The destruction of the rainforest

Rainforests make up some of the most valuable resources we have, yet they are be
ing destroyed in massive proportions. Many medicines, foods, natural insecticide
s and oil producing trees are found in the rainforest.
The rainforest also holds endless possibilities for useful, undiscovered resourc
es. These could include cures for disease and new food crops that will be wiped
out before they are found because of the destruction of the rainforests.
The rainforest is also home to millions of species of animals, plants and insect
s as well. It is estimated that five out of six rainforest species have never be
en seen. This adds up to millions of organisms that have never before been encou
ntered. This demonstrates that more species live in the rainforest than any othe
r ecosystem on earth, and we are obliterating their on habitat.
The rainforest is also a big producer of the world's oxygen supply. When we dest
roy the rainforest, we are destroying our own oxygen supply. Massive destruction
of our precious rainforests is caused by logging, colonization due to overpopul
ation, and cattle ranching.
The first major cause of mass destruction of the rainforest is logging. There ca
n be as many as 200 different species of trees on one acre of land.
This high number of different species of trees means there is only a few commerc
ially valuable trees per acre. Trees considered commercially valuable are mahoga
ny and tropical cedar. These trees and used for panelling, and building boats an
furniture.
Loggers must bulldoze roads through the forest to find enough of these valuable
trees to make a profit. This consumes many other trees that are in the way of th
e road. The trees in the rainforest are connected a the top with vines, so when
one commercially valuable tree gets cut down, on average 17 other non-commercial
ly valuable trees fall down with t. Because of these practices, the logging indu
stry can eradicate 30 percent of a rainforest where only a few commercially valu
able trees were cut down. At this rat, they will be able to clear out whole rain
forest sin a few years. After the loges themselves destroy so much rainforest, t
he roads they leave behind induce the next phase of rainforest destruction: colo
nization.
Another major cause of mass rainforest destruction is colonization. Roads left b
ehind by loggers make the rainforest accessible to farmers looking for a place t
o live and grow crops. Farm families clear and burn the remains of the forest to
plant crops to keep and sell. These families clear more land than they need to
show others that they own it and have "developed" it. These colonists are forced
to move to the rainforest because there is no room anywhere else for them to li
ve.
Most of the land is owned by large corporations, so families feel lucky if they
are fortunate enough to have their own land in the rainforest. Population growth
forces the people to move to the rainforest. Even if farm families can get thei
r own plot of rainforest land, it is not long before they have to move again and
clear out more rainforest. Rainforest land loses nutrients quickly after it has
been cleared, and it soon becomes eroded and infertile. Since crops won't grow
after this happens, farm families willingly sell the bad land to commercial comp
anies. These companies then use the acquired land to form large produce export p
lantations or cattle ranching: the most destructive form of land use.
The final major cause of mass rainforest destruction is cattle ranching. Cattle
ranching in the rainforest yields very low amounts of beef, but it is replacing
farming that was more productive.
Cattle ranching yields 91 pounds of beef per acre per year, where as corn yields
5,000 pounds per acre per year. This is a very inefficient use of the land, and
is also bad for the economy. After five to ten years of mediocre beef yields; e
rosion, weeds and loss of fertility force the ranchers to look for more land. Th
e ranchers keep moving farther into the rainforest and clearing more land in a b
ig cycle. Also, raising cattle requires less labor, so there are fewer jobs. The
people without jobs are just more people who wan to move to the rainforest. The
land just keeps getting cleared and burned until there is no rainforest left.
The rainforest gives us so much, and has so many possibilities, yet we are clear
ing and burning it down. Animals, plants and insects are being eradicated at the
rate of 1,000 species per year. If the rainforest keeps being destroyed at the
current rate, it is 10,000 species will be wiped out per year. If we want to sav
e the earth, we must start with the rainforests. They are the connection between
man and nature, and if the human race wants to save the planet, the first step
is saving the rainforest. The rainforests are the most valuable resources we hav
e.