Deforestation of the Amazon

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The Amazon Rainforest is located south from the Equator. It passes through nine different countries, but 60% is located on Brazil. The Amazon River is 4000 miles long; this is about the same distance that separates New York from Berlin. The size of the Amazon Rainforest is 2.3 million square miles this is equivalent area to 2/3 of the U.S. The largest reservoir of fresh water is on the Amazon. 1/5 of all flowing water from the planet is located here, as well as the largest biodiversity hotspot. The National Academy of Sciences states that in a four square mile there are 150 species of butterflies, 400 of birds, 100 of reptiles and 125 of mammals. Examples of species are the capybara, Jesus lizard which can walk on water, the kinkajou, poison dart frog, and the bullet ant. Also it has many different types of flora, on 2.5 acres there are 700 different species of trees a 1400 of plants.

The Amazon is very important for the planet because it filters air. The Amazon rain forest is also known as the earth’s lungs, because its trees absorb carbon dioxide which is needed for photosynthesis, then releases oxygen and carbon that allows plants to grow. According to Scientific American the Amazon rainforest absorbs 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. If forests are deforested more carbon dioxide will be in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one of the main gases that produce global warming. The Amazon rainforest influences climates. Rainforests are very important to the water cycle, because they add water to the atmosphere when they are on the transpiration stage of photosynthesis. This transpiration forms rainy clouds. If deforestation increases there will be less moisture which will lead to a severe drought. One exampl...

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Another Amazon Drought Spurs Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Scientific American. 4 February.

2011.Web. 19 March. 2014. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/amazon-

drought-spurs-greenhouse-gas/

The Water Cycle. ACEER Fundation. Web. 17 March. 2014.

http://www.wcupa.edu/aceer/amigos/cd/water_cycle.htm

Why is the Amazon Rainforest Important? WWF Worldwide. Web. 20 March. 2014.

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/about_the_amazon/why_am

azon_important/

Why is the Amazon Important? BBC Radio World Service. 14 May. 2008. Web. 17 March.

2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/080508_why_amazon_important

Brazil’s Fight to Save the Amazon and Climate-Change Diplomacy. Foreign Affairs. March

2013. Web. 18 March. 2014 http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138849/jeff-

tollefson/a-light-in-the-forest

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