The ethical and policy issues associated with rain forests are doubly related to technology and science: While technology has provided the tools for cutting down rain forests, science has produced knowledge about their importance that leads to the questioning of such practices.

If one compares maps of the world featuring maximum biodiversity, deserts, and desertification (for example, putting side by side Mittermeier et al., Hotspots [2000], p. 19; the Encyclopedia of Deserts [1999], inside cover; and the World Atlas of Desertification [1997], pp. 44–45), the most striking feature is the proximity of maximum and minimum biodiversity in well-defined bands that circle the globe—because of the heat of the sun at the Equator and related atmospheric and climate effects. That is, the areas that contain the highest levels of biological diversity are almost all endangered to a high degree as well.

Kathlyn Gay (2001) introduces her summary of worldwide research and activism...