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The Amazon Rainforest and Its Impact on Our Planet

BACK TO BLOG

The Amazon Rainforest and Its Impact on Our Planet

To Tree or Not to Tree?
To Tree or Not to Tree?
Seems everyone’s got their tree-planting mitts on these days, right?Not quite!While many brands, businesses and charities are doing their part, sometimes trees are offered as tribute in greenwashing efforts. It doesn’t diminish the great work that is being done, though.And if you’re familiar with our Ecoalition tribe and nifty mindset-shifting bracelets, you’ll know we LOVE planting trees.As Simon Sinek says, “Always start with your why.”So let’s get real, shall we?

Why plant trees in the Amazon Rainforest - not the United States?
Seems everyone’s got their tree-planting mitts on these days, right?Not quite!While many brands, businesses and charities are doing their part, sometimes trees are offered as tribute in greenwashing efforts. It doesn’t diminish the great work that is being done, though.And if you’re familiar with our Ecoalition tribe and nifty mindset-shifting bracelets, you’ll know we LOVE planting trees.As Simon Sinek says, “Always start with your why.”So let’s get real, shall we?

Why plant trees in the Amazon Rainforest - not the United States?
While the U.S. is our home soil, we’re not exactly lacking in the tree department (don’t tell Nevada that!).It would be WAY easier for us to hop out of our Ecoalition hub and simply take a potted plant and root it in our backyard.Job done, a tree planted, and back to work!BUT:
  1. Where’s the fun in that?
  2. Seems a little too easy.
  3. It won’t make much of a difference.
Don your jungle hats briefly while we whisk on down to South America.Lovingly referred to as the "lungs of the Earth," the Amazon Rainforest covers a whopping 6.7 million square kilometres. Most of that area is occupied by Brazil, Peru, and Colombia and the remainder by other nations such as Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.To put it in perspective for our human brains:
  • The Amazon could fit 10.3 million American football fields.
  • You could fit Texas in it almost 8 times.
  • The Amazon is home to 47 million people and more than 2 million Indigenous people.
It’s the definition of big and beautiful. And yet, because humans sometimes do things without much future thinking, the Amazon is facing major deforestation.Why should we care, hasn’t it got enough trees to last a lifetime?Maybe only our lifetime…And what’s with the nickname “lungs of the Earth”? We all get our nicknames from somewhere, and the Amazon Rainforest’s story is all about, you got it, trees!

Amazon Rainforest Ecosystem
The plant life is remarkable, but that's just the start.
While the U.S. is our home soil, we’re not exactly lacking in the tree department (don’t tell Nevada that!).It would be WAY easier for us to hop out of our Ecoalition hub and simply take a potted plant and root it in our backyard.Job done, a tree planted, and back to work!BUT:
  1. Where’s the fun in that?
  2. Seems a little too easy.
  3. It won’t make much of a difference.
Don your jungle hats briefly while we whisk on down to South America.Lovingly referred to as the "lungs of the Earth," the Amazon Rainforest covers a whopping 6.7 million square kilometres. Most of that area is occupied by Brazil, Peru, and Colombia and the remainder by other nations such as Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.To put it in perspective for our human brains:
  • The Amazon could fit 10.3 million American football fields.
  • You could fit Texas in it almost 8 times.
  • The Amazon is home to 47 million people and more than 2 million Indigenous people.
It’s the definition of big and beautiful. And yet, because humans sometimes do things without much future thinking, the Amazon is facing major deforestation.Why should we care, hasn’t it got enough trees to last a lifetime?Maybe only our lifetime…And what’s with the nickname “lungs of the Earth”? We all get our nicknames from somewhere, and the Amazon Rainforest’s story is all about, you got it, trees!

Amazon Rainforest Ecosystem
The plant life is remarkable, but that's just the start.
Summer travel essentials
The Amazon rainforest is a genuine biodiversity hotspot since many plant and animal species are unique to this leafy paradise. Being home to more than 400 billion different trees representing 16,000 different species, the Amazon is a natural wonder.Over 2,000 different kinds of birds and animals and over 2.5 million different kinds of bugs make the Amazon Rainforest theirs.As an enormous carbon absorber, the Amazon ecosystem is essential to the global climate system because of the quantity of carbon dioxide it removes from the air and stores. It also produces around 20% of humans' oxygen.The Amazon takes that nasty CO2 we can’t help but keep producing and pops it back out as fresh air for our lungs to breathe. Hence “lungs of the Earth”. The trees also act as rain gods, emitting 20 billion tonnes of H20 into the atmosphere daily. One tree’s hard work can fill your bathtub 10 times in 24 hours. Petition to switch the phrase from “We all have the same 24 hours as Beyonce” to “We all have the same 24 hours as an Amazon tree”. But sadly, we’ve been all take, take, take for many years.Let’s not skirt around the facts; things must change!

The Current Amazon Deforestation Situation
The Amazon rainforest is a genuine biodiversity hotspot since many plant and animal species are unique to this leafy paradise. Being home to more than 400 billion different trees representing 16,000 different species, the Amazon is a natural wonder.Over 2,000 different kinds of birds and animals and over 2.5 million different kinds of bugs make the Amazon Rainforest theirs.As an enormous carbon absorber, the Amazon ecosystem is essential to the global climate system because of the quantity of carbon dioxide it removes from the air and stores. It also produces around 20% of humans' oxygen.The Amazon takes that nasty CO2 we can’t help but keep producing and pops it back out as fresh air for our lungs to breathe. Hence “lungs of the Earth”. The trees also act as rain gods, emitting 20 billion tonnes of H20 into the atmosphere daily. One tree’s hard work can fill your bathtub 10 times in 24 hours. Petition to switch the phrase from “We all have the same 24 hours as Beyonce” to “We all have the same 24 hours as an Amazon tree”. But sadly, we’ve been all take, take, take for many years.Let’s not skirt around the facts; things must change!

The Current Amazon Deforestation Situation
Deforestation is wiping out the Amazon Rainforest, mainly because humans keep chopping down forested areas for other land uses, such as cattle ranching and soybean production. And we could have been better at asking, “Do we really need to print this?”. The 1980s, the era of big hair and epic movies, saw the massive loss of 150 million hectares of forest, with a clearing of the Brazilian Amazon being a major contributing factor. Although deforestation rates have declined over the years, with 47 million hectares (or 598 New York Cities) lost in the last decade, it remains a critical issue that demands attention.Reduced Amazon = less oxygen produced for our lungs.And we don’t know about you, but we kinda like breathing!But we don’t always get to be the main character…Loss of biodiversity, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and the uprooting of indigenous populations are just some of the many negative consequences of deforestation. To spike the punch some more, deforestation can lead to the emergence of diseases, posing a significant threat to both human and animal populations.

Endangered Animals in the Amazon Rainforest
Think Lion King meets Bugs Life crossed with Ace Ventura - you still won’t come close to the number of animals that call the Amazon Rainforest home!Many of the Amazon Rainforest’s unique species face the threat of extinction due to habitat destruction and human activities. Some of the endangered animals include the lowland tapir, the giant otter, the uakari monkey, the white-cheeked spider monkey, and the hyacinth macaw.
Deforestation is wiping out the Amazon Rainforest, mainly because humans keep chopping down forested areas for other land uses, such as cattle ranching and soybean production. And we could have been better at asking, “Do we really need to print this?”. The 1980s, the era of big hair and epic movies, saw the massive loss of 150 million hectares of forest, with a clearing of the Brazilian Amazon being a major contributing factor. Although deforestation rates have declined over the years, with 47 million hectares (or 598 New York Cities) lost in the last decade, it remains a critical issue that demands attention.Reduced Amazon = less oxygen produced for our lungs.And we don’t know about you, but we kinda like breathing!But we don’t always get to be the main character…Loss of biodiversity, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and the uprooting of indigenous populations are just some of the many negative consequences of deforestation. To spike the punch some more, deforestation can lead to the emergence of diseases, posing a significant threat to both human and animal populations.

Endangered Animals in the Amazon Rainforest
Think Lion King meets Bugs Life crossed with Ace Ventura - you still won’t come close to the number of animals that call the Amazon Rainforest home!Many of the Amazon Rainforest’s unique species face the threat of extinction due to habitat destruction and human activities. Some of the endangered animals include the lowland tapir, the giant otter, the uakari monkey, the white-cheeked spider monkey, and the hyacinth macaw.
But it isn’t just trees, animals and our lungs at risk…

Plants At Risk in the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon could be home to almost 10% of all known plant species on Earth.And it’s so big; we’re constantly discovering new ones!There’s no beating around the bush; the Amazon Rainforest hosts an incredible variety of plant life. However, the increasing degradation of the Amazon Rainforest puts over 10,000 species of plants and animals in jeopardy.We keep these conversations alive to protect these vital ecosystems and their irreplaceable plant life.

Saving the Amazon Rainforest from Being Destroyed
Let’s use our collective power to create, not destroy.So yeah, we COULD plant trees in the U.S. and save a few dollars.But the Amazon Rainforest needs us more - and we’re here to make a real impact.Our Ecoalition bracelets are the first step towards giving back to the Amazon Rainforest. We’re committing to planting a tree with every purchase and twelve trees for each annual Roots to Change subscription.With our Ecoalite tribe by our side, sparking more conversations each day, we’re determined to plant one million trees collectively. We’re not a trend. We’re a mindset.All it takes is one small step. Are you ready to take it?
But it isn’t just trees, animals and our lungs at risk…

Plants At Risk in the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon could be home to almost 10% of all known plant species on Earth.And it’s so big; we’re constantly discovering new ones!There’s no beating around the bush; the Amazon Rainforest hosts an incredible variety of plant life. However, the increasing degradation of the Amazon Rainforest puts over 10,000 species of plants and animals in jeopardy.We keep these conversations alive to protect these vital ecosystems and their irreplaceable plant life.

Saving the Amazon Rainforest from Being Destroyed
Let’s use our collective power to create, not destroy.So yeah, we COULD plant trees in the U.S. and save a few dollars.But the Amazon Rainforest needs us more - and we’re here to make a real impact.Our Ecoalition bracelets are the first step towards giving back to the Amazon Rainforest. We’re committing to planting a tree with every purchase and twelve trees for each annual Roots to Change subscription.With our Ecoalite tribe by our side, sparking more conversations each day, we’re determined to plant one million trees collectively. We’re not a trend. We’re a mindset.All it takes is one small step. Are you ready to take it?