Deforestation
The planet Earth is being scarred. Everyday the people of the planet earth are polluting the planet’s air, water and land. These are all natural resources that are necessary for our survival on this planet. Yet, we continue to abuse our planet. Our world population is growing out of control. The simple lesson of supply and demand tells us that we will need more resources in order to support the booming population. One of the most important factors in survival is food supply. With out enough food, we will not survive. Unfortunately, our forest ecosystems are paying the price for the food demand. Deforestation is a major problem on our planet. It is something that must be carefully monitored and regulated.
Deforestation is a practice that has been taking place for thousands of years. Human beings have found it necessary to clear out the forests for settlement and cropland. Although there is no evidence as to how much of the planet’s forests has been cut down, it is obvious that this valuable ecosystem is declining. Studies estimate that, “original forest cover has been reduced by nearly 50 percent.” (WRI, p.90)
The forest ecosystem provides a number of services both directly and indirectly to humans. For example, the Carbon and Nitrogen cycles are two of the cycles that are necessary for survival on our planet. Carbon is a key element on our planet. Carbon is found in the atmosphere, in plants and animals and in the ocean. “About 33 percent of the carbon that has accumulated in the atmosphere over the past 150 years has come from deforestation and changes in land use.” (WRI, p.50) When the carbon is in plants, it is released back into the atmosphere in a process called cellular respiration. If the trees and plants are cut down, the carbon cycle is not completed. The carbon will not be effectively removed from the air. “Fifteen tons of carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) occur in the air column above each hectare (2.5 acres) of the Earth’s surface. One hectare of lush vegetation can remove 50 tons of carbon from the atmosphere annually.” (WRI, p. 60)
Nitrogen is another key element. Lack of Nitrogen could limit plant growth. Often times, Nitrogen is added to fertilizers to help increase the growth of the crop. However, beca...
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...restrictions on any practice, which could have a physical effect on the environment. For example, the government should have a good inventory of the country’s natural resources.
The government could also attach taxes to any natural resources, which are being traded out of the country. These taxes could be used, for example, to help replant forests. The money would help encourage farmers and timber harvesters to use alternative means in order to help protect the forests.
Conclusion
We have learned in class a lot about environmental sustainability. Humans are just a part of the many ecosystems on our planet. It is important that people consider themselves equals to the other species on this planet. We need each other in order to survive. Increased croplands may be a necessity, however, there are ways to make it less damaging to our environment. We cannot always look at the quickest, cheapest ways to get what we need. In the end, if we don’t change our ways, we (humans) will be responsible for the ultimate demise of our planet.
Have you ever wondered how life would be if you barely had any air to breathe, if there were no forest, or if the most common animals became extinct? This is eventually going to happen if deforestation continues. In "The Sumatran Rainforest Will Mostly Disappear within 20 Years," the author, John Vidal, describes areas that are going through deforestation because of giant logging, palm and mining companies. It explains how the animals, land, and people are affected during this process. Deforestation kills our animals and their habitants and destroys the lives of villagers nearby.
Deforestation is an emerging environmental problem regarding forest depletion and clearing. Many people show great concern for our rainforest and deforestation in general. A lot of people do not agree with the concept of deforestation. Throughout the years many people have protested against deforestation. One person who advocates to end deforestation is Edward Abbey in his essay “Eco Defense” published in 1995. Edward Abbey was an author and environmentalist advocate born in Indiana and lived from 1927-1989 he earned his master 's degree at university of New Mexico. Forests are required for the wellness of the wild animals, human being and the environment. Deforestation is ruining that. Edward Abbey uses strong language and pathos to effectively
Nowadays, earth has been facing a series of severe environmental issues which require urgent attention to make the ecology friendly, and global warming is considered as the most vital one. Although some people doubt and disagree that global warming is happening, climate change is real and it is mainly influenced by human activities through the increased production of green house gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Global warming has the effect of melting polar ice caps and glaciers, which will lead to sea level to go up. Moreover, due to the rise of sea level, the survival of those people who live in islands and coastal cities can ultimately be threatened. Deforestation has been considered to be one of the most important contributing factors to global climate change. Also, since trees absorb greenhouse gases, reduce carbon emissions, and produce oxygen, without trees, the greenhouse effect can be improved tremendously. As World Resources Institute has pointed out in the data, forest loss contributes between 12 percent and 17 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, what is “deforestation”? Why do people have to deforest? How does it affect environment?
Now is a critical time to address the issue of deforestation. Around the world forests are logged for timber and paper pulp. South America contains a large amount of mahogany and rosewood—highly coveted types of wood—within the Amazon basin. Forests are also cleared to make room for the planting of cash crops, such as coffee and soy, as well as livestock farms. After only a few years, overuse of these lands for crops typically causes soil erosion that quickly turns deforested regions into wastelands. Deforestation is responsible for 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than all emissions all motorized transportation added together. The destruction of forests does not just threaten our climate; it threatens the livelihoods of billions of people that rely on forests for food and economic activities. The modern world relies on rainforests more than for the well-known reason. People receive many of their fruits and medicines from plant species that survive solely within the heart of a rainforest. Let’s not forget that forests also serve as habitats to wildlife a...
Deforestation is fast becoming one of the world’s worst environmental/geographical occurring disasters known to mankind, and is due to humankind’s greed, ignorance and carelessness when considering the future of our environment.
“The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Scaling to 46 years, human have been here 4 hours, the industrial revolution began 1 minute ago, and in that time, we’ve destroyed more than half the world’s forests.” - Unknown. One major environmental problem in our world is deforestation - what is that, you ask? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, deforestation is the action or process of clearing of forests. Some consequences of this include a large contribution to global warming and climate change (about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year), loss of biodiversity especially in tropical rainforests, and the extinction of many known or yet to be discovered species. But, through some Debt-for-Nature Swaps, leaving forests
Environmental issues affect every life on this planet from the smallest parasite to the human race. There are many resources that humans and animal needs to survive; some of the most obvious resources come from the forests. Forests make up a large percentage of the globe. The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees improve the quality of the air that species breath, determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. The wood from the forests are used everyday form many useful resources. Moreover, thinning the forests increases the amount of available light, nutrients and water for the remaining trees. Deforestation (forest thinning) is one of the most critical issues of environmental problems that are occurring today.
Though deforestation has increased at an alarming rate throughout the past fifty years, deforestation has been performed during the course of history. According to the World Resources Institute, a majority of the world’s enduring naturally occurring forests are found in Alaska, Canada, Russia and the Northwestern Amazon. Research has demonstrated forests are more likely to be destroyed and repurposed where economic revenues tied to agriculture and pasture are prominent, typically attributed to advantageous weather conditions, or lower expenses of demolishing the forest and delivering merchandises to the global
As described by Alan F. Arbogast in his book Discovering Physical Geography, deforestation is “the process through which large tracts of land are cleared of trees by humans” (270). Today, deforestation is described as quite a major issue because the amount of forest cover in our global society is being reduced dramatically. In fact, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, continents South America and Africa experienced a -5.2% and -11.7% change in forest cover from years 1990-2010 respectively (Arbogast 271). South America and Africa’s forestland cover have declined these percentages, which many researchers believe contribute to deforestation. Too much forest cover is being used and not much attention is being paid to taking care of the land. When these natural lands are cleared, many problems can emerge, such as biodiversity in the tropical forest biomes, global warming, and ultimately, the “extinction of plant and animal species that have yet to be discovered” (Arbogast 271). Deforestation is an ongoing issue in our society today and has many reasons why it is caused in the first
The world’s rain forests could completely vanish with in a hundred years due to the rate of deforestation (Deforestation). Forests are cut down for many reasons, but most of them are related to money or to people’s need to provide for their families. Not all deforestation is intentional. Deforestation can be split up among 4 main factors: 5% caused by cattle ranching, 19% over-logging, 22% from palm oil plantations, and 54% from slash-and-burn farming. They are not the only thing that is causing harm to the rainforest though. There are many other things such as Cash Crops, Shifted Cultivators, Cattle Ranching, Mining Operations, Government interest, and Hydroelectric Projects, and Plam Oil
It is evident that the problem of deforestation is a challenge to stop but despite this, it is more manageable. Preserving intactness of these forests has an association with minimization of drastic climatical changes and fluctuations as well as global warming. In addition, the ecosystem and host habitats remain intact and, as a result, there is no extinction of species or displacement of indigenous communities that live in these
Deforestation, defined by biologist Charles Southwick as "the destruction of forests; may involve clear-cutting or selective logging" (p. 365), is a predominantly human-driven process that is dramatically altering ecosystems worldwide. "Clear-cutting" involves the indiscriminant removal of every single plant and tree species from within a selected area. The other major process of deforestation, "selective logging," focuses removal efforts on only specific, predetermined tree species within a chosen area. The statistics gathered about human deforestation over time are considerable, and they can be somewhat controversial. Depending on the source and the location selected, the magnitude of deforestation varies. Southwick estimates that, approximately 10,000 years ago, 6.2 billion hectares (23.9 million square miles) of forest existed on earth (p. 117). That figure is equivalent to 45.5% of the earth's total land. He further estimates that, by 1990, this amount had declined 30%, with only 4.3 billion hectares of forest remaining (p. 117). Southwick also acknowledges other estimates that place the total amount of deforestation between 50% and 75% (p. 117). NASA has similar deforestation statistics that confirm these trends. According to their website, 16.5% of the Brazilian Amazon forests have been destroyed. They also note similar magnitudes of deforestation in Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), despite the significantly smaller total area of forest within these countries. These grim figures are somewhat tempered by the NASA finding that, over the past ten years, the deforestation rate has declined from 6,200 square miles per year to 4,800 square miles per year. Though this trend is n...
People have been deforesting the Earth for thousands of years, primarily to clear land for crops or livestock. Although tropical forests are largely confined to developing countries, they aren’t just meeting local or national needs; economic globalization means that the needs and wants of the global population are bearing down on them as well. Direct causes of deforestation are agricultural expansion, wood extraction (e.g., logging or wood harvest for domestic fuel or charcoal), and infrastructure expansion such as road building and urbanization. Rarely is there a single direct cause for deforestation. Most often, multiple processes work simultaneously or sequentially to cause deforestation.
Tackling the numerous environmental health complications has been an essential focus for health prevention specialist alike. One in particular many don 't seem to fully grasp its importance, is Deforestation. Deforestation has slowly taken center stage as a global concern not only for humans, but, species inhabited within. In contrary of its effects to environment health, Deforestation has major repercussions across many fronts. One in particular that health specialists and promoters seem to undermine is its consequences economic consequences. Decimation of such forests, in turn reduce our global GDP, with an estimation that it will only get worse by 10% in 2030 (Hargrave, 2012). This loss in turn subsequently takes
Scientists themselves are just beginning to understand the serious problems caused by deforestation. Deforestation occurs all over the world by all types of people. Peasant farmers even add to the problem because in most tropical countries the farmers are very poor only making between eight hundred and fifty four hundred dollars annually (NASA Facts). Therefore, they do not have enough money to buy what they need to live therefore they must farm to raise crops for food and to sell. In these poor countries the majority of people are peasant farmers this farming adds up to a great deal of deforestation. These farmers chop down a small area of trees for there plot to farm on and burn the tree trunks (NASA Facts). The combined number of farmers maintaining this process creates a great deal of clearing and burning of the land they need to cultivate, which results in land being treeless. Commercial logging is also another common form of deforestation. This commercial logging wipes out massive amounts of land sometimes deforesting several miles at...