Rainforests are our friends and it's heartbreaking to say that we are slowly, but surely losing them.

    Most people wouldn't give a second thought to the tropical rainforests. They are out of sight so therefore they are also out of mind. All of us tend to forget that the rainforest provides for us. And every once in a while we need to be reminded. They are the home to some animals (ones we know about and the ones yet to be uncovered). The rainforest, also gives us the gifts of some of the foods we enjoy and the medicines that we need to fight disease. The rainforest holds the key to our future.

    The tropical rainforest have and are good to mankind. But what have we done to them? At one point in time the rainforest covered 14% of earth's surface, now the only cover 6%. Experts say that the remaining rainforest could be consumed in forty years.

    Think about that for a second. That's not in the distant future. That time is right now, in our lifetime. Our grandchildren will only know rainforest and it's contributes through history textbooks. Is that what we want for ourselves and generations to come? Here are some facts to consider:

    ½ acres of rainforest are lost every second 
    More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plant, animals and insects live in tropical rainforest 
    Nearly half of the world's species will be destroyed or threatened in the next quarter of a century 
    There was at one time 10 million Indians living in the Amazon Rainforest. Today there are less than 20,000. 
    The rainforest provides 3,000 fruits 
    At least 80% of the develop world's diet originated in the tropical forest 
    More than 20% of the world's oxygen is provided by the rainforest 
    Rainforest are being destroyed because the value of the land is seen as timber by short sighted government, multi-national logging companies and land owners 
    Sources of destruction:

    Commercial logging (main cause) 
    Clearing land for gazing animals and substance farming 
    Government (leading threat) 

    雨林是我们的朋友，但是毫无疑问，我们正慢慢地失去这个朋友，真令人痛心。

    大多数人都不会想到热带雨林。他们远离我们的视野,因而也远离我们的思虑。我们往往会忘记雨林为我们提供了什么，我们需要不时被提醒。雨林是某些动物生存的家园，这些动物有些是已知的，有的则尚未被发现。雨林也提供了我们喜爱的食物和对抗疾病所需的药材。雨林掌握着我们未来的钥匙。

    热带雨林对人类至关重要。然而我们对雨林做了什么呢？雨林曾覆盖地球表面的14%，现在只剩下6%。专家说现存的雨林有可能在四十年内被消耗殆尽。

    想想吧!四十年并不是遥远的未来。那就发生在我们的有生之年。我们的子孙后代将只能从历史教科书上了解雨林。 那是我们自己以及我们的后代想要的吗？我们需要深思以下几个方面:

    ·雨林每秒钟消失半英亩。

    ·全世界估计有1000万动植物、昆虫物种，一半以上栖息在热带雨林。

    ·未来二十五年里,将近一半物种会被破坏或生存受到威胁。

    ·曾经有1000万印第安人生活在亚马逊热带雨林，今天剩下不到两万人。

    ·雨林提供3000种水果。

    ·至少80%的食物原产自热带雨林。

    ·雨林提供的氧气占大气氧量的20%以上。

    ·雨林之所以被破坏是因为目光短浅的政府、跨国伐木公司及土地所有者只看到土地的木料价值。

    破坏源:

    ·商业采伐(主要破坏源)

    ·为放牧动物和农业耕作进行的土地开垦

    ·政府(主要威胁)