National Rainforest Awareness Week Oct 16-22

It's World Rainforest Week! Join us in a week of action and education to help save our world's most diverse ecosystems!

Did you know that half the planet's 5 to 10 million plant and animal species make their homes in the world's rainforests? There are so many species of plants and animals in the rainforest that if you stood in one place and turned in a complete circle, you might see hundreds of different species.

Unfortunately, nearly 40 million acres of rainforest are lost each year -- an area the size of the state of Georgia. Not only are these forests important ecosystems themselves, they also help prevent global warming by absorbing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

But we're not here to depress you! Let's prevent the destruction of more of these precious ecosystems by taking action this week. Each day, you have an opportunity to take a different action for the rainforests. Visit our website and pick which actions you'll take this week!

Try living tree free for a day, campaign to change environmentally and socially destructive corporations, or throw a Party for the Rainforests this weekend!

Have a great World Rainforest week, and be sure to send us pictures to show how you celebrated this important occasion! Thanks for all you do throughout the year!

Julie, Japhet, Levana and Debra
Grassroots Organizing Team
Rainforest Action Network
http://www.ran.org

Facts about the Global Coverage of Rainforests:

Fact: Covering less than 2 percent of the Earth's total surface area, the world's rainforests are home to 50 percent of the Earth's plants and animals.

Fact: Rainforests can be found all over the world from as far north as Alaska and Canada to Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Fact: Rainforests are found on every continent across the Earth, except Antarctica.

Fact: There are two major types of rainforest: temperate rainforests and tropical rainforests.

Fact: The largest temperate rainforests are found on North America's Pacific Coast and stretch from Northern California up into Canada.

Fact: Temperate rainforests used to exist on almost every continent in the world, but today only 50 percent – 75 million acres – of these forests remain worldwide.

Facts about the Rainforest as Part of our Global Environment and Well-being:

Fact: Rainforests act as the world's thermostat by regulating temperatures and weather patterns.

Fact: More than 20 percent of the world's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest.

Fact: One-fifth of the world’s fresh water is found in the Amazon Basin.

Fact: Rainforests are critical in maintaining the Earth's limited supply of drinking and fresh water.

Facts about the Abundant Life and Important Resources that Rainforests Share with Us:

Fact: A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies.

Fact: Rainforests provide many important products for people: timber, coffee, cocoa and many medicinal products, including those used in the treatment of cancer.

Fact: Seventy percent of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute as useful in the treatment of cancer are found only in rainforests.

Fact: More than 2,000 tropical forest plants have been identified by scientists as having anti-cancer properties.

Fact: Less than one percent of the tropical rainforest species have been analyzed for their medicinal value.

Rainforest Photos
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