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With the disappearance of the rain forest, so will all of its animals and plant life. possible medicines that could cure most of our problems such as diseases and illnesses, will be lost forever. It took 100 million years for the flowering plants to evolve and clothe the earth, yet the past 20 years alone have put a sizeable portion of them in mortal jeopardy. Ten percent (20,000-30,000) of the world`s known flowering plants to be dangerously rare or under threat. Within a few years the loss of one species per hour is expected. An estimated 50% of our medicines we use are derived from plants, and 25% of all prescription drugs have their origins in tropical forests. Take for example the plant called "The rosy periwinkle" (Catharanthus roseus) of Madagascar, produces 75 different alkaloids. Two, vincristine and vinblastine, have produced a major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer. The plant kingdom represents a virtually untapped reservoir of new chemical compounds, many extraordinarily bio dynamic, some providing novel bases on which the synthetic chemist may build even more interesting structures. Many animal species would be wiped out due to the destruction of the forest and its aftermath. Loosing one creature of the rain forest leads to the loss of others. All of these animals rely on the rain forests plants, animals, and insects as there staple. But this is just the beginning. Scientist have proven that the rain forests diversity for cleansing the atmosphere is crucial. Without it we would have the "Greenhouse effect". The "greenhouse gases" have been an atmospheric reality since our planet formed and stabilized millions of years ago. They have, however, been regulated by earth`s steady-state systems, and without the presence of these gases the planet would be approximately 54 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) colder. Although still only trace gases in our atmosphere, GHGs are playing an ever-more critical role in controlling our climate. CO 2, CO, and chlorofluuoro-carrbons (CFCs) absorb radiant energy at infrared wavelengths, continuously trapping more heat as the CHG concentration rises. This has caused a global warming phenomenon we now know as the "greenhouse effect". The significance of de-forestation in the "greenhouse gas" (GHG) build up can be underscored thus: although only 30 percent of the earth`s surface is composed of land, primary production by terretial vegetation is slightly more than that twice of the oceans. Further, there is five-hundred times more carbon locked up in land plants than in all the marine ecosystems combined. Dramatically, the carbon held in trees roughly equals the amount in our atmosphere. Records of average global temperatures show an increase through the present century. most scientists agree that the trend started with the arrival of the industrial revolution, but the past 20 years have shown a marked acceleration. The "greenhouse effect" will produce a rise of between 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 degrees Celsius) and 8 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 degrees Celsius) over the next 50 years. Even at much lower rates of 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit (0.1 degrees Celsius) per decade, which may appear small, the change are 10 to 20 times greater than those typical of the transition form the last Ice Age to the post-glacial period. |
