Deforestation
People are destroying the world's rainforests at a very fast rate. One of the reasons is deforestation. More and more trees are cut down every year because
- the world's population needs more and more wood
- people in the tropical rainforest need energy. They can't buy oil or gas because it's too expensive.
- governments find valuable raw materials in these areas — like iron ore, gold or silver.
- dams are built along tropical rivers.
- big companies get land to grow meat and produce food.
Deforestation in the tropical rainforest
Dikshajhingan / CC BY-SA
Words
- dam = a wall built across a river ; most dams are built to stop flooding and produce electricity
- deforestation = the cutting or burning down of all trees in an area
- government = the people who rule a country
- iron ore = rock or earth that has iron in it
- rate = speed
- raw materials = things that exist in nature and can be used by people - like wood, coal, oil etc..
- valuable = very important and expensive