Deforestation: Good or Bad? By Tristan McDermott (Final Copy) Deforestation is a controversial environmental issue, with some people believing that it is necessary to cut down trees to make room for things such as buildings and roads, while others believe that it is bad because it is destroying the environment. I believe that deforestation, while it does have a few positive effects, mainly has negative effects that massively outweigh the positive effects. According to an article written by National Geographic, (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/) deforestation is a major contributor to global warming: “Trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming.
Introduction: Description: Deforestation is defined as the permanent destruction of forests in order to make land available for other uses. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 18 million acres of forest are lost each year. This equals to approximately 36 football fields of forest being cleared each minute. Though deforestation occurs all over the world, it’s the tropical forests which are being particularly targeted. Due to this countries such as Indonesia, Brazil, the Democratic republic of Congo and Thailand have a very
The government has passed many conservation policies to protect animals, eco-systems, plants and trees itself and indigenous people’s way of life, but many of these policies get overlooked and require a lot of extra work. How it affects the rest of the world- This action is permanent, and all of the world is targeted as a potential setting for deforestation. It is predicted that the continuing action may result in very few rainforest across the entire globe. Cutting trees can also be harmful to our ozone layer, which protects earth from dangerous radiation.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, approximately twenty-seven soccer fields worth of trees are cut down per minute (Hook). Deforestation is a major environmental problem occurring all over the world. Trees are being cut down constantly for a number of reasons, which is greatly harming the environment. Deforestation is causing more and more problems in the world such as, global warming and loss of habitat. Trees are being cut down at a very fast rate and we need to do something about it before it is too late.
Deforestation is a method of removing trees and forests through the process of cutting and burning, this has been around for hundreds of years. In countries like South America, the people turn to agriculture to meet the needs of everyday life, which leads to deforestation. In poor communities in places like South America, farming is the way of life because this is how they survives and make money. By the removing of trees, it creates more space for farming grazing, and it’s a source of income for many people. The loss of land is also due to mining as well creating another source of income in South America. Although deforestation is a popular way of means, the effects of it are long lasting. Deforestation leads to issues in South America such as mudslides, loss of virgin forests, loss of habitats, and the loss of homelands.
Deforestation has been a big problem in Canada for many years. Destruction of forests began somewhere around 1880’s specifically in British Columbia. It went all the way to 1990’s where 64,000 hectares were lost, however that quantity has decreased in 2012 to about 45,800 hectares. Today, Canada’s 348 million hectares of forest lands shows about 9% of the world’s forest cover, although account for 0.3% of global
Michael Boydstun ENVS 101-1998 Environmental Impact of deforestation In the Pacific Northwest The first people to explore the wilderness in what is now Oregon and Washington documented beautiful forests of mesmerizingly large trees as far as the eye can see. The explorer’s initial reports brought in people who came to make a profit off the forest and the vast amounts of lumber it could provide. Lumber mills were built before the area was even added to the union. The environmental footprint started out small, but the lack of regulation, lack of enforcement of the existing regulations, and an increase in technology quickly created a large environmental battle over the whole region.
Deforestation results in the loss of biodiversity Deforestation is having its most devastating effect on biodiversity in tropical rainforests. The destruction of millions of hectares of forests by human activities means: • The removal of the bases of numerous food webs • The loss of habitats for many species of flora and
When this happens it causes adverse effects on the environment. It can be done in a variety of ways from cutting to burning. Either way mass deforestation is bad and needs to stop before it is too late. One culprit of our deforestation is
They impact The combination of selective logging and wildfire damage turns these once lush rainforests into measly scrubs of smaller trees and vines, which stores 40 percent less carbon than undisturbed forests. It’s important because if the 40% keeps growing more and more every year then the time we know it the rainforest will be gone. Loggers don’t just cut down trees they also make roads in the rainforest, also they also clear areas for farmers and cattle ranchers, which needs a lot of land to feed lots of cows and plants that need space because of their roots. When loggers cut down trees what will happens to all the animals that live in the trees? The animals will have to find a new home in the rainforest, but then what will happen when all the trees are gone?
Without the transpiration of trees, deforested areas become drier. Changes in weather and shelter cause deforested areas to undergo a tremendous loss of biodiversity. The scientist hasn’t even come close to testing 1% of the plants in the tropical rainforests for medicinal use, but they regularly discover species that are helpful to us the people. But, these forests and their potential benefits are looking like they may disappear by the end of this century if we don’t stop
Jane Goodall, a primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist, explains that the greatest risk to our future is lacking enthusiasm and concern about its outcome. Considering Goodall is extremely environmentally keen, it is more than likely she is emphasizing this towards the future of the entire ecosystem, including plants and animals, rather than only the future of the human race. She explains that if the human race falls to a deficiency of caring about our environment, it can and will lead to a vast threat to the future of the world’s ecosystem. Often humans forget about the importance of the ecosystem and instead we become caught up in ourselves and our own individual needs. Goodall is stressing that if these egotistical human acts continue to occur, the future of our ecosystem is in jeopardy.
Deforestation is still an unbeleafable issue even to this day. With our trees being cut down to make supplies and furniture, we struggle with keeping our ratio of trees being destroyed and trees being planted equal. It seems like that was also the case in the past. There was a significant amount of trees being cut down in 1920, the land looking much more barren than it did in 1650 (Document A, map). These trees, some of them taking more than three thousand years to rise tall, are being cut down.
Deforestation also affects climate change and water cycle in the Amazon rainforest. Trees absorb groundwater and release the same into the atmosphere during transpiration and alo trees sunk in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. There is about 5,000 square miles of Amazon Rainforest being cut down. Deforestation also chased away the animals living in the Amazon. There is nothing the native ribes can do about
Hence, deforestation increases. This is another effect of overpopulation that impacts the worsening of the environment [2]. For example decreased forest size increases the amount of carbon in the environment. More specifically, deforestation affects the wildlife and results in biodiversity loss and species extinction [1].