why does the destruction of the amazon rainforest threaten the whole world?

Answer 1

This is such an important question. Thank you for asking. The Amazon Rainforest, like any forest full of plants, sequesters (takes up) carbon. What's unique about the Amazon is how massive it is. The amount of carbon stored and the potential for future storage is extremely significant, even on the global scale.

Plants (trees, shrubs, foliage, etc) take up carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as part of photosynthesis. They are the perfect complement to humans, who take up oxygen and produce carbon dioxide as part of respiration (breathing). But we have a problem: humans now (have been since ~1850s) produce a lot more carbon dioxide as part of the burning of fossil fuels.

All this excess carbon dioxide that is released remains in the atmosphere and acts as a heat-trapping gas (the "greenhouse effect," thus CO2 called a greenhouse gas, or GHG). This and other GHGs (methane) contribute to global warming, which threatens the planet with rapid climactic change.

As we navigate the existential threat of global warming we seek solutions. The great part about the Amazon is that is a naturally occurring solution. As we discussed, it takes up carbon dioxide. It helps us take out the carbon from the atmosphere and turn it into oxygen, which we need to live. Without the Amazon, we face a much more difficult path to climate resolution, which affects the entire planet.