By 2060, rainforests will be just a dream (rainforest facts). Tropical forests are the lungs of the Earth and provide 40% of the planet's oxygen each year. The world must preserve tropical forests, because without them our ecosystem would suffer. Rainforests provide the Western world with one in four prescription drugs sold today and many valuable resources (rainforests' contribution to humanity). Ecosystem balance, water cycle and carbon dioxide levels depend on tropical forests. Additionally, rainforests are home to many animals, plants, endangered species and tribes. Background: Tropical forests are the world's oldest ecosystems, dating back almost 100 million years. The largest tropical forests are found around the Amazon in South America, around the equator in Africa, and in South Asia. Small rainforests thrive in Central America, the Pacific and Caribbean islands, and Mexico. Rainforests maintain a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit and receive between 160 and 400 inches of rain per year. The conditions available in tropical forests are exemplary for life to grow and flourish. The area where rainforests are located saves them from natural disasters and saves them from loss of life during ice ages. Due to these conditions, the rainforest is home to 50 to 70 million species (Rainforest Facts). Rainforest resources began to be economically favored in the early 1990s. Since then, deforestation for resources has increased dramatically to an alarming rate. Every second we lose an area the size of two football fields and every week an area twice the size of Rhode Island. Rainforests once covered fourteen percent of the Earth, compared to two percent today. In the middle......in the middle of the paper......there are different species of animals and plants. Many Indian tribes call the rainforest home. They use the resources of the rainforest to survive and thrive as a community. However, as rainforests are destroyed, their homes are destroyed and important information about plants and medicines is lost. Conclusion: Rainforests are home to many plants, animals and humans. It holds many secrets that have not yet been discovered by humans. These secrets may be a cure for cancer or new sources of food. It provides the West with many important medicines and resources. The most important resource is the oxygen produced by the rainforest. Furthermore, deforestation of rainforests sets off chain reactions in the global ecosystem that not only affect the rainforest. It's important to save rainforests because by 2060 there may be none left to save..