Rainforests

By: Robert McCormickHealth

T-3

WAYS TO HELP

• You can donate money to a fund that helps the rainforest.

• Recycle

• Riot

• Protest

Location

• There are rainforests in central America and south America such as the Amazon Rainforests.

• There are also Rainforests in Australia, Africa, southeast Asia, and Madagascar.

• These rainforests are diminishing rapidly.

Map of Rainforests

How we rely on the rainforest

• About six billion people rely on trees and plants to build houses, produce paper, make furniture and produce wood to stay warm.

• We also rely on the rainforest for medicines for diseases. Some of these cures have not even been found yet.

• We may never find the cures for these diseases because the rainforests are being cut down.

How the rainforest is disappearing

• Every second a part of a rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed.

• Over 1,000 tribes live in the rainforest and their homes are being destroyed.

• Billions of species live in the rainforest and we are wrecking their habitats. Some of these species we have not even discovered yet.

• We are wrecking the rainforests because of supply and demand needs.

• The rainforest used to take up 14% of Earth but now only takes up 6%

Parrots

• The rainforest is home to more than half of the worlds animals.

Medicines

• We get most of our medicines from the rainforest. We could find more to cure diseases but rainforests are being destroyed quickly.

• A periwinkle plant from Madagascar can be used to create a medicine for childhood leukemia.

• Another plant source is Digitalis Lanata which helps make Acetylidigoxin.

• Taxol/paclitaxel is a chemical that comes from the pacific Yew tree. It helps with tumorous cancers including breast cancer.

• Another plant that comes from the rainforest is the Centella asiatica plant that makes Asiaticoside which helps with vulnerary functions.

Periwinkle plant

Pacific Yew tree