Just as the rainforests are home to a million species of land plants and animals, coral reefs are home to nearly a million aquatic species, including sponges, shrimps, crabs, jellyfish, snails, oysters, clams, and of course, fish. Three thousand of these creatures may live together in one reef. The coral protects the animals from their predators, and provides them with food, shelter, and a place to have babies.

Coral reefs are also called the rainforests of the sea because just like rainforests, many materials found in them can be used for medicine. Medicines that could be used to treat cancer have been found in the coral. It can also be used to repair human bone. Many organisms found within the reef can also be used in medicine.

But the biggest similarity between rainforests and coral reefs is that, like rainforests, coral reefs are being destroyed. The main reason? Dirty water. Chemicals used in farming can be harmful to the coral. The chemicals can wash out into the sea when it rains. Also, sewage and waste is dumped into the sea. This creates an overgrowth of algae which can grow on the bottom of the reef and smother it.

Just as we need to preserve the rainforest, we also need to preserve the coral reefs. Without them, the millions of species living in them will not be able to survive.

WHAT IS A CORAL REEF?
A coral is a small marine animal that belongs to the anthozoa family. These tiny creatures usually live together in colonies. A coral will produce a cup-shaped skeleton around itself. It continues skeleton growth until it dies, whereupon new corals will produce skeletons on top of the old ones, creating new layers. Over time, this forms a coral reef.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
1. Don't throw your trash in or around the reefs.
2. When snorkeling, control your flippers and snorkels to make sure they don't touch the coral.
3. Don't stand or sit on the coral.
4. Don't feed or touch the fish.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN HELP SAVE CORAL REEFS, CONTACT:
Planetary Coral Reef Foundation
Coral Reef Research Institute

Chocolate just doesn't fall off of a chocolate tree in the form of a Hershey's kiss or a Snickers bar. It is actually made from a very bitter bean called the cacao bean which comes from the cacao tree. These beans are prepared in a special process that was invented by the Aztec people, who lived in Mexico over 3000 years ago. The process goes something like this:

First, the beans are left to sit in their own juice for five days. This kills their seeds and turns them into a liquid. Next, the beans are dried in the sun for about two weeks. They are then roasted for two weeks which gives the end mixture its flavor. This mixture is what Aztecs consider chocolate. But because there is no sugar added yet, the mixture is still very bitter.

To make chocolate sweet, the way we usually like it, we have to add a whole lot of sugar and butter. This step was made famous by a man named Milton Snavely Hershey (does his last name sound a little familiar?).

So why, you may ask, is chocolate considered potentially endangered? Well, as we just learned, chocolate is made from the cacao bean, which comes from the cacao tree. This tree needs a special environment, called a rainforest, in which to grow. Also, the cacao tree needs a tiny insect, called a midge to pollinate its flowers so that other cacao trees can grow. The midge also lives in the rainforest.

The big problem is that the rainforest is being cut down. At one point, farmers began cutting down the rainforest to get more land to grow cacao trees. But this was a bad plan. What they learned is that the cacao tree grows better and healthier if it is planted inside the rainforest. The tree will still be able to be pollinated by the midge and have the shade of the rainforest that it loves. By planting the tree in this way, both the chocoholics and the rainforest will be happy. This is called sustainable development.

Chocolate could be in danger of extinction, but if we all do our part to help save the rainforests, chocolate cake, milk, and candy bars will be around for years to come.

Here are some fun facts about chocolate:
1. Cacao beans were used as money in Mesoamerica.
2. The world's supply of chocolate is dependent on the midge, a fly the size of the head of a pin.
3. Christopher Columbus was the first European to try chocolate.
4. The Aztecs drank a liquid made of chocolate, chili powder, and vanilla. (yuck!)