Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Environmental Science Tropical Rain Forests Tropical Rain Forests Although a tropical rain forest is merely described as a region of tall trees with year-round warmth and plentiful rain, the definition goes much deeper. Tropical rain forests, jungles that receive at least eighty inches of rain in a year, maintain the natural balance of the world’s temperature and climate. Not only do they regulate climate and protect water supplies, but tropical rain forests nurture millions of species of animals, and provide homes for various tribes of people. The world’s tropical rain forests represent one of the most fragile and most diverse of all our natural ecosystems, yet are least understood by today’s society. Tropical rain forests are also by far the most threatened. There are several facts and statistics that are known about the ever-important rain forests that may be shocking to the newly interested researcher, like myself. Tropical rain forests are located in warm and humid places near the earth’s equator. The daily temperature averages in at seventy-five degrees, with twelve hours of sun shining everyday in the tropics. Average annual rainfall is between eighty and one hundred inches, while some forests receive four hundred inches of rain a year. “Occupying no more than seven percent of all the space on earth, they harbor at least half-possibly seventy-five percent -of all forms of life” (Stone 75). This makes it apparent that the importance of rain forests directly effects the world’s ever-expanding human population and how we are linked to the massive pressures on tropical rain forests. At one time photographs taken from a satellite of the earth a quarter of a century ago revealed a green belt widely spread interrupted only by the oceans. This expansive ring of vegetation remained unchanged for fifty million years. However, today’s trees cover merely one third of our earth. Today the picture is strikingly different. According to Roger Stone, reporter of USA Today, “Planet Earth once contained approximately 6,750,000 square miles of closed canopy rain forest” (74). Unfortunately, each year another two percent of this priceless treasure is lost. At these present rates of destruction, there will be only few small patches of tropical forests remaining beyond the year 2050. There are a variety of factors why we are losing so much of our world’s rain forests, yet the principle reason is also the simplest. Ignorance of people’s basic ambitions to work the forest’s soil and live off land is this reason. To illustrate this, author Peter Farb states that, “In the past forty years, half of the world’s valuable tropical rain forests have been cleared away” (116). Culprits, such as cattle ranchers, multinational corporations, and even world governments are being held responsible for such actions. Due to these and many others, an area the size of Pennsylvania is deforested each year, being eliminated at a rate of fifty to one hundred acres every minute. The first major problem is burning of the land areas. This slash and burn agriculture occurs when the trees are cut down by farmers and then burned where they lie. The general problem here is that most of the useful nutrients are in the living organisms, the trees, and not in the topsoil. When a forest is cut down and burned, there is a fine layer of ash which crops can grow in for just a few years. However, once the crops absorb all of the nutrients, the land becomes worthless and remains a wasteland. Unless the farmer can afford to purchase commercial fertilizer, which is very unlikely, he/she is now forced to move along and repeat this same process. The burning of the rain forests also contributes to the greenhouse effect. It is the gradual warming of our atmosphere due to the reradiate greenhouse gases (water vapor and carbon dioxide) that get trapped in our atmosphere. However, no matter how gradual it may seem, it will catch up with us eventually. “The rate of increase of global mean temperature during the next century will be about 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade; this is greater than that seen over the past ten thousand years” (Rosillo-Calle 130). Since trees absorb carbon dioxide, the loss of rain forests destroys one of the great natural sinks for this gas. With excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the sun’s heat is trapped, preventing it from radiating back into space. This gradual warming of the atmosphere would cause polar ice caps to melt and flood coastlines. A temperature increase could also turn productive farmland into desert. The second major problem is timber cutting, or logging. An estimated twenty-five thousand square miles are being cut for logging each year. Annually, each American uses an average of forty-seven pounds of paper, which is made from wood, and two hundred and five board feet of lumber. In fact, author Daniel Janzen writes that, “In the United States, the timber industry cuts irreplaceable strands of old-growth forests, trees at least two hundred years old, from northern California to Washington State at an alarming rate” (84). Forty-nine percent of the timber harvest goes into saw logs for building and industry, while twenty-three percent into pulpwood, used for paperboard containers, book and writing paper, paper bags, toilet paper, and newsprint (85). To better illustrate these statistics, approximately one hundred and forty acres of pulpwood timber are required for one edition of a one hundred and twenty-eight page Sunday edition newspaper. Since every species depends on every other species, which is what the tropical rain forests are considered to be, if the tropical rain forests would be left undisturbed, every tree would support the next. Trees also depend on birds and animals to help them survive. As they scatter the tree’s seeds around the forest and beyond an even denser forest is created. However, when one section of a forest is destroyed, the remaining sections of the forest are exposed to elements from which it should be protected. Eventually the forest dies out. This highly sensitive balance makes the rain forests very vulnerable to even the slightest change. Cattle ranching is yet another major problem of deforestation, mainly in Central and South America. Since cattle men just move on to better spots as their herds clear away old areas and make no attempt to rectify their destruction, the spot will remain worthless for quite some time. According to Farb, it takes five to ten years after one area is cleared before it can be a habituate for one animal, because one animal needs on the average, 12.5 acres of land to stay alive (143). With an increasing number of cattle on the rise, it is indeed a driving force for others. For example, peasants, who do not own any land, intentionally clear away areas and sell it to cattle ranchers in hopes of a profit. Farming, logging, and cattle ranching are the basic direct causes of destruction of tropical rain forests, but these activities are being driven by other factors, including the present economy. Third world countries where rain forests exist are in debt, and owe countries of Europe and North America large sums of money. The best way for them to repay this debt is to export products, which include natural resources. The exploitation of these resources results in deforestation. Poverty is another factor. Most of the good land where crops grow is owned by a select few of the wealthy individuals. The authors of Saving the Tropical Forests, explain this by stating that “the rain forests are being destroyed not because of our ignorance or stupidity but largely because of poverty and greed” (Gradwhol 11). Most of this land is used to raise cattle for export. The poor people are left to farm the borders of these lands. While doing this, they often attack edges of the forest, cutting down trees, trying to plant crops. The soil in these places is insufficient and cannot produce very much food. This leads to yet another chain reaction of destruction. Since these farmers have minimal amounts of money, they cannot afford fertilizer, so they abandon this land and once again destroy more forests. Another contributing factor to deforestation is overpopulation. “The human population was estimated in 1971 to total 2.5 million and have an average annual growth rate of 2.6 percent.” (Lamb 6). At least ninety percent of this growth is taking place in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. These growing populations recognize the tropical rain forests as free land to be cleared away for planting crops, and to provide firewood to cook their food. They took advantage of this recognition and contributed in the blessed rain forest’s destruction. Corporate greed and government corruption are also contributing factors. In some parts of Malaysia, the government allows Japanese logging companies to clear-cut forest areas of the Penan people of this Malaysian area. These logging companies make huge profits, some of which ends up in the pockets of government officials. The United States is demanding that Latin America and other third world countries preserve their rain forests, but they are not demanding it of themselves. This is a very ironic and hypocritical situation, in that our own government is destroying the rain forest in Alaska. In a sense the US government is saying those third world countries should do as we say, not as we are doing. Unfortunately, schemes like these are underway and being planned everyday in other countries as well. Since trees dominate the rain forest, if we remove the trees, the whole mechanism falls apart. The increasing attack on rain forests is also bringing a rapid rise in the rate of which species are disappearing. In, Editors of Life, The Earth and the Universe, it was pointed out that “no habitat on earth harbors so many arboreal creatures as the rain forest...” (Barnet 252). Obviously, deforestation is a severe threat to animals. To compensate this tragedy, millions of dollars are spent conserving the works of our own species in museums, but not into conserving nature’s own works of art. There are currently two hundred and twenty-seven species of primates today, ninety percent of which live in tropical rain forests. Of these two hundred and twenty-seven species, half are considered endangered or rare. Unfortunately, once a species is extinct it will never return. The numbers of all these members of the community are in delicate balance and tied to each other by invisible threads of food, living conditions, and mutual cooperation. In the words of Peter Farb, “So intricate is the tapestry of the forest life that should a single vital thread somehow be broken, the entire pattern might unravel and ultimately the forest itself be destroyed” (10). This multitude of life does not merely live in the forest-it is the forest as much as the trees themselves. If these trends continue we will lose thousands of species before the turn of the century. Although people are beginning to realize that nature is not an opponent we must conquer, the seriousness of their action is very vague. It is difficult to estimate extinction rates when scientists have not yet described ninety percent of some groups in the tropics, but the crisis is comparable to extinction of dinosaurs. There are approximately ten million species of insects in the world. Very few of these species have ever been seen by man, let alone studied by him. “It is the insect world that demonstrates the depths of our ignorance” (Mitchell 133). In the tropical rain forests, the number of discoveries per investigator per day is probably greater than it is anywhere else in the world. With the warm, year-round tropical temperatures, insects can grow and reproduce all year, unlike in northern latitudes where they must die off every winter. One tree in the Amazon Rain Forest can be a home to two hundred different types of insects. By protecting tropical rain forests, we are protecting the majority of the species on the planet. Plant life in the rain forests is also very valuable in that not all valuable chemical compounds were invented in laboratories; most were actually discovered in nature. The possibilities in rain forests are limitless. “One tree may support numerous different species of fern, mosses, and lichens. The varied habitats of all these plants provide food, drink, and homes to countless creatures about whose lives nothing is known” (Mitchel 209). A four square mile patch contains fifteen hundred kinds of flowering plants and seven hundred and fifty tree species. One fourth of the prescription medicines on the market today are derived from plants. If animal and plant life isn’t enough to take into consideration, the human species most definitely is. Tropical rain forests have provided homes for native people for thousands of years. Destruction of these forests results in destruction and extinction of many indigenous tribes of people. In reference to one native tribe, “The world of the Pygmy is disappearing before the onslaught of civilization, yet they continue to cling to a way of life that is conducted with dignity, gentleness, and in complete harmony with their environment existence which other human species have largely forsaken” (Farb 118). Disintegration of culture begins as soon as there is contact with the outside world. The economic knowledge people have developed over thousands of years is tremendously valuable. This knowledge of how to utilize the forests is disappearing faster than the actual plants themselves. People of the forest have physically adapted to forest life better than other humans. The reliance of these Indians on the forest is immeasurable. “Man is not compatible with the green wall. The only way he can be compatible is if he decides that a piece of that green wall is useful to him” (Janzen 94). These natives, such as the Yanomani Indians, EFE Pygmies, and the Gimi Indians use the forest and its species of plants for food, medicines, dyes, oils, soaps, fibers, and insect repellent. There must be enough land for each tribe to accommodate the human population, without agricultural lands being recycled more than every twenty years. Tropical rain forests affect our everyday lives. Some of the foods we eat, such as Brazil nuts and many spices, grow only in the rain forests, while coffee, sugarcane, and cocoa originate there. Chisel, chewing gum, comes from the rain forests, along with bamboo and the balsa wood used for making gliders and kites. Much of what Americans eat such as, corn, wheat, rice, sugar, and coffee and tea-originated, in tropical areas. If a pest would attack, they could be wiped out completely unless we are able to go back to the rain forest to crossbreed commercial crops with their relatives in the wild. All of the twenty most commonly eaten plants in the US depend on occasional genetic strengthening from wild germ plasma for protection against blight and disease. Tropical forests supply us large amounts of this material. It is obvious that the existing benefits from rain forests are far greater than most people realize. The curare used as a muscle in heart operations, found in rain forests helps people all over the world. as many as thirty million forms of life may exist anywhere on the planet, only one million and six hundred thousand have been described by biologists, let alone assessed for their potential value to human health of well-being. “Among the countless millions of species residing in the rain forest, ninety percent or more remain undiscovered” (Stone 76). As far as anyone knows, the answer to the cure of Aids may be in the rain forest. As the forests go, so do many priceless opportunities. Severe laws restricting deforestation that provide a balance between ecological protection and economic use are urgently needed. The richness of these countries that include rain forests is greatly being reduced. “Deforestation is the result of many complex forces and of attitudes which cannot be changed overnight, but there is a growing awareness of the importance of intact tropical forest and models of sustainable development are emerging around the world” (Gradwohl 51). The current standing of tropical rain forests is piercing, yet it is never too late. Reforestation laws and programs need to continue developing endlessly. A healthy environment consists of the majority of society adjusting their lives with the necessity of the plant in mind. Most people cannot migrate to Alaska or Brazil to wrap their arms around a tree to save it from being chopped down. “The situation is bleak, but still not hopeless. New voices in forestry science are now beginning to suggest ways we can nurture truly diverse, sustainable forest ecosystems - which will thrive well into the 21st century. Are enough Americans listening” (Herdon 235)? Support for scientific and agricultural research is required of everyone. The future of the earth does not depend on the government or on just a few brave heroes risking their lives to save the forests. We need to learn as much as possible about tropical rain forests to find out their full potential while there is still time. With a country as densely populated as our own, I would think that this should not be a problem, unfortunately this is a premature assumption. There is so much ignorance in our country, and even more in others, the knowledgeable have to send out a universal message of how important and necessary the tropical rain forests are. Before I thoroughly researched this topic, I thought that I had a fairly good concept of what tropical rain forests were. I thought this simply because I have learned about them ever since my first geology/history class in elementary school. I never thought that there was such a mystery lurking behind the outside wall of the standing timber. As I began my research, I was constantly shocked by information that was left out of lesson plans in my past education. I had heard rumors of the miraculous cures for deadly diseases that supposedly dwelled in the midst of the rain forests. However, I didn’t know for sure until I discovered such information in well creditable sources. It disgusted me to visualize the well-educated people of our country, from anyone like cattle ranchers to government officials, are participating in the destruction of our precious rain forests. Whether they are chopping down trees with their bare hands, or given their permission for others to do so, they are all still contributing to this devastating destruction. The only remedy that I can think of is further, more restrictive laws that protect these lands from the greedy hands of such individuals. Knowing what I now know, I can’t imagine how our lives would be without the rain forests. The delicate balance of every aspect of the earth would be off. Starting from the middle of our planet, the equator, and extending to both poles, earth would suffer immeasurably. Hopefully, the caring individuals who are left, will be able to educate the ignorant as to why these forests are so valuable and how we could not live without them. Education and realization are the building blocks to ending this irresponsible destruction. Everyone can and should join together to secure a promising future for Planet Earth. Tropical rain forests provide much more than a warehouse for all of man’s material needs. The present economy is a serious problem, but destruction of nature is not the answer. “You can’t make a living on a dead planet” (Herndon 223). If earth’s people cannot care for this adversity, then it is our own loss. After all, it is our earth, our responsibility. Barnett, Lincoln. The World We Live In. Editors of Life, The Earth and the Universe, Volume 3, NY: Time Incorporated, 1955. Brown, Lester R. “The Environmental Crisis,” The Humanist, November/December 1990: 26-30. Farb, Peter and the Editors of Life. The Forest, Maitland A Edey, Life Nature Library NY: Time Incorporated, 1963. Gradwhol, Judith and Russell Greenbreg. Saving the Tropical Forests, London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 1988. Herndon, Grace. Cut & Run: Saying Goodbye to the Last Great Forests In the West. Telluride, Co: Western Eye Press, 1991. Janzen, Daniel. “Notes From the Guanacaste”, Omni, Bob Guccione, Volume 15, NY: Omni Publications International Ltd., April 1993. Lamb, D. Exploiting The Tropical Rain Forest: An account of Pulpwood Logging in Papua New Ginea, John Jeffers, Volume 3, Man and The Biosphere Series, Paris: The Parthenon Publishing Group, 1990. Mitchell, Andrew W. The Enchanted Canopy, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986. Rosillo-Calle, Frank. “Biomass Energy, Forests and Global Warming,” Energy Policy, February 1992: 124-131. Stone, Roger D. “The Global Stakes of Tropical Deforestation,” U.S.A. Today, March 1988: 74-76. Bibliography: Word Count: 3433
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