Rainforest Action Network

Old growth forests are the surviving traces of the world’s original forests. Typified by very old trees that can reach thousands of years in age, these forests are irreplaceable. Old growth forests are home to over 200 million indigenous people and the majority of the world’s land-based plant and animal species. Old growth forests are known as the "lungs of the planet" because they absorb and store carbon, produce oxygen, and serve as critical agents in moderating the effects of climate change. Only twenty-two percent of the world’s original old growth forests remain. What has survived is being cut down at the rate of nearly two acres per second. Once logged, old growth forests are converted into products ranging from toilet paper to 2x4’s, doors, and decking material.