At the current rate of destruction, this miraculous web of life will be totally wiped out in forty years. Untold treasures and irreplaceable resources available only within these unique environments will be lost. The importance of these fragile eco-systems to the health of our world cannot be overstated: over half of Earth’s living species live there.

Three acres of Amazon Rainforest contain over 750 types of trees, more trees than in all of North America. One rainforest reserve in Peru is home to more species of birds than the entire United States. According to estimates, 50% of the world’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest, and quarter of the Earth’s fresh water is found in the Amazon River basin.

Perhaps even more distressing is the loss of countless ingredients that could provide improved health and a better life for millions of people throughout the entire world.

70% of the plants currently found to be active against cancers come from the rainforests. Over 120 prescription drugs and 25 % of all pharmaceutical originate from rainforest materials. 80% of all fruits and vegetables in our modern diet originated in rainforests. And yet the rainforest is so rich with life, less than 1% of it’s 300,000 plant species have even been studied by scientists.

One rainforest plant, the Madagascar Periwinkle (now extinct in the wild), has produced a drug that has increased the survival rate in children with leukemia from 20% to 80%. How many lives have been saved by this one plant? How many more can be saved by other plants that grow in the rainforests?

A seemingly endless list presents the importance of saving the world’s remaining rainforests. If we act today, the world we pass on to our children’s children can be a healthier, better world for all.