Why do people destroy rainforests

Greed. Nothing says 'chop down a tree' quite as loudly as dollar signs and boatloads of wealth clogging the brainwaves of imagination.

As far as information regarding why and for what reasons, try using a search engine and then reading what shows up.

For example, this site came up: www.rainforestconcern.org/rainforest_facts/why_are_they_being_destroyed/

A wealth of information can be found there; but, you have to read it.

We all destroy rainforests either directly or indirectly...as to why, short answer, lack of attention span and long term foresight. Malfunctioning species.

Economics yes, but there's also something psychological going on. As you may have already noticed, it's almost as fulfilling to destroy something and ten times easier than it is to create something.