Amazon: Lungs of Our Planet

The Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia, is one of the world's greatest natural resources.About 20% of earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon rainforest watershed is home to the world's highest level of biodiversity.The world's largest tropical rainforest, Amazonia covers more than half of Brazil. Scientists believe that the canopy may contain half of the world's species. Over 500 mammals, 175 lizards and over 300 other reptiles species, and one third of the world's birds live in Amazonia. It is estimated that about 30 million insect types can be found here. Competition for survival is fierce.

• Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.
• One and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second with tragic consequences for both developing and industrial countries.
• Nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century due to rainforest deforestation.

Please save rainforest!! Please save the earth!!

'No opposition between man and planet'

Today I was reading the newspaper and I found a contradictory article to my thought. The article was on ' No opposition between man and planet'. It goes like this that human being is not a threat to the environment, but rather its steward. It mentions that its often said that we have to defend the environment but the term 'defense' could mislead us to see conflict between environment and the human being. In this case, protection encompasses more than defense. It implies a positive vision of the human being, meaning that the person is not considered a nuisance or a threat to the nature, but as its steward. There is an established and inseparable alliance, in which the environment essentially conditions the human being's existence and development, while the latter perfects and ennobles the environment by his creative activity Archbishop Migliore considered the principle of the "responsibility to protect" in regard to the environment.