Rainforests By: Robert McCormick Health T-3

WAYS TO HELP You can donate money to a fund that helps the rainforest. Recycle Riot Protest

Location There are rainforests in central America and south America such as the Amazon Rainforests. There are also Rainforests in Australia, Africa, southeast Asia, and Madagascar. These rainforests are diminishing rapidly.

Map of Rainforests

How we rely on the rainforest About six billion people rely on trees and plants to build houses, produce paper, make furniture and produce wood to stay warm. We also rely on the rainforest for medicines for diseases. Some of these cures have not even been found yet. We may never find the cures for these diseases because the rainforests are being cut down.

How the rainforest is disappearing Every second a part of a rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed. Over 1,000 tribes live in the rainforest and their homes are being destroyed. Billions of species live in the rainforest and we are wrecking their habitats. Some of these species we have not even discovered yet. We are wrecking the rainforests because of supply and demand needs. The rainforest used to take up 14% of Earth but now only takes up 6%

Parrots The rainforest is home to more than half of the worlds animals.

Medicines We get most of our medicines from the rainforest. We could find more to cure diseases but rainforests are being destroyed quickly. A periwinkle plant from Madagascar can be used to create a medicine for childhood leukemia. Another plant source is Digitalis Lanata which helps make Acetylidigoxin. Taxol/paclitaxel is a chemical that comes from the pacific Yew tree. It helps with tumorous cancers including breast cancer. Another plant that comes from the rainforest is the Centella asiatica plant that makes Asiaticoside which helps with vulnerary functions.

Periwinkle plant

Pacific Yew tree