The Sad Fate of Our Old Growth Forests
The Pacific Northwest houses magnificent old-growth forests -- thousands of years old. Poker straight and virtually blemish free, 200 to 250-foot Sequoia, Redwood, and Douglas trees rise from the forest floor and choke the mountainsides with one of the world's most precious natural resources, wood. This substance we call wood caters to all needs of living creatures. While people rely on harvested wood for shelter, furniture, and heat, wildlife depends on both living and dead wood to produce food, shelter, and cover from predators as a means of survival. Herein lies the problem. Can both humans and wildlife exist comfortably, even with recent logging practices in the Northwest? Since people and wildlife are vying for this same precious resource, in turn, the logging issue has exploded into a social war concerning who is more important -- wildlife or people. Many conservationists and environmentalists claim the logging industry is rapeing the old-growth forests of their ability to sustain natural life by clear cutting them. On the other hand, many top executives of wood product companies, mill owners, and loggers disagree. They believe there is plenty of lumber for "all species," and because of proper forest management techniques, the ill-fated efto the forest environment are non-existent. Despite the logging industry's claims that there should be no restrictions for harvesting ancient forests, I believe the government should implement tighter restrictions on logging practices in the West. These forests are crucial to the existence of the complex ecosystems that teem within them. Wildlife depends on the diversity of these ecosystems for survival, and society has an obligation to pres...
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... people and animals alike benefit from wood products in one form or another. But who are we to decide whether or not to harvest our old-growth forests? Much is known of the biodiversity unique to ancient forests, yet so little is known, too. As humans compete with wildlife for a precious resource such as wood, many different species are riding the rollercoaster of survival and while society is controlling the speed of the rollercoaster's course, maybe we should be wondering about tomorrow. After all, these forests grow nowhere else in the world.
Works Cited and Consulted
Ancient Forests: Rage Over Trees. Videocassette. National Audubon Society, Turner Broadcasting System, INC., WETA, Washington D.C., 1989.
Chase, Alston. In a Dark Wood. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin 1995.
Krajick, Kevin. "The Secret Life of Backyard Trees." Discover Nov. 1995: 93-101.
Zielinski, E. (2012, April 25). The Northwest Forest Plan. Retrieved from U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/history/sidebars/ecosystems/Northwest_Forest_Plan.html
Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet. They produce vital oxygen and provide homes for people and wildlife. Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, and 1.6 billion people rely on benefits forests offer, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter (drug war facts, Page 1).
This gives the readers a clue that what is to happen in the upcoming text is a
Cheng, Ah. The King of Trees. Trans. Bonnis S. McDougall. New York: New Directions Publishing Corp., 2010. Print.
Dheeraj Patel Journey Around Canada 2. How do the natural characteristics of Canada influence human activity, and how might human activity influence Canada’s natural characteristics? (B1) In the Central part of Canada there are many different human activities that affect natural characteristics. In the Central part of Canada there are many interior plains landforms.
The mere mention of the creature’s name brings shudders to loggers and some local inhabitants, fear over its existence has incited rallies, garnered the attention of three government agencies, and caused people to tie themselves to trees. On April 2, 1993, President Bill Clinton embarked on a quest to settle a long-standing battle. The environmentalists on one side, and their attempts to protect natural resources, and the timber industry’s desire for the same on the other. Unemployment and economic devastation was said to surely follow, due to the loss of timber industry jobs. No trees were allowed to be cut within 70 acres of The Northern Spotted Owl’s nest. Other laws protected trees in a 2,000-acre circle around the birds.
terror but I couldn’t understand why my creator was horrified at my sight I was devastated all I remember was charging at him My farther was running for his life when my farther thought I was dead he left town without me keeping his secret in his attic.
The Republic of Gilead was once a city in located in the USA and compare to what has
Perry, D. A. (1998). The Scientific Basis of Forestry, Annual Review of Ecology and System Thematic 29:435-466, Retrieved July 9, 2005 from: http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/policy_and_events/index.cfm
The controversy over logging, and more specifically clearcutting, is not a new issue in America. Ever since the 1920's and 1930's, when this nation started to become conscious of conservation, citizens have weighed the consequences of logging. Critics have questioned whether the increase in jobs, tax dollars, and economic growth was worth the destruction of forest lands. Regardless of what they believe today, the logging industry had become so efficient that by the late 1980's nearly 100,000 acres of federal land had been clearcut since the industry began. Logging technology has advanced rapidly in terms of speed, to meet the increasing demands for lumber, paper, and other products derived from trees. This in turn has greatly impacted the environment by severely degrading watersheds, leading to increased soil erosion, the diminution in the quality of drinking water, and the decline of fish stocks, among many other consequences. In this essay I will examine the progression of logging equipment throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and discuss how these changes in technology have not only changed the relationship of those who work in the industry, but also haw this has changed the wider relationship of society and nature.
present times by the state of the actual town. It is very poor and in
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.
The devastating effects of hunting are made worse by logging companies that “provide the physical and social infrastructure for this anarchic exploitation. They supply the roads, workers, and ammunition to carry out this growing un-policed commercial enterprise. In the case of the Brazilian Amazon, the building of major roads for loggers to enter inaccessible regions has caused major forest loss, which directly threatens primate populations.
Taking wood from rainforests and old-growth forests is detrimental to the environment and society. However, it is possible for us to have sustainable wood if we make an effort.
Rainforests once covered 14% of the worlds land surface, however now it only covers a mere 6%. It is estimated that all rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Trees are becoming more needed and used everyday. We need them cut down for many reasons such as paper and timber, while also needing them ‘untouched’ for other reasons like oxygen, we have to ask ourselves, which is more important? At the current rate, most of the rainforests are being cut down for resources like paper and timber, but less importance is being placed on main resources like oxygen.