Paradise lost.

• Position: GRAPH: ENVIRONMENT - Deforestation

Deforestation has been taking place for thousands of years, primarily as humans clear land for agricultural, use, logging, and urbanization. As the graph at right shows, in recent years forest depletion is concentrated in developing countries, where most original rain forest is located and where less-developed economies generally provide few opportunities other than living off the land.

As the article "Are All Forests Created Equal?" reports, new tropical forests are growing on millions of acres of abandoned farmland as people move to cities in search of work. Can new forests replace what's been cut down?

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

(1) The total forest area of Brazil in 2005 was nearly 478 million ha. The amount of forest created there between 1990 and 2005 equals roughly--percent of that.

a 5

b 8.5

c 12.5

d 20

(2) The U.S. lost 4.4 million ha of forest in this time period, which would place it between an--on--this graph.

a Philippines, Cameroon

b Bolivia, Australia

c Venezuela, Zimbabwe

d Mexico, Nigeria

(3) Which country on the graph lost slightly less than 22 million acres of tropical forest?

a Sudan

b Brazil

c Myanmar

d Tanzania

(4) Which country on the graph lost about four times the amount of tropical forest as the country listed two countries away?

a Brazil

b Indonesia

c Sudan

d Nigeria

(5) The state of New York measures 14.1 million ha, equating roughly the size of the tropical forest lost in the Democratic Republic of Congo and combined.

a Sudan

b Mexico

c Tanzania

d...