There are plenty of facts about the Amazon rainforest, some good, and some particularly devastating. But the difficulty with such facts is that often the numbers are so huge they may become incomprehensible, and certainly very difficult to visualise.For instance, the Amazon rainforest covers an area of 2.5 million square miles. That's a big number, however, you can't really visualise it can you? All you see is a lot of trees.To put it a little into perspective, Australia is around 2.8 million square miles, so the Amazon rainforest is only a little smaller as compared to the total Australasian continent.Even more surprising may be the estimate that there are still around 50 Indian tribes dwelling in the Amazon rainforest that have never been discovered and never had contact with the outside world. Nevertheless it it isn't just the large numbers that are impressive - it's the real contribution of the Amazon rainforest towards the survival of the planet that needs to be appreciated.The Amazon rainforest has sometimes been referred to as the lungs of the earth, and for good reason. Every single day the Amazonian forests produce one fifth of all the oxygen in the atmosphere. Without them we'd quickly begin to suffocate. 70% of all plants used in the treatment of cancer are located in the rainforests, and if you lined up every plant, animal and insect in the whole world, every other one of them would live in the Amazon rainforest.It's easy to be impressed by these numbers and imagery, but sadly it isn't all good news. Just imagine an acre and a half of rainforest. Not simple is it? So imagine a full size football pitch, which is an acre and a half in size instead.Now imagine that football pitch filled with trees, animals and wildlife. Listen to the exotic birds calling to each other, the gentle drip of the heavy raindrops pattering through the leaves onto the rich soil beneath. Imagine that huge area of breathtaking and valuable forest.Now blink your eyes twice. It's gone.Quite literally an acre and a half of Amazon rainforest is destroyed forever each second of the day. It's difficult to visualise isn't it?Even harder to imagine is the irreparable damage it is causing by removing one of the most valuable and diverse natural resources in the world. We must do something today, because by this time tomorrow an area of Amazon rainforest more than one and a half times the size of the UK will have disappeared forever.
Article Source: http://www.articlecontentprovider.com/articlesubmit
There are many facts about the Amazon rainforest, some good, and some particularly devastating. But the problem with such facts is that often the numbers are so huge they may become incomprehensible, and certainly very difficult to visualise.
For more information about deforestation in the Cameroon rainforest and Gabon rainforest, visit the Rainforest Foundation. You can also follow the work of the Foundation on their Rainforest Facebook page.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 5 4 out of 5 3 out of 5 2 out of 5 1 out of 5
