GLOBAL QUESTIONS Why Are the Rain Forests Being Destroyed Peter Littlewood
Chapter 1 Why do we need the rain forests Picture yourself deep in a forest Looking up you can just see the sunlight glinting through the dense canopy of leaves high above your head Your clothes are soaked in sweat and the heat is almost stifling All around you can hear the buzz of insects the hoots of monkeys and the calls of colorful birds darting about high in the canopy An occasional grunt or growl from ground level gives you some cause for concern Then suddenly lightning flashes overhead You jump at the sound of thunder and Lush green and seemingly endless in reality the planet’s dense tropical rain forests are under considerable threat Rain forests may once have covered up to 12 percent of the world’s land surface Now they cover only about half that area 6
Why do we need the rain forests almost immediately are drenched by a heavy downpour of rain You are in a rain forest one of the most fascinating and diverse habitats anywhere on the planet Rain forests today Tropical rain forests are dense evergreen forests that receive over 8 2 feet 2 5 meters of rain each year They are found across the world between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn 23 5 degrees north and south of the equator They occur in Asia Africa South America northern Australia and on many tropical islands They cover about 6 percent of the planet’s land surface about 5 9 million square miles 15 million square kilometers The largest rain forest the Amazon in South America spans eight different countries and covers an area of almost 2 million square miles 5 2 million square kilometers Rain forest climate It rains a lot in a rain forest mostly in the afternoons Although rainforests experience annual rainfall of at least 98 4 inches 2 5 meters some receive up to 400 inches 10 meters of rain each year that’s about 10 times the annual average for New York City Temperatures rarely fall below 68 F 20 C and can exceed 86 F 30 C giving annual average temperatures of about 77 F 25 C Humidity in the rain forest can reach up to 100 percent saturation point And since the sun is almost directly overhead throughout the year there are no distinct seasons Rain forest inhabitants The plants of the rain forest are well adapted to their environment Trees grow up to 230 feet 60 meters tall the tallest recorded grew to 272 feet 83 meters Their leaves are concentrated high up in the canopy Many have huge buttress roots to help anchor them to the ground and soak up nutrients from the soil Below them are other plants adapted to living in the shrub and floor layers A huge range of animals such as jaguars anacondas piranhas orangutans and parrots can be found in the world’s rain forests Living among them are tribes of native people such as the Kayapo and Yanomami who have lived in harmony with their forest environment for thousands of years Ex p e r t Vi ew Naturalist Charles Darwin recorded these impressions of the forests outside of Rio de Janeiro The forest abounded with beautiful objects It is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder astonishment and devotion which fill and elevate the mind Charles Darwin The Voyage of the Beagle 1832 7
