The native people who live in the rainforest respect nature and do not hurt the rainforest. But some people do hurt the rainforest to make money. They cut down the trees to make furniture and paper. They burn the forest to clear the land for raising cows. They mine for gold and drill for oil. These people hurt the rainforest only to make money for themselves or their companies.

What Helps the Rainforest? All the plants and animals that live in a rainforest help each other. Animals and birds help spread seeds. Insects and birds carry pollen from flower to flower. Plants are food for some animals. Dead plants are food for other plants. Trees help the air stay clean.

The plants depend on the animals. The animals depend on the plants. They both depend on people to let them live. If one animal or plant is destroyed, many other plants and animals die.

When the rainforest is cut down, it hurts everyone! When parts of the rainforest die, our planet earth is injured. Many of the medicines and foods we use today came from the rainforest.

Over one half of all plants that live in the world today live in the rainforest. Some do not even have names yet. As the rainforest dies, many plants become extinct. We might be losing plants that could become new medicines and new foods.

The rainforest helps you breathe. It cleans the air. The plants and trees make much of our planet's oxygen.

What can you do to help save the rainforest?

Use less paper to help save the rainforest! Paper is made from trees. If you use less paper, fewer trees will be cut down. Using less paper is easy.

Use less gasoline and plastic. Gasoline and plastic are two things that are made from oil. Instead of using gasoline to drive somewhere in a car, ride your bike, walk, carpool, or take the bus whenever possible.

Instead of buying plastic, choose glass containers whenever possible. Reuse the plastic containers and bottles that you already have. If you have a plastic water bottle, do not throw it out and buy a new one. Instead, clean it and refill it again and again.

Eat less red meat. One big reason rainforests are being destroyed is for beef. Millions of acres of rainforest are cut down and burned. The land is set on fire in order to get rid of the trees. The cleared land is then turned into grass pastures for cows. Many fast-food hamburgers in our country are made from beef that comes from burned out rainforests!