Unconventional

Don't Save the Rainforests?

They might not need help after all.

Long-held campaigns to save rainforests across the world appear to be all for naught—in a good way. New "secondary" forests are proliferating in Latin America, Asia, and the tropics, on the farmland that people abandon before moving towards cities in search of urban life. For every acre of rainforest destroyed each year, 50 new acres formed from old farmland replace them, resulting in absorption of carbon dioxide and creation of homes for endangered species, reports The New York Times. Environmentalists still encourage efforts to save the native growth, and Bill Laurance, senior scientist at the Smithsonian, said, "Yes, there are forests growing back, but not all forests are equal." Because of the heat and tropics, new jungle can expand rapidly.