Rainforests and the Ozone layer

name         kristina
status       student
age          14

Question -   i was wondering if the burning of the rainforest is
affecting the ozone layer, and if so, how badly is it affecting it?  At
the rate the rainforests are being burned down, is it possile that
eventually, we will infact, breathe absolutly polluted air, or even have
not enough air, because all main source of trees in the world are
gone?  is this all possible or does burning down rainoforests not have
an effect on the eco-system or even the future of our civilization?
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The burning of the rainforest and the decrease in the ozone layer are not
directly related.  The decrease in the ozone layer is due to a number of
things, CFCs (chloroflurocarbons such as DuPont's Freon (TM)), HFCs (the 
replacements for DuPont's Freon (TM), although not as bad, still 
destroy ozone), and high flying jet planes for example.

The burning of forests is of concern for many reasons, the most often cited
being a)loss of habitat for rare plants and animals, some of which may be
useful in developing drugs or studying genetics among other things, and b)
an increase in global carbon dioxide (CO2) leading to "global warming".

We already breathe very polluted air, compared to the past.  DDT, PCBs, and
higher levels of mercury have found their way to the north and south poles,
even though nobody sprays for bugs or has big factories in either
place.  The pollution gets there through the air.

But let's get back to CO2.  The burning of the rainforest definitely
effects the eco-system, because a rainforest is an ecosystem (or part of
the global ecosystem, depending on how you look at the world).  Global
warming, if it continues and does not turn back, will cause huge changes in
ecosystems.  Rain and snowfall patterns will change all over the world,
areas near the coast will be underwater, animals that cannot move to new
areas because they're blocked by human populations and developments will
die.  But no one knows for sure how warm it will get and how fast it will
get there, so a lot of people still argue over whether there really is
global warming.  Even if all the trees got cut down, there would still be
oxygen to breathe though, because all plants (including algae in the ocean)
make oxygen.

The future of civilization depends on how well people manage our own
populations, as well as how we treat our environment.  If the entire world
population were to stay where it is now, the entire world could live at
something near our current standard of living (or maybe something closer to
Japan's or Europe's)- people have the advantages of technology, but not
everyone has a car, and those cars are usually small, houses are not very
large or people live in small apartments.  Even at double the current
population, things would be manageable, but there would have to be serious
changes in lifestyle or technology.

In the meantime, we should all try and do what we can.  Save energy
whenever you can- drive less and in smaller cars, use fluorescent light
bulbs, set the heat lower (60 instead of 70 degrees) and wear sweaters, set
the air conditioning higher (80 degrees) or use a fan if you can, take
short fast showers, just long enough to get clean.  There are lots of
things that you can do.  A lot of these things are easy to do.  People just
need to start caring that what they use or destroy today will affect people
tomorrow.

Don

Donald Yee Ph.D.
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Dear Kristina,

These are several different issues, but I will try to summarize some of the
overall points:

No, the burning of the rainforest does not affect the ozone layer.
Chloroflurocarbons (CFCs) found in former refrigerant gases were the main
problem.

Yes, rainforests are being lost, but at the same time, other areas are
growing back, including secondary forests in former farmlands.

The pollutants from rainforests burning affect mainly the localized area.

The oxygen we breathe comes from plants in temperate regions also, as well
as the algae in oceanic regions.

Rainforest loss negatively affects biodiversity or the numbers of different
kinds of species in ecosystems.

Some of these species being lost may be useful for advances in medicine and
food crops so their loss could potentially affect the long-term health and
survival of human civilization.

Sincerely,

Anthony R. Brach, Ph.D.
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