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Rainforest "NEWS"
Suggestion: If the play is too long, eliminate reports from correspondents in Africa and Indonesia—or adapt the scene where animals speak as a short skit.by Donna Kay Marciano Animal dialogue adapted from Lynne Cherry's "The Great Kapok Tree" and "Big Book of Everything for Third Grade" by Instructional Fair, Inc. CAST OF CHARACTERS
Suggestion: The play includes 42 human and animal characters. Reduce number of characters by combining. For example, cast two monkeys rather than four, two agoutis rather than four, or cast fewer assistants to the scientists. Lines can be easily combined. People: Lester Brewster - Channel 10 News Anchor Michelle Martinez - Channel 10 News Anchor Kerri Michaels - Special News Correspondent, Amazon Basin Doctor Ernesto Chavez - Noted Rainforest Scientist Doctor Sheila Jackson - Rainforest Scientist Mac, Nick, Brittany, Megan, Shawn, and Tom - Doctor Jackson's Assistants Linda Yokimoto - President of Yokimoto Pharmaceuticals Doctor Adam Smith - Ethnobotanist with Yokimoto Pharmaceuticals Mateo - Amazon Native, Doctor Smith's Assistant Chief Tocono - Leader of the Kayopo Tribe Toki - A Currandera (Healer) of the Kayopo Tribe Takua - A Woman of the Kayopo Tribe Kayopo Tribal Shaman Robert, Pam, Sue, Jeff and Jill- Doctor Jackson's Grad Student Assistants Roberto Ramirez - Amazon Native, Ranch Hand Alberto Ramirez - Amazon Native, Ranch Hand Richard Jones - Special News Correspondent, Zaire Basin Officer Mobutu - Park Ranger, Zaire Basin Gail Wu - Special News Correspondent, Indonesia Doctor Ian Smedley - British Primatologist Sarah - Doctor Smedley's Grad Student Assistant Doctor Joseph DeNardo - Renowned Meteorologist Animals: Boa Constrictor Sloth Monkeys (four) Scarlet Macaw Toucans (two) Frog Anteaters (four) Fruit Bat Butterflies (two) Aguotis (four) Jaguar COSTUMES
Scientists and news people in standard work clothing, adapted to tropical locations as appropriate. Native peoples in more casual attire (women in skirts). Shaman may wear feathers and face paint. Animals in plain-colored clothing coordinated with large, brilliantly colored paper masks for a fantasy effect. Make wings from paper and cardboard for bat, birds, and butterflies. SET DESIGN
Rainforest. A mural on the back wall (kraft paper and poster paint). Tree trunks made of carpet rolls from a local carpet store. Brown and green crepe-paper streamer vines, crepe-paper ferns, construction paper leaves and flowers. Pictures of animals half-hidden among foliage in their appropriate layers. Three tree stumps for animal characters to hide behind, one large enough for the sloth to lounge upon (use a desk covered with kraft paper).Newsroom. At stage left a platform with desk for two news anchors (cover two student desks with kraft paper colored to look like wood). Extra chair for Doctor DeNardo. Make television studio walls with large pieces of cardboard to separate anchors from rainforest (large-appliance packing cases work well). Research Station. At stage right a small outdoors area with desk, filing cabinet, computer, chairs—where Amazon Basin scientists' assistants hang out between scenes [looking serious and busy, alone and in small groups talking quietly]. Optional: tape recording of rainforest sounds on low for background sound during broadcasts by special correspondents. Optional: Make a PowerPoint presentation including maps showing rainforests of the Amazon Basin, Zaire Basin (Africa), and Indonesia. Include pictures or diagrams illustrating rainforest layers, natives, logging, poaching, greenhouse effect, plant respiration, etc., that further explain some of the concepts discussed in the play. Set up computer monitor where audience can see it—or—project images onto wall behind news anchors. Optional: Use a video camera and a Smart Board projector to project broadcasts from correspondents onto the wall behind the news desk. Suggestion: A technically able parent might help with projection. PLAY
LESTER BREWSTER: Good afternoon [or morning or evening], ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to MEET IMPORTANT ISSUES, a special presentation Channel 10 News. Our program tonight deals with the destruction of rainforests throughout the world. We have been hearing about the rapid destruction of tropical forests for years. We have been told how vital they are to all animals—even to human beings. Apparently the warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Rainforests are being destroyed at an increasing rate, and we may be looking to a near future with no rainforests at all. What does this mean to the world? Can we survive without rainforests. Do we still have a chance to save these wondrous lands?MICHELLE MARTINEZ: Channel 10 has sent correspondents to rainforests around the world to help us answer these questions. Let's go right now to our special correpondent, Kerri Michaels, on the scene in the Amazon Basin of South America. Kerri, are you there? KERRI: Yes, Michelle, I'm here. The situation has gotten very desperate since I last spoke with you. Feelings are running high all over the area. I have the noted scientist, Doctor Ernesto Chavez, with me right now. Doctor Chavez, why are you so upset at the depletion of the Amazon rainforest? Will this destruction affect the rest of the world? DOCTOR CHAVEZ: Kerri, the rainforests are vital to the whole world! More than half of the world's plant and animal species make their homes here. The tropical rainforest is life on earth at its fullest. If the destruction of this area does not stop, the whole world's ecosystem will be upset. It will be devastating! KERRI: I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. Even though news of the rainforests has been in our broadcasts before—some of our viewers may not understand what rainforests are. Could you elaborate on this subject for us? DOCTOR CHAVEZ: I would be happy to explain, but I have a person here who can do a much better job. Doctor Jackson. Doctor Jackson, may we have a moment of your time? DOCTOR JACKSON. Of course, Doctor Chavez. What can I do for you? DOCTOR CHAVEZ: Kerrie Michaels, may I introduce Doctor Jackson. Doctor Jackson, Kerri Michaels from Channel 10 News. Kerri, Doctor Jackson is a scientist who has been studying the rainforests of the world for many years. She is the best person to answer all your questions. KERRI: It is very nice to meet you, Doctor Jackson. Could you please explain for our viewers what a rainforest is? DOCTOR JACKSON: Tropical rainforests occur where the equator crosses the continents of Asia, Africa, and South America—between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The climate in these regions is hot and wet year-round. My assistant, Mac, will show you this on a map. MAC: The single largest rainforest in the world is located in the Amazon Basin of Brazil. But rainforests are found near the equator in other parts of Central and South America, central and western Africa and Madagascar, and Southeast Asia, the East Indies, and the Malay Archipelago. DOCTOR JACKSON: The sun shines with a seasonless intensity on expanses of tall, thickly growing jungle. This is the tropical rainforest—a marvelous ecosystem that has evolved over millions of years. In the course of recorded history, we know that the rainforest has sheltered indigenous peoples, challenged explorers, and inspired literature and scientific research. Rainforests are fascinating places that can only be truly appreciated by those who have visited them. KERRI: It sounds like you really love this place. Is the rainforest like our forests in the United States? DOCTOR JACKSON: Rainforests are different from temperate forests in several important ways. Rainforests grow in layers, each different from the others. My assistants Nick, Brittany, Megan, Shawn, and Tom will explain. BRITTANY: The forest floor is open and covered with moss and decaying leaves. Very little light reaches this layer, so the plants are small. Ferns, herbs, fungi, and seedlings are a few examples. The humidity is always 100 percent. The forest floor is really nature's recycling area. Decomposers—such as worms, insects, and bacteria—eat decaying plants and animals and return them to the soil as fertilizer for other living plants to use. TOM: The understory also receives very little sunlight. That's why the leaves of plants growing in this layer are usually large. They try to collect as much sunlight as possible. It is hot and humid in the understory because the heat and moisture of the forest are trapped beneath the taller treetops. Few flowers bloom in this layer. Spider monkeys and morpho butterflies are some of the animals found here. MEGAN: Above the understory is the canopy, made up of closely intergrown tree tops. Most of the flowers and animals of the forest are found here. Trees in the canopy can be 65 to 100 feet tall. These trees form a covering over the forest floor that acts like a giant umbrella or canopy. Here sunlight and rain are plentiful. Many varieties of nuts and fruits grow in this layer, and the animals that feast on them make their homes here, too. Because the canopy gets almost all the rainfall, many of the leaves on the plants found here have pointed tips. These "drip-tips" keep the leaves dry and free of mold. Water draining through drip-tips drops into the understory and onto the forest floor. The slow moving sloth is one well-known canopy dweller. NICK: The emergent layer is made up of the tops of the tallest trees, those that reach 115 to 250 feet into the air. These trees are often as tall as skyscrapers. They may have small, thick, waxy leaves to help them retain water and protect themselves from sun and wind. Birds such as the toucan and macaw find refuge here. SHAWN: Trees in the emergent layer are so tall that they need to have special roots, called "buttresses"—just to hold them upright. Rainforest soils are often very shallow, and tree root systems must spread out rather than growing deep. KERRI: Doctor Jackson, why is the Amazon rainforest so important to the world? DOCTOR JACKSON: I have several people with me who can tell you why specifically. Would you like to meet them? KERRI: I certainly would. DOCTOR JACKSON: This is Ms. Linda Yokimoto, president of Yokimoto Pharmaceutical Company. MS YOKIMOTO: We at Yokimoto Pharmaceuticals use the resources of the forest to produce medicines to cure sick people throughout the world. We also offer many benefits to the local communities—jobs, money for schools and hospitals, and protection for the tropical rainforests. We do not want to see this land destroyed. We believe that there are many plants here that could be used for medicines that have not yet been discovered by scientists. These plants may only grow in healthy forests. DOCTOR JACKSON: Linda, remember the tree that was found in Malaysia? Two years after taking a sample and working with it, scientists were pretty sure that they had a cure for AIDS!! Can you believe it? When they returned to the rainforest they found the tree had been cut down with the surrounding forest for cheap tropical plywood. No other tree of this species has been found since. There was not enough of the original sample to make the compound. The world of science was floored by this tragic loss! MS YOKIMOTO: Yes, Doctor, I remember. What a day! If the rainforests are destroyed, many new and important drugs may never be discovered. Doctor Smith, our ethnobotanist, may be able to tell you more about this incident. DOCTOR ADAM SMITH: I have been heading a research team in this area of the Amazon forest. The native people here taught us that rainforests contain plants with naturally occurring chemicals used in medicines to treat major illnesses—including malaria, heart disease, and cancer—as well as minor complaints like headaches and upset stomachs, to name a few. These resources are important all over the world. MATEO: These resources ARE important all over the world. We are also writing a journal with the help of local shamans and curranderas—priests and healers—on Amazon plants and their uses by native peoples. All of this knowledge will not be lost forever. But what will all this matter if the plants are lost? This is the only area where the plants used by these local peoples grow. Destroy the forest and you destroy all these helpful plants. Who knows what other diseases may be cured by the plant life here? We may NEVER know! DOCTOR JACKSON: Kerri, this is Chief Tocono of the Kayopo. Chief Tocono, please tell our visitor why the rainforest is so important to you and your people. CHIEF TOCONO: My people have lived in this area from the beginning of time. We have hunted, fished, and harvested what we needed to survive from our beautiful forests. We live peacefully with the plants and animals, and with our neighbors. We do not take greedily from the land. We give back to the land through our care for its resources. We need to have these forests if we are to survive as a people. TOKI, THE CURANDERA: I am an old woman. I have watched our people live as part of the rainforest for many years. I guide the women of our tribe. We learn together about the ways of the plants and animals of the forest. We teach them to our daughters and they to their daughters. We have learned many of the secrets of the plants of our forest. TAKUA: Rather than always taking from the forest, we cultivate forest plants along paths and in small plots, although most people would think these plants grow naturally. We are able to provide food and clothing for our bodies and materials for our huts. We know which plants contain medicinal magic to cure us when we are sick. We do not need to look to the outside world for our needs. Without this forest, our people will be in serious trouble. TRIBAL SHAMAN: The forest has provided for our people for thousands of years. Being the Shaman, I have taught our people to respect and understand that plants, animals, and man can live together in the forest. Those who want to destroy our forest do not understand that it is alive. They do not understand how people can be spiritually bonded with their surroundings and choose not to destroy them. They do not have the wisdom and the skill to live well without destroying rainforests. My friend [looking at Kerri], look deeply into my eyes. Se the rainforest through me. Look closely. Loooook. Loooook. Loooook. KERI: Shaman, I feel so strange—so strange—S-T-R-A-N-G-E——- [Kerri falls to the ground and the lights go out. The curtain closes (if you don't have a curtain, have two students hold a sheet in front of Kerri as the animals assemble). The curtain reopens on a forest full of animals at the back of the stage. Kerri is on the ground with the shaman looking over her. She begins to wake up.] SHAMAN: I'm sorry to have to bring you here, Kerri, but you will not get a complete view of the rainforest by only talking with people. You must talk with the animals that live in this forest and also depend on it for their lives. KERRI: Shaman, I don't understand what you mean—"talk with the animals." Animals CAN'T talk! SHAMAN: Usually, Kerri, this is true. Animals don't talk with human beings. We probably wouldn't listen to them, anyway. But I sensed something in you. I sensed that you care. I think after all you have heard as you were preparing for your TV show that you began to feel deeply about the future of the rainforests. Only caring people can get the animals to speak to them. KERRI: You're right. I do care about the rainforests of the world. I have been getting only the human viewpoint on this issue. If the forests are destroyed, it's the animals who will suffer most. Do you think they will speak to me? Do you think they will tell their side of this world issue? SHAMAN: Be very quiet. Close your eyes, and we'll see what happens. [Kerri closes her eyes, and one-by-one the animals approach her. They are frightened and cautious of her, but they trust the shaman to protect them.] SHAMAN: Open your eyes, Kerri. Animal friends of the rainforest, I have brought this human being to you to have her hear what the destruction of the rainforest is doing to each of you. Because she is a news reporter, she can get your message heard by millions of people. Please feel free to tell her what is happening to you and your families. BOA CONSTRICTOR: I have spent much time in the trees above watching all that goes on around me. I have heard the machines not too far from us chopping down the trees. Yesterday my brother watched as 84 big trees were felled. That's right, 84 beautiful trees [becoming annoyed]—29 kapoks, 52 rubber trees, and 3 banana trees. SLOTH: [Just waking up from a doze, speaking slowly, elongating words—and having no idea what is going on.] Did somebody say down? I just got up here. [Animals smile and shake their heads.] BOA CONSTRICTOR: [Looking at the sloth and getting very annoyed.] Please, sloth, keep awake. This involves you, also. [Turning his attention back to Kerri and the other animals.] What will I do if the trees in which I live are chopped down? How will I get my food? My food comes from these trees. You must try to stop human beings with big machines from cutting down the forest trees. MONKEY #1: We, monkeys, spend our lives in these trees also. Our food is found here just like yours, snake. MONKEY #2: We desperately need these trees to raise our families. Don't these human beings realize that what they do today affects what happens tomorrow? MONKEY #3: We do not want our tomorrows to be without the trees in which we live. MONKEY #4: Please let our message be heard by these humans. Tell them to stop chopping down our homes. SCARLET MACAW: My friends the toucans and I fly over the forest. We see what happens when human beings carelessly chop down trees. TOUCAN #1: When rain falls in the treeless places, soil is washed into the rivers and carried to the sea. All the small plants and seeds are washed away, too. Soon there is nothing left but a treeless wasteland. TOUCAN #2: Everywhere we fly, the trees are chopped down and the forest is no more. Humans settle on some of these areas. They set fires to clear more and more of the land around them. Even more forest disappears. [A frog that has been hiding behind a stump comes forward to speak.] FROG: Where there was once beautiful green forest filled with life only black, charred remains are left. A ruined rainforest means ruined lives—many, many ruined lives. Those who chop down trees and burn forests leave many animals without homes. Please talk to them, Miss Kerri. Make them stop! ANTEATER #1: The macaw, toucans, and frog talk about the soil becoming a desert when all the trees are cut down. ANTEATER #2: We anteaters know that the great trees of the forest hold soil together and prevent it from washing away. ANTEATER #3: None of us can live in a desert. These trees also help hold in moisture, and they protect smaller plants and animals from the blistering sun. ANTEATER #4: Without them, many areas will be flooded; thousands of tons of soil will wash away; and lives will be lost. SLOTH: [Stretching and yawning.] Lost! Did someone say lost? I can't search for anyone. It takes me too long just to get up here. Now you want me to come down and search for someone, I. . . [Boa Constrictor interrupts.] BOA CONSTRICTOR: Will you be quiet, you moss-covered flea bag! FRUIT BAT: Friends! Friends! We must stick together, not fight. But I do agree, sloth. You should try to keep awake. Ms Kerri, my family and others like mine roost beneath leaves in rainforest trees. At night we fly about eating fruit and collecting more for out pups at home. As we fly, we spread fruit seeds far and wide throughout the forest. Seeds we drop soon sprout and new fruit trees grow. BUTTERFLY #1: We butterflies suck nectar from flowers. As we eat, we spread pollen from flower to flower, making sure that plants bear more fruit. Many, many animals eat fruit and leaves from plants seeded by bats and pollinated by butterflies. BUTTERFLY #2: You see, Miss Kerri, we cannot live without the flowers and most of them cannot live without us. All living things are interconnected and depend on each other to live. We need the forest and the forest needs us! AGOUTI #1: No one has mentioned that trees give us oxygen. All animals need oxygen to stay alive. AGOUTI #2: We tree porcupines cannot live without oxygen. These trees breathe out this life-giving gas. AGOUTI #3: Chopping down trees is condemning all of us, even these human beings who are chopping down trees. AGOUTI #4: We must stop this deforestation or all living creatures may become starved for oxygen. JAGUAR: Yes, I have been sitting here listening to everyone. I agree with all that my neighbors have said. It cannot be emphasized enough that these trees are home to many plants and animals. I cannot believe an intelligent species like human beings can act so stupidly. You are right, agoutis, they are not only destroying us. They are also destroying themselves. SLOTH: [Wailing.] Wait! Wait! I have been lying in my tree listening. . . [Boa Constrictor interrupts.] BOA CONSTRICTOR: Listening? SLOTH: Yes, snake, listening! No one has mentioned the extreme beauty of the forest. Beauty should be important. If the rainforest is destroyed, on what will I rest my sleepy eyes? The emerald green, the brilliant flowers, the tranquil waterfalls, the abundant wildlife—all will be gone. It will make me very sad not to see this each time I open my eyes. SHAMAN: You have spoken from your hearts, my rainforest friends. I am human, but I need this forest as much as you do. If the forest is destroyed, everything will be gone for my people, also. Our homes, our food, our way of life—all will be lost. KERRI: I will try, dear animals, to tell the world about your problems. I am only one voice, but I will speak. SHAMAN: It is time for you to return, Kerri. You will remember what you have heard, but not how you heard it. No time will have passed in the real world. Now, look into my eyes. [Kerri faints again. The animals disappear. Doctor Jackson comes on stage. Kerri awakens, stands, and takes up where she had been with Doctor Jackson.] KERRI: [Looking slightly dazed.] Doctor Jackson, Doctor Jackson— Oh! Excuse me. I seem to have lost my train of thought. [She takes a deep breath.] Doctor Jackson, all of these people sound like they are working with the land. What is the problem, then? DOCTOR JACKSON: Too much rainforest is being cut down in too many countries. Population pressures and a desire for short-term returns are hacking away at the world's jungles. ROBERT: My name is Robert and this is Pam, Sue, Jeff and Jill. We are all graduate students working as assistants to Dr Jackson. One of the problems facing the rainforests is slash-and-burn agriculture. Farmers cut down large trees and burn smaller plants to clear land for crops. Up to 20 million acres of tropical forest, nearly the size of the state of New Jersey, are cleared every year to make way for farming. PAM: At least half of this new farmland is carved out of undisturbed forest. What makes this very bad is that the land claimed by slashing and burning is not good for farming. Rainforest soil holds only enough nutrients to keep a farm going for one round of crops—just one year! Maybe two years at the most, when fertilizer is used. Then the farmer must move on to another area of slashed and burned land, destroying more forest as he goes. JILL: Slash-and-burn agriculture is not the only problem facing these rainforest areas. Logging is another big issue. Logging takes at least 10 million acres every year. SUE: Most of the wood is cut for firewood or charcoal. Most of the people in the developing world rely on wood for cooking and heating. They also cut trees for building materials, fencing, and tools. JEFF: And big logging operations cut hardwood for export overseas. Forests are completely cleared or selectively cut. Either way is bad for the rainforest ecosystem. ROBERTO RAMIREZ: I am Roberto Ramirez and this is my brother, Alberto. We are both natives of the Amazon forest. We have been helping Doctor Jackson by working with cattle ranchers. Cattle ranching is carried out on land abandoned by farmers or on land especially cut and burned for the purpose of raising cattle. Millions of acres of rainforest, mostly in Central and South America, are converted or turned into cattle ranches every year. ALBERTO RAMIREZ: The nutrient-poor grasses that take hold once the rainforest is gone cannot support a large number of cattle. Therefore cattle raising does not bring in much money. Ranchers must give up or find new land for grazing. Often they destroy more rainforest every year. KERRI: But what about the animals that live in the rainforest? Hasn't anyone thought of them? What will happen to them? All I have heard about is land, farmers, ranchers, medicines. These are all important things to consider. But I wonder about the animals that will lose their homes or die when forests are cut down. MICHELLE: Kerri, are you all right? KERRI: Yes, Michelle, I am—sorry. [Addressing audience] Ladies and gentlemen, I wish that all of this were not happening, and if it has to be, that it was happening only here in South America. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Rainforests are being destroyed everywhere in the world. Something must be done. I'm Kerri Michaels on location in the Amazon Basin of South America. Lester and Michelle, back to you. LESTER: Thank you, Kerri. Well, folks, Kerri is right. This devastation is taking place in other parts of the world. Let's go now to our corresppondent in the Zaire Basin of Africa. Richard Jones is standing by. Richard, can you hear me? RICHARD JONES: Yes, Lester, you care coming in loud and clear. We are discovering here that not only is the rainforest being destroyed at a rapid rate. When the land is taken, many animals lose their homes, and this may wipe out many species. Many of these species live only in this rainforest area. I have with me today Officer Mobutu, who can help explain the problems facing law enforcement down here. Officer Mobutu. OFFICER MOBUTU: My job as the law enforcement official in this area is a big one. Granted the rainforest destruction is a huge problem facing my nation. But poaching has become another of our great problems. With the demand for luxury items, curios, and exotic pets and plants, illegal trade is draining wildlife from what remains of our rainforests. I have very few men to handle this vast area. We can only be in so many places at once. The poachers know this. I want my children to be able to see the animals of the African forest in their natural environment. But soon there will be no forest—and no animals! If the demand for these items disappeared, if tourists and people in other parts of the world would stop buying them—then there would be no reason for poaching. RICHARD: There you have it, Lester and Michelle. Rainforests being destroyed and animals' homes being ruined, poaching taking a great toll on the wildlife and plant life still here. This is Richard Jones on location in the Zaire Basin, Africa. Back to you, Michelle and Lester. MICHELLE: Thank you Richard. This story keeps getting bigger! Now, by satellite again, let's connect with our correspondent in Indonesia. Gail Wu, are you there? GAIL WU: Here, Michelle. I have with me today, Doctor Ian Smedley, who is doing research provided by a grant from Oxford University, to study the orangutan. And his assistant, Sarah. Doctor Smedley, how do things look in the rainforest here in Borneo? DOCTOR SMEDLEY: Gail, I cannot believe what is happening. Orangutans depend on the rainforest for survival. Unfortunately, as is true throughout the world, Indonesia's forests are quickly disappearing as a result of economic development and human population growth. Because of this, orangutan habitats in northern Sumatra and Borneo have declined drastically. SARAH: One orangutan needs between one and two square miles of rainforest habitat to survive. Less than 87,000 square miles of suitable habitat remain, but most of this is threatened by logging and other human activities. Only about 12,500 square miles are protected in various parks, and these are all in the country of Borneo. If current trends persist, these parks could become the only places where Indonesia's natural orangutan populations remain. These groups of animals would become much smaller. GAIL: What can be done, Doctor Smedley? DOCTOR SMEDLEY: We are trying to work with the communities in this area and train local people to protect and care for their environment. We are encouraging the local government to create job opportunities by setting aside land for parks and developing ecotourism. Only time will tell if our methods work. GAIL: This is Gail Wu on location in Indonesia. Back to you, Lester and Michelle. LESTER: Many scientists that I have spoken with are concerned that destroying the rainforests will cause global warming. The whole earth's climate will become warmer. We have in the studio renowned meterologist, Doctor Joseph DeNardo. MICHELLE: Doctor DeNardo, will you explain further? DOCTOR DENARDO: What we are discussing, Lester and Michelle, is called the "greenhouse effect." Increased burning in the rainforest areas and use of harmful pollutants is creating a haze in our atmosphere, letting harmful sun rays in and not allowing them to escape naturally. This makes the earth warmer than usual. This warming could cause the oceans to rise, submerging much coastal land. It would cause droughts in many areas, affecting crops and animals, and cut down the world's food supply. Rainforests also give the earth much of its oxygen. The rainforests have been called the "lungs of the world." Destroy the trees and we could be destroying ourselves. We all have to work together, or the earth's human habitat may not be here for future generations. LESTER: Thank you for the explanations, Doctor DeNardo. Well, folks, time goes fast and our time is up. I sounds like the health of our planet depends on the health of rainforests around the world. It's up to us. We have to save the rainforests that remain AND we have to start today. This is Lester Brewster. MICHELLE: And Michelle Martinez for MEET IMPORTANT ISSUES, saying— LESTER AND MICHELLE: Thank you and goodnight, America. Suggestion: At the end of your performance, have one or more student spokespersons tell the audience about the BIG GIFT to the Earth and your coin collection project. Students who have performed in the play can stand in costume at doors as people leave, accepting donations to HELP SAVE THE RAINFOREST. |