STOP CUTTING DOWN TREES

Forests cover more than 30% of the Earth’s land surface, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). These forested areas produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), and are home to an estimated 80% of Earth’s terrestrial species. Forests also are a source of food, medicine and fuel for more than a billion people. Worldwide, forests provide 13.4 million people with jobs in the forest sector, and another 41 million people have jobs related to forests. Forests are an important natural resource, but humans have destroyed substantial quantities of forested land. In North America, about half the forests in the eastern part of the continent were cut down for timber and farming between the 1600s and late 1800s, according to National Geographic.Today, most deforestation is happening in the tropics. Areas that were inaccessible in the past are now within reach as people build new roads through the dense forests. The world has lost about 10% of its tropical tree cover since 2000