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National Geographic Documentary: The Amazon Rainforest

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Essay on Rainforest

Students are often asked to write an essay on Rainforest in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Rainforest

What is a rainforest.

A rainforest is a thick forest that gets a lot of rain throughout the year. It is usually found near the equator. The weather is warm and it rains almost every day. A rainforest is full of many types of plants and animals.

Layers of a Rainforest

There are four layers in a rainforest. These are the forest floor, the understory, the canopy, and the emergent layer. Each layer has unique plants and animals living there. For example, the canopy layer is home to monkeys and birds.

Animals in the Rainforest

Rainforests are home to many animals. Some of them are monkeys, jaguars, parrots, snakes, and insects. These animals have special ways to survive in the rainforest. For example, some animals are good at climbing trees.

Plants in the Rainforest

There are many types of plants in a rainforest. These include trees, vines, ferns, and flowers. Some trees can grow very tall, up to 200 feet. The plants in the rainforest provide food and shelter for the animals.

Importance of Rainforests

Rainforests are important for many reasons. They provide homes for many animals and plants. They also help to control the world’s climate. Plus, they provide us with many things we use every day, like fruits, spices, and medicines.

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• 10 Lines on Rainforest

250 Words Essay on Rainforest

A rainforest is a type of forest that gets a lot of rain. It is usually hot all year round. Rainforests are found in many parts of the world, like South America, Africa, and Asia. They are very important to the Earth.

Why are Rainforests Important?

Rainforests are like the lungs of our planet. They take in carbon dioxide, a gas that we breathe out, and give out oxygen, a gas that we breathe in. This helps to keep the air clean. Rainforests are also home to many plants and animals. Some of these are not found anywhere else in the world.

Plants and Animals in the Rainforest

Rainforests are full of life. They have tall trees, colorful flowers, and many different kinds of animals. Some of these animals are monkeys, birds, snakes, and insects. The plants and trees in the rainforest also provide food and shelter for these animals.

Threats to the Rainforest

Rainforests are in danger. People cut down trees for wood and to make space for farms. This is called deforestation. When trees are cut down, the animals lose their homes. This also means that the rainforest can’t clean the air as well.

How Can We Help?

We can help save the rainforest. We can recycle and use less paper to save trees. We can also learn more about the rainforest and tell others about why it is important to protect it. By doing these things, we can help keep the rainforest safe for all the plants and animals that live there.

500 Words Essay on Rainforest

A rainforest is a type of forest that gets a lot of rain. It is known for its rich diversity of plants and animals. They are found in warm places, and they are very important for the health of our planet.

The Layers of a Rainforest

A rainforest is divided into four main parts, or layers. These are the emergent layer, the canopy, the understory, and the forest floor. The emergent layer is the topmost layer where the tallest trees, some reaching up to 200 feet, are found. The canopy is the layer below the emergent layer, and it is home to many birds and insects. The understory is a dark, cool environment where many animals and insects live. The forest floor is the lowest layer, and it is covered by fallen leaves, fruits, and dead plants.

Life in the Rainforest

Rainforests are full of life. They are home to more than half of the world’s plant and animal species. This includes colorful birds, large cats like jaguars, many types of monkeys, and countless insects. Many of these animals and plants cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

The Importance of Rainforests

Rainforests play a vital role in keeping our planet healthy. They help control the world’s weather and climate by producing large amounts of oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. They also provide us with many things we need, like food, medicines, and wood.

Threats to Rainforests

Sadly, rainforests are in danger. Many are being cut down to make room for farms and cities. This is called deforestation. When a rainforest is cut down, many of the animals and plants that live there can disappear forever. This also affects the world’s climate, as less carbon dioxide is absorbed.

Protecting Rainforests

It’s important to protect our rainforests. We can do this by using less paper, eating less meat, and buying products that are rainforest-friendly. We can also support groups that protect rainforest land.

In conclusion, rainforests are a vital part of our planet. They are home to many unique plants and animals, and they help control our climate. But they are in danger, and we need to do our part to protect them.

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Amazon Rainforest - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, famed for its biodiversity. It’s located in nine different countries, including Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Essays might discuss its importance in the global ecosystem, the threats it faces like deforestation and climate change, and international efforts to protect it. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Amazon Rainforest you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Yanomami People: Stewards of the Amazon Rainforest

Nestled in the thick, verdant canopy of the Amazon rainforest live the Yanomami people, an indigenous group whose existence is as fascinating as it is fraught with challenges. This essay aims to shed light on the Yanomami, exploring their unique way of life, cultural practices, and the daunting threats they face in the modern world. The Yanomami are among the largest relatively isolated tribes in South America, residing primarily in the remote regions of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. Their […]

Deforestation in the Amazon

When a person first thinks of the Amazon, chances are they think of a mysterious forest home to the most majestic creatures. They think of its diverse selection of plants and animals and how its size trumps every rainforest in the world, but hardly anyone considers the impacts the rainforest has on the world, and even less contemplate the consequences if the Amazon were to disappear. Currently, the Amazon is plentiful in terms of nutrients, but if people continue to […]

The Causes Effects and Solutions of Deforestation

Nearly thirty one percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by forests. These forests are responsible for providing the planet and its inhabitants with vital resources such as producing oxygen and absorbing emitted carbon dioxide. Forests are also home to nearly half of all known species as well as some 300 million people whose survival depends almost entirely on their native woods. Many of our Earth’s forests and rainforests are under threat from the eradicating process of deforestation. Deforestation is […]

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Large-Scale Deforestation in Amazon

Large-scale deforestation or forest clearing has been understood for years to cause great loss in biodiversity (Foley et al., 2007). Within the Amazon Rainforest specifically, deforestation is a huge issue that has many hidden ramifications often overlooked by policymakers. According to the authors of "Amazonia Revealed: Forest Degradation and Loss of Ecosystem Goods and Services in the Amazon Basin," "rainforests in the Amazon sequester carbon from the global atmosphere, regulate the water balance and flow of the entire Amazon River […]

Deforestation in Tropical Rainforests

Deforestation is a growing issue that completely removes the amount of tree cover in specified areas all around the world (Angelsen, 1995). It comes in a variety of forms and can be found in pretty much any forest, based on its location. Although many things may lead to the cause of deforestation, nobody knows exactly what causes it. In the past couple of years, as the scale and damaging effects of tropical deforestation have become more evident, the debate about […]

Impact of Globalization

Introduction Globalization is the intricate procedure of countries around the world becoming more entwined through international trade. For better and worse, this entwining then further affects other aspects of the local societies, indelibly changing their cultural and political landscapes (Doh & Luthans, 2018). These changes are naturally controversial, with the supporters of globalization believing that it brings financial gain to countries across the globe. Its opponents counter that it just helps the developed countries get richer, while leaving the less […]

Illegal Deforestation

Has your home ever been chopped down because some people want to get rich? Do you want that to happen? Well, this happens to millions of animals each day. This is known as deforestation. Deforestation is the act where people cut down trees illegally without boundaries and oftentimes without thought. These cruel actions take the lives and homes of many different types of animals such as orangutans, monkeys, and many more species. There are causes for deforestation, there are ways […]

Deforestation the Modern Plague

The Amazon it is in danger, and no, it is not the Amazon that people like to visit through their mobile devices on a lonely night at midnight to purchase unnecessary products, it is being referred to the Amazonian Rainforest with an area of 2,300,000 square miles, that covers 40% of Brazil, and gives to huge variety of flora and fauna. Humans are wasting no time in cutting down this rich and diverse biological reservoir in a process called deforestation. […]

Deforestation: an Increasing Problem Around the World

Tyriq: Hi I’m Tyriq FreemanChristopher:  And I’m Christopher HorneTyriq: Deforestation is a big problem and is leading to our most beloved animals to become extinct.Christopher: Deforestation happens on a daily basis which means habitats of animals are being destroyed on a daily basis and later die.Tyriq: According to the Rainforest Action Network, an area of rainforest as big as a football field is destroyed every second of every day.Christopher: Since the beginning of human settlement, deforestation has always been present. […]

Deforestation and the Economy

During this century it has become quite evident that, we are causing such a great travesty to our dear mother earth. It has been shown that if we as it’s inhabitants don’t take care of her she won’t have much to give us in return. In specific I am talking about our natural resources such as forestry and natural greenery. Unless we can decrease the amount of forest clearing and wood use and implement replacing them, we will ultimately deplete […]

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Ecosystem in the rainforest Essay

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The first law of thermodynamics is the same as the law energy conservation. The rules of this law include that energy is transferable from one system to another in various status. Another rule of this law is that energy is not destroyable and nobody who have the capability of creating it.

Another rule of this law is that the entire amount of energy available in the space is constant . The second law of thermodynamics also has some rules. For instance, heat cannot be transmitted from a cool to a hot object. Depending on this rule, there must be some natural processes to transmit energy towards one direction.

The natural processes to be involved should be irrevocable. Through the applications of the second law of thermodynamics, some things in the space are becoming less important such as the energy and other substances.

For life to exist in the rainforest ecosystem, energy is moved from one living form to another. Energy is transmitted in the ecosystem from one tropic point to the other. In most cases, the energy pyramid in an ecosystem is similar to the food pyramid. The population of the organisms in a certain point depends on the level of the energy pyramid.

The lower the level of the energy pyramid, the higher the number of the organisms. In the circumstances of a rainforest ecosystem, the primary producers occupy the bottom of the energy pyramid. The major source of energy in the space is the sun that provides solar energy.

In the rainforest ecosystem, through the energy from the sun, primary producers manufacture carbohydrates through the process of photosynthesis. The raw materials used in the process of photosynthesis are mainly water and carbon dioxide, to manufacture food for the plants.

The primary producers in the rainforest ecosystems are the green plants both big and small. The main primary consumers that depend solely on the work of the primary producers for food are the animals that feed on green vegetations for instance, cows, grasshoppers etc.

In the rainforest ecosystem, both the secondary and the tertiary consumers are mainly found in the third and the fourth trophic levels. Secondary consumers include frogs and lizards, while tertiary consumers are fresh eaters like leopards that feed on secondary consumers.

The transmission of energy from one level to the other is not always 100% as the biggest percentage of energy is lost through the heat. The last groups of organisms that exist in the rainforest ecosystem are the detritivores, which feed on dead and decayed living and non-living things. Their main great role within the ecosystem is to clean up the environment.

In the rainforest ecosystem, the major nutrients are stored in the growing vegetation, dead plants, and in the decaying matters. During the time when the organic matters are decaying, after the decomposition the nutrients are recycled so fast and very few of them are left in the soil .

The presence of the decomposers in the soil like bacteria and fungi makes the process of decomposing matters so fast.

The living organisms absorb the nutrients quickly when organisms die and decompose. In the rainforest ecosystem, when vegetables and plants die, they decay and decompose so fast, and the nutrients obtained after decomposition are broken down and immediately absorbed by the living plants and the cycle continues. Decayed legumes and other plants remains constitute 40 teragrams of nitrogen in the soil.

Several human activities have interfered with the nutrient cycles. Some of the activities include fossil fuels combustion, and application of artificial fertilizers in the soil. Apart from the natural ways of enriching the soil, human beings have tried to use other means of doing the same. Human beings have also gotten involved in burning the bushes, an act that violates the nutrient cycle completely as it kills the decomposers and other living organisms.

Gordon, D., & Murphy, K. (2007). Ecosystems. New York: Routledge.

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IvyPanda. (2019, April 1). Ecosystem in the rainforest. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ecosystem-in-the-rainforest/

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1. IvyPanda . "Ecosystem in the rainforest." April 1, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ecosystem-in-the-rainforest/.

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The Amazon Rainforest: Essay Example

The amazon rainforest: essay introduction, the importance of the amazon rainforest: essay body paragraph, the facts about the amazon rainforest: essay body paragraph.

The Amazon rainforest, the largest rainforest on Earth, encompasses an area roughly the size of the United States (the 48 contiguous states), contains most of the plant and animal species found on the planet and contributes to weather patterns on a global scale.

This natural wonder is disappearing at an alarming rate due to deforestation and with it the animals, plants and eventually humans will disappear as well. This applies to all plants, animals and humans, not just those who inhabit this region of South America.

If the Amazon rainforest disappears, the entire human race will likely suffer the same fate resulting from the climatic changes that would result. This disturbing scenario has been well documented by environmental organizations, governmental studies, independent agency reviews and scientific journals spanning the past three decades from which this discussion will draw.

The Amazon rainforest represents close to half of the world’s rainforest regions. Estimates of its size vary but the general consensus is that the Amazon rainforest covers approximately seven million square kilometers. It represents 40 per cent of the South American continent encroaching on nine of its countries including Brazil, Suriname, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela.

The greatest portion (62 per cent) lies within the boundaries of Brazil. This massive area, if a single country, would rank sixth largest in the world and is at least half the size of the entire European continent. (Amazon Life, 1998)

The seemingly boundless rainforest is shrinking at a rapid pace due to deforestation, however, which will soon result in grave consequences for both the region and the planet. “Land-use conversion is occurring at unprecedented scales and in a complex manner.

As in other humid tropical forest regions worldwide, negative consequences include losses of biological and cultural diversity, changes in the regional and potentially global climate, and an increase in social conflicts.” (Kommers, 2007)

Deforestation describes the removal of trees along with other types of vegetation. Since 1970, at least 20 per cent of Amazon rainforest has been lost from deforestation. This figure could be under-representative because it does not include trees that have been felled by selective logging techniques which are less noticeable than clear-cutting yet causes considerable harm.

Ecologists and scientists warn that another 20 per cent will be lost within the next 20 years. If this were to occur, the ecological system that sustains the forest and thus the planet’s weather patterns will start to disintegrate. At present, the Amazon rainforest generates half of the rainfall it consumes but the removal of an additional 20 per cent will impede this phenomenon to the point where much of the remaining forest will die from lack of moisture.

The rising temperature of the Earth, due to global warming, will exacerbate the situation and cause droughts which will lead to massive wildfires in the region. Instead of life-giving oxygen which is now furnished by the lush rainforests, the fires will expel great amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Given this very real and impending scenario, it is difficult to imagine how the human race along with all other life on earth could continue to live. Today, the greenhouse gases emitted from Brazil ranks near the world’s top polluter, the U.S., because of the slash-and-burn techniques used to clear the rainforest. “The danger signs are undeniable.” (Wallace, 2006)

Simply stated, if immediate action is not taken to reverse the present trend of deforestation, the immense Amazon rainforest will soon become a desert region not unlike the Sahara in Africa. Once this process is underway, the effects are irreversible. Some scientists believe the transformation from forest to desert could begin as early as this year.

Studies have determined that the Amazon rainforest, even in its current state, could not withstand three years of drought conditions without beginning the irrevocable path to becoming the Amazon desert.

This result, in and of itself, is tragic enough but the repercussions to the rest of the world would be as catastrophic. “Scientists say that this would spread drought into the northern hemisphere, including Britain, and could massively accelerate global warming with incalculable consequences, spinning out of control, a process that might end in the world becoming uninhabitable.” (Lean, Pearce, 2006)

The Amazon rainforest has been characterized as the ‘lungs of the world.’ It is astonishing that though people know that without trees, they are without oxygen, the trees keep falling at increasingly larger rates. Trees are a resource that can be replenished if cutting is managed properly yet this has been anything but the case in the Amazon.

The collective rainforests of the world act as a climatic sponge storing much of the world’s rainwater, of which the Amazon rainforest accounts for more than half. Trees in the rainforest recycle water drawn from the forest ground.

This, combined with the moisture that evaporates from the leaves is released into the atmosphere from whence it came. If not for this enormous amount of rainwater supplied by rainforests, rivers, lakes and land masses would essentially dry-up spawning droughts of epic proportions. Irrigation farming would be greatly curtailed. Disease, starvation and famine on a worldwide scale will be the direct result of deforestation.

Trees cleanse the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide and providing oxygen. Burning trees in the rainforest increases the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and at the same time reduces the amount of trees needed to absorb it. This contributes to global warming, a phenomenon which is already threatening the survival of the planet. (“Why” 2007)

There are further, often less publicized, repercussions of the Amazon rainforest’s deforestation. As trees are removed from the rainforest, soil erosion becomes an increasing concern. The nutrients needed for the tree’s roots to thrive are contained in a rainforest soil that is surprisingly lacking in nutrients.

The bulk of the nutrients are stored within the massive number of trees whose collective canopies protect the rainforest soil from the torrential downpours that would otherwise wash the soil away eventually allowing the rivers to flood low lying areas. The mass clearing of trees is the obvious threat to soil erosion but selective cutting is too.

The soil does need some nutrients in order to hold the tree’s roots firmly which it gains when trees die and decay on the ground. Fewer numbers of trees to feed the soil will lead to lower quality soil thus fewer trees still, a process that is essentially irreversible. The rain forest is also home to indigenous tribes, many who have become extinct in the past three decades.

Some have estimated that more than 100 entire tribes have been lost in recent years. After living harmoniously with nature for untold thousands of years, deforestation has deprived these indigenous peoples of the land which provided them housing, food and medications. Many were killed by the diseases brought in by the loggers or outright while attempting to protect their homes.

Medicines that originate from rainforest plants are not only important to the indigenous tribes but to the rest of the world population as well. More than a quarter of contemporary medications were derived from rainforest plants but only one percent of these plants have been tapped for their medicinal value.

Therefore, the potential for life-saving medicines yet discovered is tremendous. “Rainforests and the native populations who discovered these medicines could hold the cure of many more diseases if we would only nurture the forests and allow their people to show us.” (“Why” 2007)

Loggers do not wish for the rainforests to vanish, if for no other reason, because their livelihoods depends on it. They claim the world would have to stop using wood for the demand to diminish. The demand, not the supply is destroying the rainforest. In addition, if this unlikely scenario were to happen, commercial ranchers, tribesmen and miners would continue to clear trees at an enormous rate.

The ever-expansive soybean farms and wealth of precious metals in the region assure the continued deforestation with or without the presence of loggers. The various South American governments’ position is similar to the loggers in that they do not wish the rainforest to be destroyed because of the financial hardship it would cause.

This stance is eerily similar to the U.S. position on global warming, that to tackle the problem would not be economically feasible. Both seem to be quite content to sacrifice the future of the planet’s inhabitants for short-term political or economic gains. Environmentalists cite previously mentioned catastrophic global concerns and the tribes’ people lament the destruction of their beautiful and exotic homeland. (Taylor, 2004)

The proliferation of soy bean farming has negatively impacted the Amazon rainforest. The soy farmers hold much influence in South American countries’ governments. Beyond the massive clearing of trees to provide more farmland, the soy farmers continually persuade government officials to expand roadways which allow more of those with both legitimate and illegal commercial concerns access to increasing larger amounts of rainforest areas.

As in logging, the blame can largely be pointed at the demand-side. For example, multinational food chains Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds have been criticized for “underwriting deforestation in the Amazon through its purchase of soy-based animal derived from soybeans grown in the Amazon Basin.” (Deforestation rate, 2006)

Environment Secretary David Miliband proposed offering sections of the Amazon rainforest to be sold to private individuals, associations and businesses for strictly preservation purposes. This would compensate the governments and stop the deforestation, at least in those regions. The Brazilian government quickly dismissed the proposal citing the possible undermining of its autonomy.

Brazil is implementing a monitoring scheme to track illegal logging which it contends will slow the destruction of forests. However, these 150 new government employees will be greatly susceptible to corruptive tactics used by logging companies. (Kage, 2007)

Though selective logging is damaging to the rainforest, this technique is less damaging than clear-cutting. “If the forest is not too heavily disturbed during the logging, rates of re-growth and carbon accumulation can be quite rapid following a clearing.” (Wolfe, 2003) However, this can only be a temporary solution because partially cleared forests are no substitute for untouched forests, ecologically speaking.

Local governments of the Amazon region have been less than helpful in curbing the destruction of the rainforests. In fact, not only has few, if any, resolutions to the problem emanated from local authorities, many have actively thwarted attempts to save it.

Local authorities often act in conjunction with drug cartels (gangs) and ranchers who profit from the clearing of rainforests. Because of the impoverished conditions which rampant throughout the region, corruption also runs rampant. The governments of the region cannot be counted on to improve conditions now or in the future. The only viable method of preserving the rainforests is to appeal to the economic realities of the region.

More prosperous countries should, one, stop buying from companies that exploit the rainforest’s resources and two, employ Miliband’s privatization plan. Saving the Amazon rainforest is a good idea whether or not its destruction would also likely kill most everything on earth.

Even if all the scientists, environmentalists, government and scholarly studies were proved 100 percent wrong and nothing outside a few desolate tribes, some frogs, snakes and birds would notice if the rainforest was transformed into desert, it would still be worth saving at any cost due to its beauty, uniqueness and numbers of species and medicinal potential. Much as the global warming issue, whose destiny is tied to deforestation, even if climate change due to carbon monoxide emissions were proved a myth, reducing air pollution still makes sense.

“Amazon deforestation rate plunges 41 percent.” (October 26, 2006). Mongabay.com.

Kage, Ben. (January 19, 2007). “Brazilian government authorizes controlled logging in Amazon rain forest.” News Target.com.

Kommers, Nate. (2007). “Maps Show Diverse, Widespread Human Pressures on Brazilian Amazon Forests.” Press Release. World Resources Institute .

Lean, Geoffrey & Pearce, Fred. (July 23, 2006). “Amazon rainforest could become a desert.” The Independent.

Taylor, Elizabeth. (June 10, 2004). “Why are the Rainforests being destroyed? Are loggers the real problem?”

ThinkQuest Team. (1998). Amazon Life.

Wallace, Scott. (December 15, 2006). “Brazil’s Dilemma: Allow widespread – and profitable – destruction of the rain forest to continue, or intensify conservation efforts.” National Geographic.

“Why are the Rainforests Important?” (2007). R ain Forest Concern .

Wolfe, Jason. (January 21, 2003). “ The Road to Recovery .” Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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StudyCorgi. (2020, January 9). The Amazon Rainforest: Essay Example. https://studycorgi.com/the-amazon-rainforest-an-integral-component-of-the-environment/

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Essay On Rainforest

Rainforests are integral to the environment, providing numerous benefits. Deforestation, or the loss of rainforests, can have disastrous consequences for both the environment and people.

Rainforests play a vital role in the global environment. They help regulate the Earth’s climate and are home to an estimated 50% of all life on Earth. Rainforests also provide a number of resources that are essential to humans, including food, medicine, and timber.

Deforestation is a major problem in many parts of the world. It is estimated that approximately 1/3 of all rainforest has been lost due to deforestation. Deforestation can have devastating effects on the environment. It contributes to climate change, increases greenhouse gas emissions, and destroys vital habitats.

Deforestation also has serious consequences for people. It can lead to soil erosion, water shortages, and loss of biodiversity. Deforestation also increases the risk of wildfires and landslides.

It is essential that we take steps to protect our rainforests. We must work to prevent deforestation and promote sustainable practices that will preserve these vital ecosystems.

The rainforests play an essential role in the world for a variety of reasons, some of which are quite basic. One major benefit is that plants in the jungle convert CO2 into clean air, allowing us to combat pollution. In addition, because the rainforests absorb carbon dioxide, they assist to prevent global warming. The trees of the rainforest store carbon dioxide in their roots, stems, branches and leaves. Rainforest animals and plants contribute food, fuel wood, shelter and employment as well as medicines to mankind.

Rainforests are home to half the world’s species of plants, animals, and insects. The Rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate. Every day, thousands of acres of rainforest are being destroyed by loggers, miners, and farmers. The loss of the rainforest will have a devastating effect on the environment and on the people who live there.

Deforestation is the conversion of a forested area to land that is not forested. Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees are cut down to be used as fuel or lumber, to make room for pastures or crops, or to allow for urbanization. Deforestation has many negative consequences. It contributes to global warming, destroys animal habitat, and decreases biodiversity. Additionally, deforestation can lead to soil erosion, which can cause rivers and lakes to become polluted.

Deforestation also decreases the amount of carbon dioxide that is absorbed by trees. This can lead to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. Rainforests are a vital part of our planet’s ecosystem, and their destruction will have devastating consequences for the environment and for humanity. We must work together to stop deforestation and protect the rainforests.

“If you clear a forest, it provides greater economic wealth in every respect than if it were unharmed. Deforestation, on the other hand, continues at an alarming rate. ‘The National Forest Association of Forest Industries (1996) notes that there are approximately 4 billion hectares of forest on Earth, with about 25% located in tropical rainforest.’

The rainforest is home to a rich variety of plants and animals, many of which are unique to the region. Many of these species have incredible medicinal properties; however, there is only one known cure for some ailments, which come from species in the rainforest.

Rainforest also play a huge role in stabilizing the climate and preventing erosion. They are an important carbon sink, soaking up billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. Rainforests also produce nearly 20% of the world’s oxygen supply. Despite all these benefits, rainforest are being destroyed at a rate of about 13 million hectares per year – that is, an area the size of Costa Rica or Panama is cleared every year (Tropical Rainforest Coalition, 1996).

The main causes for this destruction are conversion to agricultural land, logging, and development. The leading countries responsible for deforestation are Brazil, Indonesia, China, India and the United States. Agricultural expansion is the primary driver of deforestation in Latin America, where more than 70 percent of the original forest has already been cleared.

In Southeast Asia, industrial logging is the main cause of deforestation. In China and India, the primary drivers are infrastructure development and energy production, respectively. And in the United States, it’s mostly due to residential and commercial development ( Rainforest Relief, n.d.).

The rainforests diversity is demonstrated by the fact that in Kenya’s Kakamega Forest, a single hectare may contain between 100 and 150 distinct tree species, whereas a hectare of North American forest might only contain 10.

Rainforests play a significant role in stabilizing the Earth’s climate. “Tropical forests are responsible for approximately 28% of the world’s carbon uptake, making them one of the most important natural mechanisms for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from human activity.

Despite their importance, rainforests around the world are under threat from deforestation. Deforestation is defined as “the conversion of a forested area to land that is not forested. ” (Deforestation, n. d. ) Rainforest deforestation can occur through natural causes such as wildfires, but more often it is the result of human activity, such as logging, agriculture, and mining. Deforestation not only destroys the rainforest, it also releases stored carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

The world’s rainforests are disappearing at an alarming rate. “Every year, 13 million hectares of forest – an area the size of Greece – are lost. That is equivalent to 48 football fields every minute” (Rainforest Facts, n. d. ). The loss of rainforests contributes significantly to global warming and climate change. Rainforests are one of the Earth’s most important natural resources, and it is critical that we take steps to protect them.

The bulk of the nutrients in a rainforest, which is typically 80 percent, remain in the trees and plants. The water from the forest is recirculated by evaporation. Clouds over the canopy of the forest reflect sunlight back into space, keeping temperatures inside the jungle more constant. Rainforests take a long time to grow back, but younger forests are better at removing carbon from the air than older ones. Forests that are older absorb less carbon but have larger overall quantities of carbon stored within them.

Rainforests are vital to the environment because they help to regulate climate, provide oxygen, and house a high level of biodiversity. Deforestation is the clear-cutting of trees in an area where forest once thrived. Deforestation can refer to the natural loss of trees, as well as the potential destruction of forests due to the practices of people. Deforestation has many severe consequences for global climate, human health, and environmental conservation.

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Clear-cut swaths of the Amazon rain forest in Quiandeua, Brazil, are often planted with manioc, or cassava, a shrub grown for its starchy root. Farmers slash-and-burn large parcels of forest every year to create grazing and crop lands, but the forest's nutrient-poor soil often renders the land ill-suited for agriculture, and within a year or two, the farmers move on.

Rain Forest Threats

Learn about what threatens the wet, layered forest and what you can do to help.

More than half of Earth’s rain forests have already been lost due to the human demand for wood and arable land. Rain forests that once grew over 14 percent of the land on Earth now cover only about 6 percent. And if current deforestation rates continue, these critical habitats could disappear from the planet completely within the next hundred years.

The reasons for plundering rain forests are mainly economic. Wealthy nations drive demand for tropical timber, and cash-strapped governments often grant logging concessions at a fraction of the land’s true value. “Homesteader” policies also encourage citizens to clear-cut forests for farms. Sustainable logging and harvesting rather than clear-cutting are among the strategies key to halting rain forest loss.

• Logging interests cut down rain forest trees for timber used in flooring, furniture, and other items.
• Power plants and other industries cut and burn trees to generate electricity.
• The paper industry turns huge tracts of rain forest trees into pulp.
• The cattle industry uses slash-and-burn techniques to clear ranch land.
• Agricultural interests, particularly the soy industry, clear forests for cropland.
• Subsistence farmers slash-and-burn rain forest for firewood and to make room for crops and grazing lands.
• Mining operations clear forest to build roads and dig mines.
• Governments and industry clear-cut forests to make way for service and transit roads.
• Hydroelectric projects flood acres of rain forest.

Campaigns that educate people about the destruction caused by rain forest timber and encourage purchasing of sustainable rain forest products could drive demand down enough to slow deforestation, and these practices in particular could save millions of acres of rain forest every year.

• Sustainable-logging regimes that selectively cull trees rather than clear-cut them
• Encouraging people who live near rain forests to harvest its bounty (nuts, fruits, medicines) rather than clear-cutting it for farmland
• Government moratoriums on road building and large infrastructure projects in the rain forest

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Quicksand doesn’t just happen in Hollywood. It happened on a Maine beach

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A Maine woman enjoying a walk on a popular beach learned that quicksand doesn’t just happen in Hollywood movies in jungles or rainforests.

Jamie Acord was walking at the water’s edge at Popham Beach State Park over the weekend when she sunk to her hips in a split second, letting out a stunned scream. She told her husband, “I can’t get out!”

“I couldn’t feel the bottom,” she said. “I couldn’t find my footing.”

Within seconds, her husband had pulled her from the sand trap, the sand filled in, and the stunned couple wondered: What just happened?

It turns out that quicksand, known as supersaturated sand, is a real thing around the world, even in Maine, far from the jungle locations where Hollywood has used it to add drama by ensnaring actors.

Thankfully, real life is not like in the movies.

People who are caught in supersaturated sand remain buoyant — people don’t sink in quicksand — allowing them to float and wriggle themselves to safety, said Jim Britt, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

“People hear the word quicksand they think jungle movie. The reality with this supersaturated sand is you’re not going to go under,” he said.

In this case, climate change played a role in the episode at the state’s busiest state park beach, which draws more than 225,000 visitors each year, Britt said. A series of winter storms rerouted a river that pours into the ocean, softening the sand in area where beachgoers are more apt to walk, necessitating the placement warning signs by park staff, he said.

Acord took to social media to warn others after her episode on Saturday, when she and her husband, Patrick, were strolling on the beach. Acord was collecting trash, so her hands were full when she sunk.

It all happened so fast she didn’t have time to be scared, but she worries that it would be frightening for someone who was alone, especially a child who might be traumatized. “A kid would be scared,” she said.

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Amazon Deforestation and Climate Change

Join Gisele Bundchen when she meets with one of Brazil’s top climate scientists to discuss the complexity of the Amazon rainforest and its connection to Earth’s atmosphere.

Anthropology, Geography

High on a tower overlooking the lush Amazon canopy, Gisele Bundchen and Brazilian climate scientist Antonio Nobre talk about the importance of the rainforest and the impact of cutting down its trees.

As Nobre explains, the rainforest is not only home to an incredible diversity of species, it also has a critical cooling effect on the planet because its trees channel heat high into the atmosphere. In addition, forests absorb and store carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere—CO 2 that is released back into the atmosphere when trees are cut and burned.

Nobre warns that if deforestation continues at current levels, we are headed for disaster. The Amazon region could become drier and drier, unable to support healthy habitats or croplands.

Find more of this story in the “Fueling the Fire” episode of the National Geographic Channel’s Years of Living Dangerously series.

Transcript (English)

- Growing up in Southern Brazil, my five sisters and I ate meat pretty much every day. It's just part of the culture here. Per capita, Brazilians are one of the top consumers of beef on the planet. Now, with the world's growing appetite for beef, Brazil has also become a major exporter and is aiming to increase its market share, partly by selling to the US, the world's biggest consumer of beef, and to China, where demand for beef has grown 25% in just 10 years. I understand the need to develop and grow, but does that have to come at the expense of the rainforest and the climate? The Amazon Rainforest is about the same size as the continental United States. One-fifth of the world's fresh water runs through it, and it is home to more species of animals and plants than anywhere on Earth. The Amazon represents more than half of the remaining rainforests on the planet. This forest is so vast, but it is not indestructible. To find out what's at stake, I'm going to talk to one of Brazil's top climate scientist, Dr. Antonio Nobre. So Antonio, tell us a little bit about this amazing green carpet of heaven over here.

- Well, most people don't have the opportunity to come from the top of the forest. If you see all this many shades of green as you see here, it's because biodiversity is the essence of this type of forest. Every species of trees has thousands of species of bugs, and also if you get a leaf of one of the species, and you look to the microbes that is sitting on the top of leaf, you find millions of species, millions, and this is all below our radar screen, so to speak, because we don't realize, it's invisible. And the trees are shooting water from the ground, groundwater up high in the sky, and this goes up into the atmosphere and releases the heat out there, and this radiates to space. And this is very important as a mechanism to cool the planet. They're like air conditioners. Open air conditioning, that's what the forest is.

- So in other words, if we lose all these trees, we are losing the air conditioning that cools off the whole planet.

- Not only that.

- Not only that?

- No. The trees are soaking up carbon, you know the pollution that we produce, like carbon dioxide? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Burning gasoline in our cars, you release carbon dioxide in the air, or burning coal, and the trees use carbon dioxide as a raw material.

- So the trees are storing all this carbon, so if you come and cut it down and burn it out, does that mean that all that carbon goes up in the air?

- Absolutely. Yeah.

- What would happen if this forest was gone?

- When the forest is destroyed, climate changes, and then forest that's left is damaged as well. And then the forest grows drier and drier and eventually catch fire. So in the extreme, the whole area becomes a desert. And that's what is in store if we deforest. So we have to quit deforestation yesterday, not 2020 or '30. And there is no plan C. You know, you have plan A. Plan A is business as usual. Keep plundering with all the resources and using as if it were infinite. Plan B is what many people are attempting, changing the matrix of energy and using clean sources, stop eating too much meat, and replanting forests If that doesn't work, then we go to plan C. What's plan C? I have no idea.

- Going to another planet.

- But we can't do that.

- We don't have another planet, so either we work with plan B or we're-

- Basically, yeah. We're done, and so plan B has to work. It has to work.

- People have to take accountability, 'cause it can't just be like, I'm leaving over here and whatever happens over there, who cares?

- It's not my problem.

- It's not my problem, because it is everyone's problem.

- Yes. People should wake up. It's like when you're in the midst of an unfolding disaster, what do you do? You panic? No. You move it. Move, move, move, move. That's what we need to do.

Transcripción (Español)

- El año en que vivimos en peligro.

- Cuando era niña en el sur de Brasil, mis cinco hermanas y yo comíamos carne casi todos los días. Es parte de la cultura aquí. Per cápita, los brasileños son uno de los mayores consumidores de carne de res en el planeta. Ahora, con el creciente apetito mundial por la carne de res, Brasil también se ha convertido en un importante exportador y está buscando aumentar su participación en el mercado, en parte vendiendo a los Estados Unidos, el mayor consumidor de carne de res del mundo, y a China, donde la demanda de carne de res ha crecido un 25 % en tan solo 10 años. Entiendo la necesidad de desarrollarse y crecer, pero ¿tiene que ser a expensas de la selva tropical y el clima? La selva amazónica tiene casi el mismo tamaño que los Estados Unidos continentales. Una quinta parte del agua dulce del mundo fluye a través de ella. Y es hogar de más especies de animales y plantas que cualquier otro lugar en la Tierra. El Amazonas representa más de la mitad de las selvas tropicales restantes en el planeta. Estado Mato Grosso, Brasil Esta selva es tan vasta, pero no es indestructible. Para descubrir lo que está en juego, voy a hablar con uno de los principales científicos climáticos de Brasil, el Dr. Antonio Nobre. Antonio, cuéntanos un poco acerca de esta increíble alfombra verde de cielo que tenemos aquí.

- Bueno, la mayoría de las personas no tienen la oportunidad de venir hasta la cima de la selva. Si ves todos los diferentes tonos de verde como estos aquí, es porque la biodiversidad es la esencia de este tipo de selva. Cada especie de árboles tiene miles de especies de insectos, y también si tomas una hoja de una de las especies, y miras a los microbios en la parte superior de la hoja, encuentras millones de especies, millones, y todo esto queda por debajo de nuestro radar, porque no nos damos cuenta, es invisible. Y los árboles están extrayendo agua del subsuelo, hasta lo alto en el cielo, y esto sube a la atmósfera y libera el calor allí, y esto se irradia al espacio. Este es un mecanismo muy importante para enfriar el planeta. Son como aires acondicionados. Aire acondicionado al aire libre, eso es el bosque.

- En otras palabras, si perdemos todos estos árboles, estamos perdiendo el aire acondicionado que enfría todo el planeta.

- No solo eso.

- ¿No solo eso?

- No. Los árboles están absorbiendo carbono, ¿la contaminación que producimos, como el dióxido de carbono?

- Al quemar gasolina en los autos, se libera dióxido de carbono al aire, o quemando carbón, y los árboles usan el dióxido de carbono como materia prima.

- Entonces los árboles están almacenando todo este carbono, así que si lo cortas y lo quemas, ¿eso significa que todo ese carbono sube al aire?

- Absolutamente. Sí.

- ¿Qué pasaría si este bosque desapareciera?

- Cuando el bosque es destruido, el clima cambia, y luego el bosque que queda también se daña. Luego el bosque se vuelve cada vez más seco y eventualmente se incendia. En caso extremo, toda el área se convierte en un desierto. Eso es lo que nos espera si deforestamos. Así que tenemos que dejar de deforestar desde ayer, no en 2020 o 2030. No hay un plan C. Tienes un plan A. El plan A es seguir como siempre. Continuar saqueando todos los recursos y usarlos como si fueran infinitos. El plan B es lo que muchos están intentando, cambiar la matriz de energía y usar fuentes limpias, dejar de comer demasiada carne y reforestar bosques. Si eso no funciona, entonces pasamos al plan C. ¿Cuál es el plan C?

- No tengo idea.

- Ir a otro planeta.

- Pero no podemos hacer eso.

- No tenemos otro planeta, así que o trabajamos con el plan B o estamos-

- Acabados.

- Básicamente, sí. Estamos acabados, así que el plan B tiene que funcionar. Tiene que funcionar.

- Las personas deben asumir responsabilidad, porque no puedes nada más pensar, yo vivo aquí y lo que suceda por allá, ¿a quién le importa?

- A mí qué.

- No es mi problema, porque es un problema de todos.

- Sí. La gente debería despertar. Es como cuando estás en medio de un desastre en desarrollo, ¿qué haces? ¿Entrar en pánico? No. Lo mueves. Que se mueva. Eso es lo que necesitamos hacer.

The Amazon rain forest absorbs one-fourth of the CO2 absorbed by all the land on Earth. The amount absorbed today, however, is 30% less than it was in the 1990s because of deforestation. A major motive for deforestation is cattle ranching. China, the United States, and other countries have created a consumer demand for beef, so clearing land for cattle ranching can be profitable—even if it’s illegal. The demand for pastureland, as well as cropland for food such as soybeans, makes it difficult to protect forest resources.

Many countries are making progress in the effort to stop deforestation. Countries in South America and Southeast Asia, as well as China, have taken steps that have helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the destruction of forests by one-fourth over the past 15 years.

Brazil continues to make impressive strides in reducing its impact on climate change. In the past two decades, its CO2 emissions have dropped more than any other country. Destruction of the rain forest in Brazil has decreased from about 19,943 square kilometers (7,700 square miles) per year in the late 1990s to about 5,180 square kilometers (2,000 square miles) per year now. Moving forward, the major challenge will be fighting illegal deforestation.

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Abnormally Dry Canada Taps U.S. Energy, Reversing Usual Flow

Lower-than-normal rain and snow have reduced Canada’s hydropower production, raising worries in the industry about the effects of climate change.

Canadian hydroelectric plants, like the Robert-Bourassa Generating Station in northern Quebec, have faced low water levels because of a recent drop in rain and snow. Credit...

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By Ivan Penn

Photographs by Ruth Fremson

Reporting from Hydro-Québec’s Robert-Bourassa Generating Station, Montreal and Portland, Ore.

• June 3, 2024

In February, the United States did something that it had not done in many years — the country sent more electricity to Canada than it received from its northern neighbor. Then, in March, U.S. electricity exports to Canada climbed even more, reaching their highest level since at least 2010.

The increasing flow of power north is part of a worrying trend for North America: Demand for energy is growing robustly everywhere, but the supply of power — in Canada’s case from giant hydroelectric dams — and the ability to get the energy to where it’s needed are increasingly under strain.

Many energy experts say Canadian hydroelectric plants, which have had to reduce electricity production because of a recent drop in rain and snow, will eventually bounce back. But some industry executives are worried that climate change, which has already been linked to the explosive wildfires in Canada last year , could make it harder to predict when rain and snowfall will return to normal.

“We’ve all got to be humble in the face of more extreme weather,” said Chris O’Riley, president and chief executive of the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, which operates hydroelectric dams in western Canada. “We manage from year to year the ups and downs of water, and when we have the downs like we’re having, the lower levels, it’s common for us to import power, and we expect to continue that this year.”

The United States and Canada have long relied on each other because power use tends to peak north of the border during the winter when Canadians use electric heaters, and American electricity use peaks in the summer during air-conditioning season.

The abundance of Canada’s hydroelectric power has been a cornerstone of the trade, providing relatively low-cost renewable energy to California, Oregon, Washington State, New York State and New England.

But the supply-and-demand equation for energy is changing. Demand for electricity in many states has been climbing sharply in summer and winter. Some experts predict that winter electricity demand in the United States could eclipse summer demand by 2050.

At the same time, utilities are increasingly reliant on intermittent resources like solar and wind power. Large hydroelectric plants, once considered a stable source of electricity, have struggled with low reservoirs in California, around Hoover Dam and recently in Canada.

“We are facing real changes in the weather, and we’re finding out in real time how that’s going to affect hydroelectric operations, pretty much across North America,” said Robert McCullough of McCullough Research, a firm based in Portland, Ore., who has been a consultant for corporate customers of Canadian utilities since the 1980s.

In addition, electricity use is expected to climb as people and businesses turn to electric heat pumps, cars and industrial equipment to replace devices that burn oil, natural gas and coal. Demand is also growing because of data centers .

One solution is to build more power lines, something the Biden administration and some states are working on. But energy experts say the United States also ought to add more such connections to Canada. That would allow, for example, solar farms in California to supply Canada when its dams don’t have enough water and for Canadian utilities to send more power south when they have an abundance.

“Most models suggest that a more interconnected grid is a better grid,” said Shelley Welton, a presidential distinguished professor at the University of Pennsylvania who helped write a recent report on electric grid reliability and governance. “I do think there is power in being interconnected across North America. We need scenario planning. We need long-term planning.”

Set among the pine and spruce trees of northern Quebec, the Robert-Bourassa hydroelectric dam represents the promises and challenges inherent in harnessing renewable energy.

The plant’s operator, Hydro-Québec, a utility owned by the Canadian province, built the power plant on a bank of La Grande River as part of a network of stations that can produce more than twice as much electricity as the largest U.S. power plant — the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington State.

The La Grande complex has helped Hydro-Québec become a leading supplier to New York State and New England. But less snow than normal has forced Hydro-Québec and other Canadian utilities to import more power from the United States in recent months.

“It looks like conditions are abnormally dry,” said Gilbert Bennett, president of Water Power Canada, a nonprofit that represents the hydropower industry. “The year-to-year variations are becoming large.”

Hydro-Québec executives say they expect the dry spell to end soon, citing similar stretches in 2004 and 2014. Models predict an increase in precipitation of 6 to 8 percent for eastern Canada over the next 25 years, the company said.

Serge Abergel, chief operating officer for Hydro-Québec Energy Services, said Canada’s greater reliance on the United States had been a temporary way for hydro plants to save their water. He added that as both countries modernized and expanded their grids with more renewable and efficient resources, they would be able to complement each other.

“The transition is also creating opportunities,” Mr. Abergel said during a recent tour of the Robert-Bourassa dam. “You optimize these resources.”

In general, the United States would prefer to import more power from Canada because it’s much cheaper. Hydro-Québec’s residential customers pay about $50 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of energy, Mr. Abergel said, compared with $236 in New York State and $276 on average in New England .

The company’s costs are low because its hydro plants were built and paid off long ago. But bringing that affordable power south is expensive — Canadian hydro energy costs homeowners in Massachusetts twice as much as it does residents of Quebec, according to an analysis by McCullough Research.

Hydro-Québec has been building more power lines. It is taking part in one project, the Champlain Hudson Power Express , which is expected to be completed by mid-2026. The $6 billion, roughly 339-mile-long transmission line will connect a substation in La Prairie, near Montreal, to a converter station in Astoria, Queens. The line will be able to deliver enough energy to serve more than a million homes in New York City.

“If you want to transition quickly, you need more transmission,” Mr. Abergel said. But, “we’re not incentivizing someone to come up with solutions,” he added. “We’re doing things piecemeal.”

Mr. Abergel said Hydro-Québec would meet all of its obligations to New York and other states despite the dry conditions because it can preserve water by reducing how much electricity its hydro power produces and importing more energy from the United States. This way, the company will still have enough water to export power when energy demand is higher in New York and New England.

But some energy experts are not so sanguine. Mr. McCullough, the consultant, said he worried that global warming could so strain reservoirs that it would no longer be feasible for Canadian utilities to keep enough water in reserve to make it through a very long dry spell.

“Each time we have one of these episodes,” Mr. McCullough said, “it’s a white-knuckle moment.”

How dependent the utilities in the United States and Canada are on each other is on stark display in Oregon. Portland General Electric, a utility serving about two million residents in the state, tracks water flows and snowpack in British Columbia from an operations center near Portland.

When drought and wildfires threaten areas around the Columbia River, hydroelectric plants and transmission lines that connect Canada, Washington, Oregon and California become vulnerable.

“What we’re really concerned about right now is the snowpack is low in Canada,” said Darrington Outama, senior director of power operations at Portland General Electric. “What we focus on as a region is how are they doing up there.”

In addition to importing electricity from British Columbia, PGE gets power from two small hydroelectric plants in the Bull Run watershed east of Portland.

Oregon’s Bull Run rainforest does not get water from the Columbia River. But a severe wildfire like one last summer could force officials to shut down those dams and stop drawing water from Bull Run. If that happened, Portland would have to rely on groundwater, which could in turn affect the Columbia River and hydroelectric dams tied to it.

“We have to think about all of the scenarios,” Kristin Anderson, water resources program manager for the Portland Water Bureau, said during a tour of the Bull Run. “We’ve been seeing more rapid shifts of weather moments. We’re planning throughout the season to be ready for anything.”

Hydroelectric plants often are the lowest priority for water use. As a result, wildfires, low snowpack and drought can lead to significant reductions in their production. If demand for electricity is high at the same time, regional energy grids could buckle.

“There were these historic patterns of power from north to south,” Mr. O’Riley of British Columbia Hydro said. “All of those patterns have been upended. Power’s flowing in all different directions.”

In a twist, California, which suffered a severe drought in recent years, has lately been awash. Blizzards, atmospheric rivers and other storms have covered the state’s mountains in snow and topped off reservoirs, enabling its dams to crank out lots of electricity.

The state also recently installed many large batteries that allow utilities to use the abundant solar power for hours after the sun has set.

California’s energy plenitude should be a boon to British Columbia, Oregon and Washington State, but energy executives said there weren’t enough transmission lines to carry all of that surplus electricity north where it is needed.

Ivan Penn is a reporter based in Los Angeles and covers the energy industry. His work has included reporting on clean energy, failures in the electric grid and the economics of utility services. More about Ivan Penn

Ruth Fremson is a Times photographer, based in Seattle, who covers stories nationally and internationally. More about Ruth Fremson

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