It is commonly believed that the Amazon rainforest is essential for providing the oxygen we breathe. But this is a myth. 

One single tree can produce enough oxygen to support two people. And the Amazon Rainforest is ten times the size of Texas, producing 20 times more oxygen than all the people on the surface of the Earth could consume. But, not one breath of it leaves the Amazon.

Scientific studies show that while the Amazon’s tress do produce a huge amount of oxygen, all of it is consumed by the rainforest and it is inhabitants. There are so many animals living in the Amazon Basin that the life there uses all that oxygen up.

In other words, the Amazon rain forest is a closed system that uses all its own oxygen and Carbon Dioxide.

So, contrary to popular belief, the Amazon does not supply the world’s oxygen, but the rainforest is still essential for the health of the planet. Because the estimated 390 billion trees growing there lock-up huge amounts of carbon dioxide, which would be released into the atmosphere, leading to increased global warming, if they are cut down and burnt. 

The Amazon is also important as part of an amazing global interconnected system that helps feed diatoms, the freaky little known sea creatures that do supply most of the world’s oxygen.

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