Amazon covers 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million sq mi) across nine countries, made up of nearly 400 billion...

Originally shared by Green Impact International

Amazon covers 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million sq mi) across nine countries, made up of nearly 400 billion individual trees . These trees are estimated to produce about 20 percent of the world’s oxygen. It is estimated that 1 in 10 of all animal species lives in the Amazon rain forest. On top of that, just one hectare (2.5 acres) of the Amazon rain forest can contain up to 750 species of trees and 1,500 species of higher plants.Deforestation in the Amazon does have catastrophic effects for the whole planet. The Amazon holds about 90–140 billion metric tons of carbon, which is three or four times the amount released into the atmosphere each year.In fact, deforestation accounts for about 15 percent of annual global emissions, which is more than the transport sector of the entire world. And obviously, if the rain forest is leveled in the next 40 years, there will be considerably fewer trees to absorb the markedly higher levels of carbon in the atmosphere. And once those trees are gone, it can take hundreds of years for them to grow back, if that’s even possible. We are literally making the problem bigger while also reducing
our ability to address it.