00:00have you ever heard someone say that the amazon rainforest is the longest of the earth sounds
00:04powerful right but what if i told you that this famous place is only partially true
00:09and a little misunderstood let's explore what it really means the amazon rainforest is the
00:13largest rainforest on our planet it spreads across millions of square kilometers in south america
00:19and is home to millions of plants animals and insects to understand this we need to look at
00:24a process of photosynthesis this is how plants make their food trees in the amazon taking carbon
00:29dioxide from the air use sunlight as energy and release oxygen as a byproduct this exchange of
00:34gases is similar to how our lungs work we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide that is
00:40where the comparison comes from since the amazon has billions of trees it produces a huge amount of
00:45oxygen this made people believe that it supplies a large portion of the oxygen debris in fact you may
00:51have heard that it produces 20 percent of earth oxygen but here is a surprising choice that number
00:56is actually misleading scientists have found that while the amazon produces a lot of oxygen it also
01:02uses almost all of the peas animals and even tiny microorganisms in the forest consume oxygen through
01:07respiration when plants and leaves die they decompose and that process also uses oxygen so in the end the
01:14amazon's net contribution to the world's oxygen is close to zero in simple words it produces oxygen but it
01:20also uses nearly the same amount if the amazon is not really giving us oxygen then why is it still
01:25so
01:25important even though it may not be the lungs in a little case the amazon plays a huge role in
01:31keeping our planet healthy it acts like a giant carbon observer pulling carbon dioxide out of the
01:36atmosphere this helps slow down climate change it also helps control rainfall patterns not just in
01:42south america but around the world it is one of the most biodiverse places on earth meaning it is home
01:47to an incredible variety of life so maybe instead of calling it the lungs of the earth a better way
01:52to
01:52think of the amazon is as the planet's natural air conditioner cooling the earth and keeping your
01:57system balanced but here is something even more interesting most of the oxygen we breathe does
02:01not come from the forest at all it actually comes from tiny organisms in the ocean called phytoplankton
02:06these microscopic plants produce a large portion of earth's oxygen over time so next time someone says
02:12the amazon is the lungs of the earth we will know the full story it is not exactly our lungs
02:16but it is still
02:17one of the most important ecosystem on our planet and protecting it that is something we all should care
02:22about
02:22so
02:24so
02:38you
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