Hold your breath for 33 hours this week. The Amazon rainforest isn’t called the lungs of the world for no reason. It produces 20% of the world’s oxygen, which amounts to 33 hours every week. In recent years, drought has plagued the rainforest, killing hundreds of varieties of animals. A new epidemic is much more serious: cattle ranching. South American farmers are harvesting the food and making room to supply cheap beef to North America, but is cheap beef worth losing the rainforest? Deforestation reduces the amount of rain that falls on the rainforest, leading to extinction of plants and animals which rely on the moist climate for life. Over 5 million species of plants, animals, and insects live in the rainforest, which is difficult to comprehend. Thankfully, Save the Amazon does, an organization dedicated to preparing individuals embarking on a trip to the Amazon. The organization equips the volunteers with the necessary knowledge and experience in this facility to preserve the Amazon Rainforest through reforestation and other preservation efforts while engaging with indigenous populations.
