“Some 46-58 million square miles of forest are lost each year- equivalent to 36 f... ... middle of paper ... ... away the sense of protection those many woods provide animals with. It is as if their homes are being ripped away from them for the selfish use of humans. Deforestation also has an impact on the climate. “15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of deforestation” (WWL). This is harmful to the climate as this leaves more carbon dioxide in the air.
If the land heats up, dry areas can become highly perched. When parching enlarges, the pressure gradients can cause winds to develop, leading to turbulent winds, tornadoes, and other powerful storms. With altered pressure, global warming can affect where storms, floods, and droughts occur. Another way climate change can affect human health is climate change in the ecosystem. Ecosystem upheaval is one of the most profound ways in which climate change can effect human health.
People are continuously reducing the biodiversity of our planet. The loss of biodiversity with our tropical rainforests, oceans, and lakes are very harmful and unpredictable. Rainforest are so rich with various species that it is highly doubtful that we will ever encounter them all. Rainforest are being destroyed by developing nations in order for homes, agriculture, and other various reasons.
Endangered species that live in forests, such as bonobos, giant pandas, and Asian elephants, are especially at risk of extinction because of deforestation. When one certain species is wiped out of an area, it impacts the whole food chain in that ecosystem. This is known as the domino effect. If a certain plant is removed from an ecosystem, the insect that relied on that plant will die out from a lack of food. The snake that ate said insect will also have no food.
Flooding can add to the profound impact clearing rainforests have on individuals. Many people’s lives and homes are lost due to the soil and roots not being able to contain as much water. Because the land can’t be reused, countries that rely on Brazil’s exports aren’t able to meet their demands and there is an increase in supply insecurity (Hyder 17). Also, once a species is gone, it is gone for good. Destroying plants reduces the variety of prospective drugs available and medicinal potential that could be possible cures ("Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information, Effects of Deforestation”).
When these trees are killed, an imbalance in the hydrologic cycle can occur. Without living trees to consume the precipitate, it must be consumed by the earth or any other plants. These will receive an excess of water, causing other problems in the hydrologic cycle. This in turn causes a chain reaction of death among our forests. Some regions are more susceptible to acid rain because they don't have enough Alkaline soil to "neutralize" the acid before it is able to destroy the rest of the soil or before it can run off into lakes or rivers.
An immediate effect of deforestation is removing natural habitats of several species residing in the forest. This has caused many different species to become endangered or extinct. The atmosphere is also impacted when deforestation occurs. Trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. When trees are removed less oxygen is produced and more carbon dioxide remains damaging the ozone layer.
Our Radiant Planet: Depletion of the Ozone Layer Ozone is a relatively unstable form of molecular oxygen containing three oxygen atoms produced when upper-atmosphere oxygen molecules are split by ultra violet light. Stratospheric ozone is found in a broad band, extending generally from 15 to 35km above the earth. Although the ozone layer is surprisingly thin, it acts as a protective shield to the earth, as it filters out most of the harmful solar ultraviolet radiation (in particular UV-B) that would otherwise reach our planets surface. Humans have damaged the ozone layer by adding molecules containing chlorine and/or bromine that lead to ozone destruction. The largest group among these are chloroflurocarbons (CFC's).
The loss of forests means the loss of habitats for many species. Current statistics show that as many as 100 species become extinct every day with a large portion being attributed to deforestation (Delfgaauw, 1996). "Edge effects" are the destruction or degradation of natural habitat that occur on the fringes of fragmented forests. The effects for the animals include greater exposure to the elements (wind, rain etc…), other non-forest animals and humans (Dunbar, 1993). This unnatural extinction of species endangers the world's food supply, threatens many human resources and has profound implications for biological diversity.
Fossil fuel burning releases sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other dangerous gasses into the air. The presence of these hazardous gases in the atmosphere causes global warming and acidic precipitation; which in turn have increased temperatures, erratic rains, and droughts worldwide. Air pollution can also cause harmful effects in human health. These effects can be divided into short-term effects and long-term effects. Short-term effects, which are temporary, include illnesses such as bronchitis or pneumonia.