Deforestation Essay

Shireen Sayareh Professor Bystrom EngWr 300 12 October 2014

Detriment of Deforestation Image a planet without trees. This is a scary planet where the temperature is very hot and the air is very difficult to breathe. This planet will have nothing to protect people from the sun, nothing to slowdown the forces of the wind, and nothing to anchor topsoil from eroding in the rain. The conditions at this imaginary planet can become our reality on earth if we do not stop deforestation. There are many negative effects of deforestation. However, for the scope of this paper, I will discuss three primary issues on how deforestation harms our environment. I will begin this paper with a brief look at some arguments that support deforestation, followed...show more content...

In Amazonia, recent research has confirmed that more than half of the total uncertainty stems from the carbon stocks created in deforested regions (Baccini). Carbon is not necessarily the problem; the problem arises when this greenhouse gas gets trapped in the atmosphere causing abnormal temperature conditions around the world. It was not until recently that areas of the world became unsuitable for living because of the lack of natural regulation of these gases. CO2 currently accounts for over 80% of the greenhouse gases caused by human activity (Baccini). The number of species, including plant life and other animals, threatened by deforestation continues to rise. The desolation of these forests is equivalent to the destruction of one's home and way of life. The hunting grounds of animals disappear, which decreases self–sufficiency while also altering their overall state of mind. Most animals, such as elephants, need a large area to roam; when this cannot be accomplished, mating habits are transformed for the worse. This is mainly due to their heightened shift of focus to survival, when facing desperate circumstances. The lack of forest causes animals to be vulnerable victims against surrounding predators. Because CO2 causes a global transition in way of life and forests hold cleansing aspects beneficial to the environment, animals are always making unnecessary adjustments. Polar bears have been struggling, due to melting ice caps in their native region.

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Essay Deforestation

Deforestation

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Important Facts 1

Historical Background 1–2

Background Law 2

Causes of Deforestation 2

The Green House Effect 2–3

Reducing Deforestation 3

Case Studies 3–4

Pros and Cons 4–5

Conclusion 5...show more content...

Now with new technology, such as satellites systems, low altitude photography and side looking radar, scientists can now figure that the world is losing about 20.4 million hectares of tropical forests annually and if these figures are not reduced, we will lose all of our tropical forests in about 50 years. It has been suggested that the high deforestation rates are caused partly by the fact that the new surveys are more accurate and thus reveal old deforestation rates that have not been detected with older methods. At first there was concern only among foresters about deforestation but now the public has created organizations such as Green Peace to help increase awareness and reduce deforestation. The Food and Agriculture Organization or F.A.O, has worked mainly within theforest community to find new and better ways to manage the forests. Also, in 1985 there was the introduction of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan or T.F.A.P. This plan involved the F.A.O, United Nations development programs, the World Bank, other development agencies, several tropical country governments, and several government organizations. Together they developed a new strategy. More than 60

countries have decided to prepare national forestry action plans to manage their forests. Tropical deforestation has various direct causes: The permanent

Is Deforestation Worth It?

One of the most prevalent issues in our world today is the issue of deforestation. Deforestation can be described as "the practice of clearing the natural forests for agriculture, logging, etc." (Deforestation Statistics). After hearing the definition of deforestation, most people would not find this to be a very significant issue in the world, but after hearing the alarming statistics associated with deforestation, most would change their mind. For example, arguably the most shocking statistic is that deforestation has resulted in 80 percent of Earth's forest cover being cut down (Deforestation Statistics). Although the lumber harvested from these rainforests across the world serve important purposes, I do not...show more content...

To make matters even more severe than they already are, the Sumatran tiger is "critically–endangered," and this lumber operation was illegal (Mongabay). Is the wood harvested from that forest worth risking eliminating the last of the 450 Sumatran tigers on earth (Mongabay)?

In addition to the harm deforestation inflicts on animals, deforestation is also harmful to society. Many natives, especially in South America, rely tremendously on the rainforest. These tribes live in the forests, and gather all of their resources from them as well. The lives of these natives are turned upside down when they have no choice but to abandon their home, because the rainforest is being destroyed whether they like it or not (Consequences of Deforestation). Tribes are forced to leave everything they know, and move to more inhabited areas that they are extremely unused to. How can someone who has lived his or her entire life making do with the resources that earth provided suddenly learn to be successful in a city, where he or she is required to speak the language and know certain skills? Deforestation ruins countless lives of people living in or near the Amazon (Consequences of Deforestation). In order to put into perspective just how many people are effected in such a way, an article in the Nature Conservancy website states that "more than 1 billion people living in extreme poverty depend on forests for their water, fuel, or

Deforestation is a major global problem with serious consequences to the planet. These consequences have a negative effect on the climate, biodiversity, the atmosphere and threatens the cultural and physical survival of life. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and woodlands. It has resulted in the reduction of indigenous forests to four–fifths of their pre–agricultural area, so that now indigenous forests cover only 21% of the earth's land surface. The world Resources Institute regards deforestation as one of the worlds most pressing land use problem. It is now so bad that every minute an area of forest equal to 20 football fields is lost.

Rainforests cover less than...show more content...

Logging tropical hardwoods like teak, mahogany, rosewood and other timber for furniture, building materials, charcoal and other wood products is big business and creates big profits. Several species of tropical hardwoods are imported by developed counties, including America, just to build coffins which are then buried or burned. The demand, extraction and consumption of tropical hardwoods has been so massive that some countries which have been traditional exporters of tropical hardwoods are now importing the wood because they have already exhausted their supply by destroying their native rainforests in slash and burn operations. It is anticipated that The Philippines, Malaysia, The Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Thailand will all run out of rainforest hardwood for export within the next five years.

In addition to logging for exportation, rainforest wood stays in developing countries for fuel wood and charcoal. One single steel plant in Brazil making steel for Japanese cars needs millions of tons of wood each year to produce charcoal that can be used in the manufacture of steel. Then there is the paper industry. A pulpwood project in the Brazilian Amazon consists of a Japanese power plant and pulp mill. To set up this single plant operation, 5,600 square miles of Amazon Rainforest was burned to the ground and replanted

Deforestation

Thesis:

Deforestation is one of the most significant issues of our time; considerable measures must be taken to prevent further pillaging of our unique forest resource.

Ninety percent of the earth's trees between three and four hundred years old have been cut down. The remaining ten percent is all we will ever have (Gallant, 97). The definition of deforestation by the Random House Dictionary of the English Language is "to divest or clear of forests or trees." Deforestation is one of the most significant issues of our time; considerable measures must be taken to prevent further pillaging of our unique forest resource. There are approximately four–hundred million hectares of forest in the world, nearly...show more content... With new technology such as satellites systems, low altitude photography and side looking radar scientists now figure that the world is losing about twenty million hectares of tropical forests annually. It has been suggested that the high deforestation rates are caused partially by the fact that the new surveys are more accurate and thus reveal old deforestation rates that were miscalculated with previous methods (Westoby, 202). At first there was concern only among foresters about deforestation but now the public has created organizations such as Green Peace to facilitate increased awareness and reduce deforestation. The Food and Agriculture Organization (F.A.O.) has worked mainly within the forestry community to find new and better ways to manage the forests. In 1985 there was the introduction of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan or T.F.A.P. This plan involved the F.A.O, United Nations, World Bank, other developmental agencies, and several other multi–national government organizations; together they developed a new strategy. More than sixty countries have decided to prepare national forestry action plans to manage their forests (Gallant, 381). Tropical deforestation has various direct causes: permanent conversion of forests to agricultural land, logging, demand for fuel

wood, forest fires and drought. Slash and burn clearing is the single greatest cause of tropical rain forest destruction world wide. Air Get