The rain forests are disappearing. Fast. Researchers say that an acre and a half of rain forest is lost every second of every day.
Loggers cut down all the trees in huge areas. Ranchers burn enormous areas to create grazing land for cows. Governments push poor people from crowded cities into the forest. They are told to practice slash-and-burn farming. This method is okay when small groups of people do it. But it is disastrous when large numbers do it. They have to move on to new land every two or three years. The rain forest is very slow to recover. Its biodiversity gets ruined. Scientists estimate that every day, 135 plant, animal, or insect species go extinct because of rain forest destruction.
