Why Should the Average Person Be Concerned About the
Depletion of the Rain Forests?
Brian Kendrick
Shelby County
Abstract
The depletion of the rain forests is a major problem in today's
environmentally conscious society. The purpose of the project is to make a
visual demonstration of the alarming rate of rain forest depletion, and how this
problem affects the average person and the world as a whole. The project
brings out several aspects to show why the rain forests are a valuable resource
and why people should strive to protect them.
A FORTRAN program was used to make illustrations of the world-wide rain
forest percentiles at different times. The visualization showed
the rain forests at different points of depletion and shows an estimation
of the effects if current conditions are not changed. The FORTRAN program
was explained and the project states how the program works.
The project resulted in a visual demonstration in which the rain forests
became fully exhausted within about forty years. Thus the conclusion can be
made that if conditions do not change, rain forest destruction is inevitable. This
proved the projects point that if these woodlands are not protected, the world-
effects could be catastrophic. Therefore, the average person has not only a right
but a duty to do everything possible to save the rain forests from certain
extinction.