#SaveTheTrees
This infographic, which is called The Alarming Truth Behind Deforestation, clearly illustrates the damage that has already been and is STILL being done to the earth’s rainforests, showing the dangerous levels in Central America especially.
How bad is it already?
Well as you can see from the illustration here, the damage already done to our rainforests is significant. For instance in Guatemala the rainforests have been depleted by 11% and in Honduras the figure is a shocking 29% — almost a third of the country’s rainforests destroyed. The percentages for several other nations can be seen in the illustration too, and it makes sobering reading. So how has it come to this, and why?
What are the causes of deforestation?
This infographic looks at the main causes for deforestation – the main reasons why the rainforests are disappearing at such an alarming rate. They include small and large scale agriculture, logging and cattle ranching. The latter accounts for a perhaps surprising 45% of deforestation causes. Makes you think twice about ordering that imported steak!
Deforestation facts
If you want to know more about the rainforests there is information on this in the infographic too. For instance, a shocking 15 per cent of greenhouse gases are caused by deforestation. And 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned down for cattle ranching – every day!
Why is the rainforest so vital?
But what does the rainforest do for us anyway? Why do we need to do something about deforestation? Well, as the illustration shows 40% of the world’s oxygen is released by its rainforests. They are essentially the planet’s lungs, which is why we need to act now to save our future selves and generations to come.
Bonus:
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Morgan Franklin is a content creator and environmentalist who was asked to create an infographic to illustrate the current levels of deforestation in the world’s rainforests. You can see the original infographic posted on the eco2greetings blog
