FUTURE: it can be bright!

              If other countries in South America adopt similar laws and provisions that Brazil currently has, the rainforest will have a brighter future. It is essential that governments and citizens lose the idea that the rainforest should be used solely for economic gain. If deforestation continues, more habitats will be destroyed thus pressuring the survival of plants and animals. A lot of animals are already under stress of extinction; unless we start saving their habitats, they will soon go extinct. Also, with less trees performing photosynthesis, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase and thus contribute to the greenhouse effect. We will also lose plants that provide us with medications. Therefore, we would be setting ourselves back by extinguishing vital resources found in the Amazon.1

              Climate change due to global warming has already impacted the rainforest and will only have greater impacts if climates continue to rise. According to computer models, if current rates of global warming continue, a great portion of the Amazon will change from rainforest to savanna, especially in the southern parts of the region. This shift would have monumental ecological and economic impacts. This dramatic change would affect the rainfall that currently supports different regions that produce 70% of South America’s gross domestic product. Consequently, the area will suffer economic loss as well as loss of natural resources.1

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/12062-amazon-rainforest-future.html

 Butler, Rhett A. "The Amazon: The World's Largest Rainforest." The Amazon Rainforest. N.p., 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/>.