The US should prohibit the import of all goods derived from the Amazon Rainforest.

My three main contentions are: P1: The effects of mining in the rainforest are disastrous. P2: We need to minimize deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest. P3: Banning imports from the Amazon will help protect & preserve it. Define: Should = Moral obligation to take specific action All imports = The goods and raw materials that are produced from the Amazon Framework: Since "should" means to have a moral obligation, we are limiting the debate strictly to discussion about whether the US has moral obligation to prohibit imports. 1. The effects of mining in the rainforest is disastrous. Gold, copper, diamonds, and other precious metals and gemstones are found in the Amazon. However, the means we use to get them, mining, is a destructive activity that damages the rainforest ecosystem and causes problems for people living nearby and downstream from mining operations. According to Rainforest Mongabay, cyanide, a highly toxic compound, is used in mining. While cyanide is supposed to be carefully monitored to prevent its escape into the surround environment, spills do occur. This obviously is detrimental to the land surrounding the disaster. An easy example of this would be the 1995 Amazon Rainforest cyanide spill in Guyana. According to the Amazon Aid Foundation, in August 1995, the Golden Star Mine released more than a billion gallons of cyanide-laced waste water into a tributary in the Amazon. It caused widespread die-offs of aquatic and terrestrial plant and animal life, poisoned floodplain soils used for agriculture, and polluted the main source of drinking water for thousands of people. Mining has in the past proven to be detrimental to the delicate rainforest ecosystem. We need to prevent more land from being polluted by mining. According to NASA, mining accounts for more than 43% o/deforestation in the Amazon. Therefore, we can conclude that mining plays a HUGE role in the destruction in the Amazon, leading me to my 2nd contention, which is -- 2. We need to minimize deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest. Right now, the Amazon, one o/the most valuable international wonders o/the world, is losing thousands of acres o/forest. And according to Natural News, each hectare in the Amazon contains up to 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants. That amount is lost every two seconds. Let"s do the math here. All the destruction adds up to 137 species of animals and plants being lost each day. The U. S. is the international role model. How can we just stand by & let all the deforestation and destruction happen, and even have our own citizens participate in the destruction? According to NASA, currently, the RF is losing about 21,000 square miles of forest a year due to logging and deforestation. If this continues, scientists estimate that more than " of the rainforest will be gone by the year 2030, and everything in the rainforest will be gone by 2050. Clearly, the Amazon"s expiration date is not so far away. If we want to preserve our planet, we have to help out & ban imports from the rainforest. This leads me to my 3rd contention which is -- 3. Banning all imports from the Amazon will help protect & preserve it. Building off my previous 2 contentions, America CAN help the Amazon rainforest. According to the Census Bureau the U. S. is almost 5% o/the world"s population. That"s more than 300 million people. According to USA Today, 79% o/all our wooden household items come from the Amazon. So, If we ban imports from the Amazon Rainforest, there will be 300 million less people hammering away at the Amazon Rainforest. Our country could possibly be game changer in the rainforest"s survival and preservation. According to the World Preservation Foundation, the US is the largest importer of tropical hardwoods at more than 20 million cubic meters a year. Obviously, if we stopped importing, we would make a huge difference. According to National Geographic, Currently, palm oils from the Amazon are banned in Europe, saving 9 football fields of trees from being clear-cut, PER MINUTE. Now imagine if we could ban all imports. That would save so many trees. It is our duty as American citizens to protect the world we live in. Thank you. The spotlight is now on my opponent.