The main way the rain forests are being destroyed is because of deforestation. Deforestation is the cutting down of trees. This can cause harmful effects on both the animals and the humans living in the area.

-The cause for deforestation is typically for economic purposes.
-Many tropical countries are not economically developed so they have the need for agriculture and money making industries on the rainforest land.

-For poor farmers, slash and burn agriculture is the most common, which usually involve small areas of land that are about a few acres.
-Intense or moderate agriculture typically happens on a larger scale that could be up to several square miles at a time.

-Cattle pastures are becoming increasingly present in rainforest because their beef is being sold on the global market.

Commercial logging can happen in two ways: selectively and clearing. Selectively is when only certain trees with market value are cut; clearing is when everything is cut down and sold or used for firewood and materials for houses.

Mining and industry both pollute the air, soil, and water. Roads and railroads are being built throughout the rain forests and people and animals are being displaces.

When deforestation occurs, the animals homes are destroyed and they are forced to move to small areas of land, which typically creates tension between species and causes them to fight. Also, it makes them more accessible to hunters.

The main threat towards asian elephants is the loss of habitat. If destruction makes it that they are isolated, then they cannot mix with other herds and that can cause inbreeding.

Poaching is the biggest threat towards tigers because every part of the tiger in considered valuable. Their parts can be used for medicine and status symbols among some Asian cultures.

As logging continues, their habitats are being destroyed. Gorillas are particularly vulnerable to extinction because they reproduce slowly so they usually do not have a population explosion.

Forest help keep carbon dioxide and other green houses gas emission down, but when they are cut, they become a carbon source. Deforestation represents 15% of all greenhouse gas emission. This contributes to the severe temperature and weather changes.

The trees help balance the amount of water on land and in the air, so when they are cut down, the cycle becomes unbalanced, which can result in the change in rainfall and the flow of rivers.

When trees are cleared for crop production, typically the roots of these crops cannot hold the fertile soil in place and then it is washed into the river. Then once all of the fertile soil is gone, the farmers move to different places and the soil erosion cycle continues.

There are many preventions that are simple. Many agencies and non-profits are devoted to preventing the destruction of the rainforest and the protection of the wildlife there.

WWF stands for World Wide Fund for Nature. This organization is devoted to protecting the wildlife all over the world.

An easy way to help WWF is to shop at AmazonSmile, which is just like normal Amazon, except .5% of each purchase is sent back to them.

There are many different protest happening. Some are towards certain companies, like in the picture you see a sign protesting McDonalds, and some are towards the government, others can be like when local rainforest inhabitants are refusing to move out of their homes.

There are various news letters that you can sign up for that will send you updates about volunteer opportunities. Through these letters you can also donate to the organization of your choosing.

The future is what we make it. If the rate of deforestations stays the same, then we could loose all of our rain forests within the next 100 years. But, if we do what we can to help stop deforestation, many animal's and human's lives could be saved. It is our choice about which it will be.