why are they doing this?

Unfortunatly, From what I can tell, the people in the rain forrests (the tree cutters) are motivated by jobs and income. Some (if not most ) of these people have no other income at that level. We need to study these people (quickly) and find jobs with skill requirements similar to their curent set. In addition, they must have an option to attend retraining classes should their reserved and assigned job be insufficient.
As far as development of farm land goes, google "Verticle Growing". The verticle systems save water and land. Every acre we can save by going up, we can replant with native plants chosen for their shade (insulation) properties. The evapotranspiration rate of trees is lower than grasses.
So, I guess I believe that we can do both and make the environment better at the same time, or did they pass a law saying that was illegal?

Rory Short

In my view there are two reasons why this is happening.

Firstly humankind keeps reproducing at more than a replacement rate thus we have more and more people. Apparently in 1900 there were 2 billion people on earth now there are 6.7 billion and still increasing. People have material needs and our ever increasing numbers provides an ever increasing market for suppliers of these needs.

Secondly the Western approach to the rest of creation is essentially exploitative. Basically the Western mindset is of the form - 'If it is accessible and I can use it to my advantage then I will'. There is little or no thought given to the possible consequences for the rest of creation, or for ourselves for that matter, that might arise from what we are planning to do.

The Western approach to the rest of creation has apparently been hugely successful so now China and India are busy adopting it too.

The fact that the Western approach to the rest of creation is completely unsustainable over the long term has escaped the vast majority of humankinds' thinking about these matters. But nature is responding, as it must, hence global warming, the extinction of species etc. etc., the catalogue of problems is already vast and it is growing every day.

The only way that humankind can live with the rest of creation in the longterm is cooperatively. We might already have damaged the environment to such an extent that there is no longer any hope of survival for us as a species, only time will tell. In the meantime those of us who are awake and aware must start learning to live cooperatively with the rest of creation. If any people survive the environmental catastrophe that humankind is busy creating then it will be people in communities that have kearnt how to live in cooperation with the rest of creation.