 Forests are a gift to humanity's ecosystemic balance. Water vapor is pumped into the atmosphere by evapotranspiration in three tropical forest blocks globally, the Amazonia, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia. This produces local rain, thereby watering crops thousands of kilometers away in temperate zones. Forests also exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen and the sequester and store carbon. For centuries, forests have also provided refuge for species that constitute our rich biodiversity, thereby ensuring their evolution and recolonization of Earth since the interglacial periods till present. Yet, a potent amalgamation of weapons for mass destruction of forests and our rich biodiversity seems to be that of man, deforestation and forest degradation. Only 30% of the Earth is being forested today. This is equivalent to 4 billion hectares, a third less than forestation levels before the dawn of agriculture 10,000 years ago. That gives an idea of how much biodiversity species has been lost in that much forest area. Further, untouched natural forests store 60% of extra carbon dioxide compared to plantation forests. Through degradation, they account for 20% of the world's emission of greenhouse gases, a major cause of climate change. Climate change is deadly. We need a new economic logic, undergirded by forest-independent growth. We must learn to see forests, not as trees, but as the lungs of the planet.