Ever since I could remember I was always reminded by my teachers how important the rainforest was and how we should keep it preserved. I would ask myself at a young age what really is the importance of the rainforest? Why are my teachers in elementary school telling me about the rainforest at such a young age? I believe myself as well as others take the rainforest for granted. Medicine discoveries within the rainforest have shown that we do in fact need to preserve the rainforest.
Destruction of the rainforest may have taken away some valuable medicine that we have not discovered yet. Roughly only 1% of the discoveries we found in the rainforest have been tested for their medical abilities. The National Cancer Institute examined 3000 plants and 70% have the possibility to hold anti-cancer properties which to me is something I believe is astounding. Most of the medical compounds given out by doctors are from plants, 7,000 to be exact!
Medical discoveries found in the rainforest have been linked to the help of headaches and also certain ingredients found in birth control. We constantly discuss research in our class and this is exactly what is important within the rainforest. Rainforest’s have allowed doctors and scientists the opportunity to research new medical opportunities to benefit the rest of the world. We know that preserving this vital part of our world is no easy task. You may think differently the next time you walk into a prescription drug store and take a look at a simple bottle of aspirin. About 120 prescription drugs are found to have been from the rainforest.
Rainforest’s across the world are being constantly destroyed and used for different purposes. Just think about all the medical discoveries that are being taken away from the rest of the world. Does the greatest discovery in medical history still lie within the rainforest? Is it destroyed and we don’t even know it? These are questions and concerns we have to ask ourselves. One of the best ways to spread the issue is through awareness and conservation efforts. Organizations such as Rainforest Alliance help keep the awareness going. We all have to take into account the possibilities and treasures the rainforest has and how the world can benefit from them.
http://www.adventure-life.com/articles/rainforest-medicine-78
http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/rainforest_drug.htm
http://www.islandcountyeh.org/Page/17
I find it astounding that only 1% of discoveries found in the rain forest have been tested for medical use. Who knows what kind of illness and diseases we may be able to cure if we thoroughly test all the rain forest’s resources and find positive results. My elementary and middle school teachers used to also tell us the same thing about how important it is to protect the rain forests but I always thought it was to protect the wild life and trees so that we don’t waste all our natural resources. Looking into it, I found a website thats listed below that discusses even more reasons to protect our rain forests.
http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-should-we-protect-rainforest.html
Rainforest’s are extremely important I agree 100% and the discoveries within them are endless. We find new people and new species living in the Amazon for example every day. Numerous medicines come from plants and the amount of possible drugs coming from the rain forests is astounding. The consequence of tearing the forests down is extremely severe and we could be destroying possible medicine to treat cancer, ALS, and more diseases. Conservation is key for us as well as the animals and plant species that call the rainforest home. It is our responsibility to not destroy something that could save us one day.