is very likely that they originate in the rainforest and are produced illegally in violation of local conservation laws.
You can contribute to the environment by buying products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as green and sourced from sustainably managed forests. Ask the salespeople at your favorite stores if their products are certified. Ask where they come from. You may have a few blank stares at first, but it will make a difference eventually. Store owners will increasingly realize that sustainability is important to their customers. If they are going to stay in business, they will have to go green.
And YOU can make it happen.