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spunk9

Rainforest Facts - 0 views

www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_007.htm

WWF

shared by spunk9 on 22 May 12 - Cached
  • Often described as the Earth’s lungs, only in reverse, the tropical rainforests
  • What’s truly amazing, however, is that while the tropical rainforests cover just 2% of the Earth's land surface, they are home to two-thirds of all the living species on the planet. Additionally, "nearly half the medicinal compounds we use every day come from plants endemic to the tropical rainforest." If a cure for cancer or AIDS is to be found, it’ll almost certainly come from the tropical rainforests.
  • The Primary Source, writes that "tropical rainforests are the Earth’s oldest continuous ecosystems.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • The largest rainforests are found in the Amazon Basin of South America, in Western African countries that skirt the equator, as well as South Pacific countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines.
  • Often described as the Earth’s lungs, only in reverse, the tropical rainforests, take in vast quantities of carbon dioxide (a poisonous gas which mammals exhale) and through the process of photosynthesis, converts it into clean, breathable air. In fact, the tropical rainforests are the single greatest terrestrial source of air that we breathe.
  • tropical rainforests cover just 2% of the Earth's land surface
    • spunk9
      spunk9 on 04 Jun 12
       
      The rain forest has really less space but it is home of two thirds of the living species which mean that if we destroy just a little bit it effects alot of species
  • they are home to two-thirds of all the living species on the planet.
  • Fossil records show that the forests of Southeast Asia have existed in more or less their present form for 70 to 100 million years
  • Circling the Earth’s equator like a belt, the tropical rainforests maintain a near constant temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit and receive anywhere from 160 to 400 inches of rain per year.
  • a typical four-mile square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 species of flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 125 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, 60 species of amphibians, and 150 different species of butterflies."
spunk9

Rainforest Facts - 0 views

www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

WWF

shared by spunk9 on 04 Jun 12 - Cached
spunk9

Species Extinction - 0 views

library.thinkquest.org/...extinction.htm

WWF

shared by spunk9 on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
    • spunk9
      spunk9 on 04 Jun 12
       
      The species are dying at a alarming rate already and if we destroy the rain forest even more the web of life will be effected badly
Tulsi Jipp

http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/1_lpr_2012_online_full_size_single_pages_final_120... - 0 views

awsassets.panda.org/..._single_pages_final_120516.pdf

WWF deforestation

shared by Tulsi Jipp on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
    • Tulsi Jipp
      Tulsi Jipp on 04 Jun 12
       
      The carbon storage service provided by the world's forests is vital for climate stabilization. The amount of carbon stored in different forests varies: Tropical forests store the most carbon, with current estimates suggesting the above-ground biomass stores of these  forests is 247 Gt C (Chavez et al., 2008; Lewis et al., 2009; Mahli  et al., 2006; UNEP, 2010), which is five times more than the current global carbon emissions of 47 Gt per year (UNEP, 2010).
    • Tulsi Jipp
      Tulsi Jipp on 04 Jun 12
       
      DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE  CLIMATE CHANGE IN TURN CAN DAMAGE FORESTS AND THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE
  • Tulsi Jipp on 04 Jun 12
     
    Deforestation and forest degradation currently account for up to 20 per cent of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, including  losses from forest soils.
Tulsi Jipp

Earth's environment getting worse, not better, says WWF ahead of Rio+20 | Environment |... - 0 views

www.guardian.co.uk/...earth-environment-wwf-rio20

tropical WWF

shared by Tulsi Jipp on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Most alarming, says the report, is that many of these changes have accelerated in the past decade, despite the plethora of international conventions signed since the initial Rio Summit in 1992.
  • Climate-warming carbon emissions have increased 40% in the past 20 years, but two-thirds of that rise occurred in the past decade.
  • Wealthy countries have seen some improvement, with the Living Planet biodiversity index, rising 7% since 1970, as nature reserves and protections were introduced. But the biodiversity index has dropped by 60% in developing countries, where people depend more on nature.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • "The Living Planet report shows that the biggest single drop in the living planet index is for freshwater species in tropical areas, which have shown a decline of 70% since 1970," said David Tickner, head of freshwater at WWF-UK.
Tulsi Jipp

WWF - Pacific Temperate Rainforests - 0 views

wwf.panda.org/...ific_temperate_rainforests.cfm

rainforest amazon tropical WWF

shared by Tulsi Jipp on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Threats Intensive commercial logging has destroyed more than 90% of the native forests of this ecoregion. The immense size of the mighty redwood trees, and the beauty of their wood, has made them a target for loggers for more than a century. Even logging in surrounding watersheds can have severe repercussions for redwood groves, since it can cause severe flooding, fires, and sedimentation. The spread of urban areas between Monterey and San Francisco, along with the introduction of exotic plants into these ancient forests, exacerbate the problems. Cruise ships can lead to pollution, as well as disturbing whales and other marine mammals. Other threats include pollution from pulp mills and mines. Introduced beavers are also creating problems for native wildlife. Their damming of small streams is making it difficult for Coho salmon to travel upstream and spawn. Similarly, introduced rats, squirrels, and raccoons have reduced the size of seabird colonies as they prey on eggs and young birds.
Taikan Ueoka

http://www.sae.gov.br/site/wp-content/uploads/td_0455.pdf - 0 views

www.sae.gov.br/...td_0455.pdf

government

shared by Taikan Ueoka on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
    • Taikan Ueoka
      Taikan Ueoka on 04 Jun 12
       
      Earning more money and investing on the country's infrastructure seems to be important to the Brazilian government, and data shows that the best development option is to cut down the trees in the amazon rain forest and plant perennial plants for more sustainable logging. 
Taikan Ueoka

Brazilian government faces criminal charges over Amazon deforestation | Environment | g... - 0 views

www.guardian.co.uk/...forests.brazil

government

shared by Taikan Ueoka on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Minc said the environment ministry will bring criminal charges against all of them. The government will also create an environmental police force with 3,000 heavily armed and specially trained officers to help combat illegal deforestion.
    • Taikan Ueoka
      Taikan Ueoka on 04 Jun 12
       
      The Brazilian government is trying to help stop illegal deforestion
  • Carlos Minc, the Brazilian environment minister, said the upcoming national elections were partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region ignoring illegal loggers in the hope of gaining votes locally.
Emily Kaaresmaa

Permaculture Research Institute USA " Are You Paying to Burn the Rainforest? - 0 views

www.permacultureusa.org/...-paying-to-burn-the-rainforest

rancher

shared by Emily Kaaresmaa on 03 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Emily Kaaresmaa on 03 Jun 12
     
    Cattle ranching, if it keeps expanding in the Amazon, threatens two-fifths of the world's remaining rainforest. This is not just the most diverse ecosystem, but also the biggest reserve of standing carbon. Its clearance could provoke a hydrological disaster in South America, as rainfall is reduced as the trees come down. Next time you see footage of the forest burning, remember that you might have paid for it.
Daniel Herten

Medicinal Treasures of the Rainforest: Discover the healing resources of the Amazon - 1 views

www.adventure-life.com/...rainforest-medicine-78

scientist

shared by Daniel Herten on 22 May 12 - No Cached
  • A look at the botanical treasures, both known and undiscovered, that exist within tropical rainforests.
  • The abundant botanical resources of tropical forests have already provided tangible medical advances; yet only 1 percent of the known plant and animal species have been thoroughly examined for their medicinal potentials.
  • 20 or 25 percent of the world's plant species will be extinct by the year 2000.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Approximately 7,000 medical compounds prescribed by Western doctors are derived from plants
  • These drugs had an estimated retail value of US$43 billion in 1985
  • For maladies ranging from nagging headaches to lethal contagions such as malaria, rainforest medicines have provided modern society with a variety of cures and pain relievers.
  • • Quinine, an aid in the cure of malaria, is an alkaloid extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree found in Latin America and Africa. • From the deadly poisonous bark of various curare lianas, used by generations of indigenous peoples in Latin America, has been isolated the alkaloid d-turbocuarine, which is used to treat such diseases as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and other muscular disorders. It also permits tonsillectomies, eye, abdominal and other kinds of surgery due to its anesthetic qualities. • From Africa, Madagascar's rosy periwinkle provides two important anti-tumor agents. One provides for a 99 percent chance of remission in cases of lymphocytic leukemia. The other offers a life in remission to 58 percent of Hodgkin's Disease sufferers. In 1960, only 19 percent had a chance for survival. Commercial sales of drugs derived from this one plant are about US$160 million a year. • Without wild yams from Mexico and Guatemala, society would be without diosgenin and cortisone, the active ingredients in birth control pills. Until recently this plant provided the world with its entire supply of diosgenin.
  • Finally, rainforest plants provide aids for research.
  • testing agents for potentially harmful food and drug products
  • Tropical forests offer hope for safer contraceptives for both women and men. The exponential growth of world population clearly demonstrates the need for more reliable and effectiv
  • e birth control methods. Worldwide, approximately 4,000 plant species have been shown to offer contraceptive possibilities.
  • The chemical components of plants that medicine men use in healing rites could conceivably be building blocks for new drugs or even cures for such scourges as cancer or AIDS.
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