Fill in the gaps with the verbs in brackets in the present simple or present continuous.

Rainforests are disappearing, and we all know that humans are the main cause of this destruction. Every year we cut down an area of rainforest the size of New Jersey.  Every hour we destroy 6000 acres of rainforest (that’s 4000 football fields). What we do not realise is that we are destroying the planet where our children and grandchildren have to live. We need the rainforests; they produce oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide (C02), cleaning the atmosphere.

But why are the forests disappearing so quickly? Well, experts agree that there are two main reasons. The most important is human activity. Big companies are cutting down more and more trees every day and this is causing damage to the land. The way of life in the rainforests is also changing because of climate change. Now there is less rain and this is causing more and more trees to die. As a consequence of the droughts, the risk of fires is increasing dramatically.

Fortunately, it seems that now some governments are beginning to understand the problem, and they are trying to control these activities. Some of them really want to put an end to this problem, although a few big companies with a lot of power are in their way.