Causes Of Deforestation

Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another”. Excessive deforestation is believed to be one of the leading causes of climate change and habitat loss in the world. Daniel Quinn, an American writer claims that “...man was innocent until he discovered the difference between good and evil. When he was no longer oblivious of that knowledge, he became a fallen creature… We are destroying the world because we are, in a very literal and deliberate way, at war with it.” Deforestation goes even farther than prove what Quinn stated is correct. We are destroying our planet with diminished forests, mass animal extinction, and climate change; all because of deforestation.

Nature and everything in it serves a purpose to the world and humans are known to do a terrible job in keeping it clean. Much of the acid rain and tons of carbon dioxide and methane are in the air because humanity is not doing anything to keep this world clean, the only world humanity has. One of the Major disasters of this century is the deforestation of our earth by taking the only thing that gives us life, trees. The deforestation of trees has a major after effect on habitats, it destroys ecosystems and puts many animals in danger. Deforestation has been known to have increased the effect of global warming in the world and it is said to be getting worse.

Imagine all the beautiful creatures happily living their days in the forest , resting in the sun and just enjoying their time on Earth. Well ... these peacful animals just got a very rude awakening because someone decide to deforest their area. Deforestation is the process of converting forest lands into non-forested areas. It is estimated that between 50-100 species are lost each day as a reasult of forestry . Deforestation should be stopped , there is no reason to destroy our forest . It is a heartless and selfish thing to do , it needs to be put to a stop for good .

Approximately two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest and one-third of the remaining rainforest in the world is in Brazil. The Amazon is home to ten percent of the total known species worldwide, making Brazil the most biodiverse country in the world. However, deforestation and land conversion in Brazil are prevalent issues and a threat to the biodiversity, endangered species, and indigenous people that live in the Amazon.

Deforestation is a concerning issue that has come about within the past decade that hasn’t been getting much attention. Deforestation is defined as the clearing or removal of a forest or group of trees where the land is not used for forest use afterwards. The land could be used for urbanization, farms, ranches, extra land, or anything that the country needs that piece of land for. Deforestation has become more common and the industry for it has increased rapidly. Although so many people have increased the amount of deforestation, they don’t realize the effects that it can bring upon the world and its environment. Deforestation not only affects the United States, but effects countries all over the world in multiple ways. Each way that

Recently, the idea of global warming has been under fire by people who claim it to be a hoax. Even “President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that “nobody really knows” whether climate change is real” (Eilperin). Even with skepticism, the largest problem facing the world in coming years will undoubtedly be environmental issues. All across the globe, millions of people and thousands of communities feel the effects of global warming and deforestation daily. Whether through a loss of water, rising sea levels, or even a decrease in agriculture, the world is changing and suffering as a result.

Whether individuals choose to believe in it or not, environmental destruction is a very real and apparent social problem that needs to be addressed before it is too late to save the Earth. Numerous factors such as the climate change, disposal of waste, deforestation, and the quality of air and water impact the destruction of our world. The majority of the blame for our Earth’s deterioration falls on the human race, however, some of the blame does fall on industries, that for example may improperly dispose of their waste. Because of the actions and behaviors of humans as a whole, the environment is suffering irreversible damage. The small population of people that do advocate for change or engage in environment-friendly activities is not enough to help fix the environment alone.

Today one of the biggest ecological problems is Deforestation. For instance, every year the rainforests are slowly disappearing due to deforestation which is the permanent clearing of earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land in order to make the land available for other uses. This can be done legally and illegally. There are many reasons why trees are remove from a forest. Some of these reasons are to cover needs or to make a profit. However, the biggest causes of deforestation are agricultural, logging operations and growth of urban zones. Often, small farmers will clear a few acres by cutting down trees and burning them in a process known as slash and burn agriculture. Some are caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and subsequent overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees. Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, also cut countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more remote forests which leads to further deforestation. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the world’s land area and extend throughout half the size of most countries but, many are lost each year (Live Science).

Forests … are in fact the world’s air-conditioning system—the very lungs of the planet...” (Prince Charles). Deforestation occurs when forest land is destroyed, specifically by humans, to create vacant land for the use of agriculture. The two most common ways of deforestation is through burning and clear cutting. When trees are burned, they are quickly diminished from the forest. Clear cutting is when a mass amount of trees are cut down all at once. In 1973 in the U.S, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed to protect endangered species that are threatened. They need to meet specific criteria to be considered endangered. Deforestation effects the environment because it causes species endangerment, leading to extinction and climate change causing global warming.

As humanity becomes more advanced some people are forgetting to pay attention to the most important thing, Earth. Humans are unintentionally causing irreversible damage to the surface of the Earth. Deforestation is caused by the need for living space, wood, and other natural resources. While clearing out forests, many species are going extinct because of habitat loss and pollution. In other parts of the world, land degradation, which is caused by intense agricultural practices is preventing food security in many developing countries. There is also the matter of desertification which is caused by grazing, logging, and exploitation of underground water that limiting many countries space to grow crops. In order to protect life on land we must conserve forests, combat desertification, stop land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.

Humans need to change their way of living. We are destroying our Earth at such a fast rate and we do not get another chance once it is gone. Everyone believes that someone else is going to save them, when in reality the only person you can count on is yourself. Most people do not realize the urgency of this problem. To this day, some people do not believe that global warming is happening even though the glaciers are melting, average temperatures are rising, etc. Naomi Klein says in her book, This Changes Everything, “We deny because we fear that letting in the full reality of this crisis will change everything. And we are right” (Klein 3). As a world, we take complete advantage of our Earth. The first step in saving our world is to realize the problem then by using land ethic and aesthetic reasoning we can change the way humans think about our Earth before it is too late.

When most people think about deforestation, they think about trees being cut down, and that is pretty much it, but there is so much more to deforestation. Rainforests in the amazon and in Brazil today are vanishing at an alarming rate all due to deforestation and they are cut down because they are used as commercial purposes such as agriculture, livestock, and logging. Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil argue and state that their economies largely depend upon these industries and that the obliteration of the rainforests is an economic necessity. However, the deforestation of this valuable resource is primarily harming the economic well-being of rainforest countries more than it is boosting their economy. Deforestation results from removal of trees without inadequate reforestation, and that results in heavy declines in biodiversity and habitat, wood for fuel and industrial use, and quality of life.

There are several environmental problems that the environment of today faces. These environmental problems can be similar or different from each other in countless aspects between countries. The biological, physical, and cultural perspectives on these issues, such as the causes, effects, severity, cultural views, and the efforts to fix these problems can vary from country to country. Deforestation as an environmental problem compared and contrasted between the United States and Brazil is an example of how issues can vary or be the consistent in different countries. Deforestation is the term used when a forest is cleared to use the land for a different purpose, or for its resources.

millions of trees each day. Not only hurting the environment, but all types of animals, plants, and

Rainforests today are disappearing at an alarming rate as a result of deforestation for commercial purposes such as logging, agriculture, and livestock and the probable solution are becoming far from realistic as the expansion becomes bigger and bigger. Every year, an estimated 18 million acres are destroyed for various reasons, including paper, timber. An average of two football field sizes of precious rainforest are torn down, killing millions of animals and destroying valuable pharmaceutical plants. A huge amount of these animals and plants have never, and will never be discovered. Experts say, "Close to eighty percent of the terrestrial species of animals and plants are to be found in the rainforests" As people tear down the rainforests they are affecting the ozone layer, and disrupting the process that lets plants fight the deadly amount of pollution the world produces every day.