the Amazon rainforest is a sprawling jungle stretching across 5.5 million
square kilometers an area over half the size of Europe the Amazon has existed
for an estimated 55 million years but what if it never existed hello and
welcome back to life's biggest questions a channel that looks to answer a
plethora of queries from reality to fiction from science to history to pop
culture we are one of the og homes of the what if discussion video I'm your
host Rebecca Phil gates and today I am asking true to form what if the Amazon
rainforest never existed before we get into this video I want to know what your
favorite animal is that lives in the rainforest you can google it if you want
I'm gonna go with pink river dolphins because you know dolphins let a pink
doing that thing it's just good stuff let me know your thoughts in the comment
section down below also please do leave a thumbs up on this video it really
really helps us with the channel if you haven't yet subscribed go ahead and do
so we answer questions daily I Amazon what say you
the Amazon is big it's around fifty six percent of the size of the United States
of America or thirteen times bigger than this state of California answering a
question that asks what the world would have been like without 0.04% of his
entire land masters house plant and animal life for millions of years
I mean honestly truly who knows but I will tell you what I do know and we'll
make a bit of an estimation firstly let me start with my beloved pink dolphins
because honey's would not be there inaud an Absolut platter of life-forms the
Amazon is home to 10% of all of the wildlife species that we know about and
plenty that we don't a new species is found in the Amazon every three days the
Amazon is the known home of 1300 bird species three thousands types of fish
430 2.5 million different insects according
to the World Wildlife Fund the Amazon has more types of ant on one tree than
some entire countries the Amazon also contains 1/3 of the world's known plant
species which have been used to generate important medicines over our human
history these days medicines to treat or cure inflammation rheumatism diabetes
malaria heart conditions skin diseases arthritis glaucoma and
more are made with Amazonian plant life without these ingredients Western
medicine would not be where it is today and that in itself has many many
different far-reaching consequences in a butterfly effect it spawns that the
Amazon is a valuable resource for rubber varnish paint and wood finishings as
well as cosmetics such as soap and shampoos perfumes detergents and the
like sure these plate less of a role in human survival than medicine but they
have generated industry and boosted global economies better - that the
Amazon has given the world wood furniture and structures made from teak
mahogany rosewood balsa and Sandler would come from the Amazon although its
extraction has become unsustainable that has had a big impact in the way that
we've built structures the most - precious resources that Amazon has
offered to the world over the years are oxygen produced from the rainforest and
freshwater by the enormous Amazon River it is largely quoted that the Amazon
rainforest creates 20% of the Earth's oxygen although a recent article on the
BBC claimed it was more like 10% either way
it's a significant amount of oxygen and without it perhaps the air quality would
have been altered the rainforest and the river are part and parcel of one would
struggle to exist without the other and the massive river with all of its
tributaries contain 20 percent of the world's flowing freshwater without this
settlements in South America countries like Brazil Peru and Bolivia could not
be what they are today in general could we have even out of Brazil without the
Amazon the short answer is probably no the long answer would look at a lot of
factors like Kleinert water fuels fibers economy and
would still get back to no so one of the most important functions of the
rainforests is climate and weather control their rainforest affects
rainfall patterns across South America and even beyond that in fact beyond that
it's suggested that the Amazon influences rainfall in Central America
and the western United States without the rain forest it's likely that the
land would be dry and arid with knock-on effects across two continents South
America and North America remember the man's it's suspected that one of the
main reasons that they died out is because they over logs that area too
much deforestation led to droughts which is why people are so concerned about the
loss of the rainforests today if the Amazon rainforest never existed human
life in South America would historically be very different today the Amazon is
home to more than 30 million people some 1.6 million of these Amazon dwellers are
indigenous ancient tribes who is to say how civilizations would have risen and
fallen if the inhabitants land hadn't been there while I might be finding it
hard to definitively answer what would happen if the Amazon rainforest had
never existed perhaps we will know what it will be like in our time without it's
while the forest has spent millions of years blooming in just a few generations
of human life we've begun killing it off since the 1950s the Amazon rainforest
has lost 18% of its original forest cover and up to 50% of the forest has
been partially destroyed the reason the rainforest is being felled at such an
alarming rate is to make way for agricultural practices such as farming
Castle and soybeans for the extraction of oil and gas for mining and for
logging if we continue at our current rates the entire forest could be lost in
150 years so where will we be without it there will be more carbon dioxide in the
air that's for sure the forest stores 86 billion tons of carbon temperatures
would rise which would bring about a chance of more fires the
I would be significantly more polluted which could contribute to global health
issues and of course with a dip in medication from eradicated Amazon
resources they could be feeling pretty sick it is estimated that there would be
significantly less rain in the west of the United States which means less water
for the population there down south things would be even worse people would
be thirsty and very hungry without the rain forest the Amazon River would
significantly shrink which means less water and less food millions of people
would get hungry because the river and its tributaries are a huge source of
protein across Brazil with the fish so yeah in my opinion not great to be
honest with you so that is enough of that let me know what you think the
world would be like without the Amazon rainforest I'm honestly very curious to
know for now though that is all I have on this video please do once again click
that thumbs up button and share this video with a friend
I'm your host Rebecca vulgate I'll catch you in the next one please do stay
curious Taylor and never ever stop questioning