What is Deforestation?
Deforestation is the removal of trees from forests by humans. Today, it is estimated that more than 80 percent of all forests on earth have been destroyed due to deforestation. Effects on the Environment Used for commercial construction, home building and logging, deforestation is extremely harmful to the environment. Not only does it destroy the homes and food sources of animals, but it increases environmental hazards for humans. For example, trees absorb carbon dioxide, which reduces the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. On the other hand, the amount of carbon released from deforestation each day is equal to the amount of carbon released from 8 million people flying from New York to London. Trees also help to prevent the greenhouse effect, which is a direct contributor to global warming. Because there has been so much deforestation in recent years, we are seeing the effects of global warming with the increasing number of natural disasters. When an area is completely deforested, the
Critical to our global survival must be an emphasis upon resource depletion and environmental degradation or pollution as crucial areas for student study in the schools of the United States. This emphasis includes renewable and nonrenewable resources, resource dependence, stockpiling critical resources, recycling, and the role of commodity power in international commerce. The critical nature of this problem is related to both population growth, air quality and survival and balance of nature’s creatures in the animal/insect world. While there is general recognition of such present or potential problems, there is not general agreement about what the major issues are, or what possible solutions might be offered and effectuated to solve them. A general search of the Internet and the resources for information that it affords us can help students to zero in on the condition of the planet. Just in the one area of deforestation the sources and resources are voluminous. Deforestation involves t
Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations (Kricher, 1997). What are the causes of deforestation? I. Logging II. Mining III. Oil and gas extraction IV. Cattle ranching V. Agriculture: Cash crops VI. Local, National, and International factors: development, land titles, government subsidies to attract corporations into developing countries, trade agreements (NAFTA, CAFTA), civil wars, debt, lack of resources, and lack of law enforcement. Largest rainforests worldwide listed in descending order (from largest to smallest). • Amazon basin of South America • Congo river basin of Central Africa • S.E. Asia • New Guinea • Madagascar Facts: • Did you know that tropical rainforests, which cover 6-7% of the earth’s surface, contain over half of all the plant and animal species in the world! • Did you know that 57% of all rainforests remaining are located in the Neotropics
By Elizabeth Seward Harrison Ford shows Hollywood Green viewers a pretty unique look at what deforestation does to our planet, but in the real world, deforestation is just a fancy word that means exactly what you probably think it means: the destruction of forested lands. Forests are destroyed at an ongoing rate to harvest trees and in order to make room for urban development and pastures. Is this socially progressive? Well, sure. In some ways, destroying the forest does allow for us to advance socially and keep moving forward with a disregard for the planet. So why should we care about the effects of deforestation? It’s simple: because it affects us. Whether or not we realize it, deforestation is actually lowering our quality of life. Every time forests are destroyed and aren’t replenished, we lose habitats and overall biodiversity. Did you know that around half of the tropical forests that once stood have now been destroyed? And all of this has definitely contributed to the global wa
