A 2.5-acre area may contain as many as 280 or more species of trees and hundreds more plant species making every square inch as valuable as the next (Amazon 402). The trees may stand as tall as 130 feet with their tops growing intertwined protecting the valuable ecosystem below from the harsh rays of the hot South American sun (Amazon 404). The Amazon also acts as a giant, solar powered "engine" that pumps and circulates water, nutrients, and gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen into the Earth's atmosphere and biosphere (Place XVI). This natural cycle occurring in the Amazon produces a vital 1/5 of the world's oxygen (Ghitis). Such important products as: Brazil nuts, cocoa, curare (an important drug), pineapples, and rubber can be found within the confines of this dense jungle (Amazon 402). These important economical products are one of the reasons why the detrimental deforestation of the Amazon is taking place by the uncaring hands of big business and the governments that stand behind them in their efforts.
The Brazilian government has decided to allow big business to cut millions of acres of trees in the Amazon River basin (Ghitis). Although perhaps only 15 to 20 % has been removed so far, the rate of cutting has been accelerating so that now more than twenty thousand square kilometers are cleared each year (Place XVI). In Brazil alone 5.4 million acres are lost every year. Ecuador a country of 270,000 square kilometers, formerly had 132,000 square kilometers of Amazonian rainforest and now with a deforestation rate of nearly 4% per year, only 44,000 square kilometers still remain. Due to this rapid destruction, scientists estimate that an average of nearly 137 species of plant and wildlife are driven into extinction every day and nearly 50,000 per year in the Amazon alone. To further put these disturbing numbers into perspective, within the next hour six species will be destroyed and in a matter of minutes 150 acres of beautiful land will be mowed over for human use (Miller).
