A Nasty Mother

Think only the religious right is anti-science? How about the spiritual left?

BY LEE M. SILVER

To be alive as an organic organism on earth, you must have access to water. On most land areas, water availability varies from month to month and year to year. As a result, the form and number of living things is greatly limited. In the Amazon rainforest, however, getting water is not a problem, and every surface is covered with layer upon layer of life forms living on top of each other. In this environment, sunlight rather than water is the most precious commodity, since 98% of the sun's rays never make it to the jungle floor.