... big business and the governments that stand behind them in their efforts. The Brazilian government has decided to allow big business to cut millions of acres of trees in the Amazon River basin (Ghitis). Although perhaps only 15 to 20 % has been removed so far, the rate of cutting ... has been accelerating so that now more than twenty thousand square kilometers are cleared each year (Place XVI). In Brazil alone 5.4 million acres are lost every year. Ecuador a country of 270,000 square kilometers, formerly had 132,000 square kilometers of Amazonian rainforest and now with a deforestation ...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... less than 1% of tropical forest species have been thoroughly examined for their beneficial chemical compounds. Further studies can, potentially, provide people with new products and medicines. For example these studies can provide clues for manufacturing chemical substitutes for gasoline or medicines for cancer cures. The rain forest is being destroyed very rapidly. Roughly 2.4 acres are destroyed per second, this is equivalent to 2 football fields ... or 214,000 acres per day. That amount is larger than New York City. An ... estimated 50-78 million acres of rain forests are destroyed e...

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• Grade Level: High School

... are for commercial logging for raw materials, land clearance for grazing and colonization. However, the causes run much deeper than this as will be shown throughout this report. Although we may not directly see the impact of such deforestation, we will all be affected during our lifetime. "We are losing our rainforest at the average rate of; 75 acres every minute; 108,000 acres each ... day; and over 39 million acres per year- (Rainforest Preservation Foundation). This rapid depletion will lead to such environmental issues as the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, flora and f...

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• Grade Level: High School

... of the Amazon only after large areas of forest is torn down for human "needs" The Brazilian government is aiming for 25 percent of dense forests to come under sustainable forest management, a total of nearly 12 million acres (4 million hectares) of an state called Acre The state will use ... will make Acre's products more appealing to consumers in national and international markets, providing an edge over neighbouring states. And certification is beneficial for Acre's native tribes people. The Antimari Forest supports many communities of indigenous people whose livelihood depends on the ...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the globe. At one time, rainforests covered 14% of the earth's land surfaces. They now account for only 6% of the earth's land surface. Rainforests are being harvested at a rate of one and one-half acres per second. At this rate, scientists believe rainforests could be completely wiped out in a mere 40 ... of ants than are found on all of the British Isles. Less than 1% of the millions of plants species in rainforests have been studied for medical use. Though rainforests cover only an estimated 6% of Earth's surface, they are home to over one-half of its wild plant-life ... National Ca...

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• Grade Level: High School

... any other regin. Between 1981 and 1990, Asia experienced and annual deforestation rate of nearly ten million acres or approximately 1.3 percent of the reign's total forest. The estimate rate for 1990-1995 is lower at 1.1 percent. The rate of deforestation is highest in nearly five million acres a year in Asia. Why is there a Problem? Logging has devastated many Asia's rainforest and is ... the primary cause of rainforest destruction. Other causes include clearing for agriculture, fuelwood harvesting, mining, irrigation, and hydroelectric projects, and urban expansion. Illegal logging is...

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... twenty-five percent of these prescription drugs are sold in Western pharmaceuticals. These prescription's are derived of rainforests plants from the Amazon Rainforest. For every ten acres of the Amazon that we cut down, many of the plants and trees that have not yet been tested go with it. Experts ... studies show that less then one percent of all the plants and trees in the Amazon Rainforest alone have been tested for any medicinal use. This means that we could be destroying any possible cure or medication for ... were to use some of these different alternatives then we would be able to...

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• Grade Level: High School

... humid. It is humid in rainforests because of all the rainfall. The approximate amount of annual rainfall is ninety-eight feet per year with room for decrease and increase. This is a lot of annual rain compared to regular forests. Hence the name "rainforest- Two of many plants that grow ... reduces soil erosion. This helps especially because rainforests are disappearing at the rate of 80 acres a minute. The Bengal bamboo is not on the endangered species list; therefore, it may help rainforests out for many years to come. Deserts and the Plants Within Deserts are areas where rainfall is .....

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... rainforest carry these pollutants far and wide. 3. Animal Farming More and more rainforest is destroyed to provide grazing land for animals to meet the world demand for meat. It is estimated that to graze one steer in the Amazon area, it takes two full acres. The surprising thing is that most of the ranchers in the Amazon operate at a loss, yielding only paper ... profits purely as tax shelters. 4. Subsistence Farming The exploding populations in the third world countries of South America and the Far East results in more destruction of the rainforest for "subsistence farming."" The trage...

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• Grade Level: High School

... rainforest carry these pollutants far and wide. 3. Animal Farming More and more rainforest is destroyed to provide grazing land for animals to meet the world demand for meat. It is estimated that to graze one steer in the Amazon area, it takes two full acres. The surprising thing is that most of the ranchers in the Amazon operate at a loss, yielding only paper ... profits purely as tax shelters. 4. Subsistence Farming The exploding populations in the third world countries of South America and the Far East results in more destruction of the rainforest for "subsistence farming."" The trage...

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• Grade Level: High School

... world. -If certain forms of deforestation are executed properly they can be beneficial, or at least not harmful to the environment. -Deforestation is also used for cattle ranching, which is a large part of the diet. Con -It is often not executed in a productive way, which means it harms the ... animals living in the Amazon. Mining: Extracting rocks and minerals from the rainforest. Pro -Extracts valuable rocks and minerals out of the rainforest, which sell for money and benefit the economy. -Gives lots of people jobs. -Iron, Brazil's main mineral is wanted around the world. Con -Mines of...

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• Grade Level: High School

... economic interest of the country concerned. When environmentalists show their concern over the loss of the rainforest, Brazilians get annoyed. They believe the arguments for preserving the forests are a "rich man's luxury." They are mainly concerned with the country's need to improve its people's living standards ... Howard Facklam states, "It was estimated at one point in the 1980s that such forest lands were being cleared at the rate of 50 acres a minute; another estimate put the rate at more than 200,000 sq km (more than 78,000 sq mi) a year. In ... that can have many striking effec...

• Word Count: 2087
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate