Rainforest Coloring Pages and Activities for Kids. Color in your favorite rainforest birds, mammals, reptiles and plants in our coloring book, or teach yourself about the rainforest with our fun experiments, crafts, and quizzes.
Coloring Pages: Amphibians Birds Insects Mammals Plants Reptiles Hands-On Projects from The Remarkable Rainforest Teach yourself about the rainforest with experiments, crafts, and quizzes. These activities are reprinted from The Remarkable Rainforest by Toni Albert, © 1994 by Toni Albert. If you order this book directly from the publishers at 800-353-2791, mention the Rainforest Alliance. Topher White: What can save the rainforest? Your used cell phone. NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Rainforest Heroes. Rain Forest Threats, Rain Forest Species. More than half of Earth’s rain forests have already been lost forever to the insatiable human demand for wood and arable land.
Rain forests that once grew over 14 percent of the land on Earth now cover only about 6 percent. And if current deforestation rates continue, these critical habitats could disappear from the planet completely within the next hundred years. The reasons for plundering rain forests are mainly economic. Wealthy nations drive demand for tropical timber, and cash-strapped governments often grant logging concessions at a fraction of the land’s true value.
“Homesteader” policies also encourage citizens to clear-cut forests for farms. Threats Solutions. News: Rain Forest. For centuries, humans have relied on rain forests for a variety of products.
Foods such as tomatoes, peppers, corn, rice, coconuts, bananas, coffee, cocoa, tapioca, beans, and sweet potatoes all originally came from the rain forest. Many civilizations have exploited the timber in rain forests and cleared the land for farms. Some preliterate tribes have actually lived in the rain forests for thousands of years. Today people rely on tropical rain forests for a variety of everyday products: paper (7 percent of all paper pulp comes from the rain forest); rubber (used in tires and other products); wax (used in plastics); mahogany and teak (used in wood products such as furniture); and many other items. Destructive Activities Unfortunately, human activities have taken a toll on the rain forest. Farming. Cattle ranching also poses a danger to rain forests. Logging. Rain Forest. In Brazil, which houses 30 percent of the remaining tropical rain forest on Earth, more than 50,000 square miles of rain forest were lost to deforestation between 2000 and 2005.
Biologists worry about the long-term consequences. Drought may be one. Some rain forests, including the Amazon, began experiencing drought in the 1990s, possibly due to deforestation and global warming. Efforts to discourage deforestation, mainly through sustainable-logging initiatives, are underway on a very limited basis but have had a negligible impact so far. The rain forest is nearly self-watering. Plants in the rain forest grow very close together and contend with the constant threat of insect predators. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that 70 percent of the anti-cancer plants identified so far are rain forest plants. Many trees and plants, like orchids, have been removed from the rain forest and cultivated. The Rainforest - Green / Earth Issues for Kids: Presented by Children of the Earth United, Green - Environmental Education for Kids, Teachers and Families. Why are rainforests being destroyed?
The Living Rainforest The Living Rainforest.