Environmental Page

Listening to: "Moon River"

Tropical rainforests are by far the richest habitat on Earth. As many as 30 million species of plants and animals - more than half of all life forms - live in tropical rainforests. At least two-thirds of the world's plant species, including many exotic and beautiful flowers, as well as plants with medicinal value, occur in the tropics and subtropics.

Rainforests are part of the global weather system. Destroying them alters the hydrological cycle - causing drought, flooding, and soil erosion in areas where such events were previously rare. The cutting of forests also changes the albedo or reflectivity of the earth's surface, which in turn alters wind and ocean current patterns, and changes rainfall distribution.