Deforestation

In the last 100 years, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased, causing the Earth to warm by an average of 0.6 degrees celsius, largely a result of burning fossil fuels for energy, transportation, and land use changes increased for food production. The basic science is straightforward and climate researchers have shown that gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and others can trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. Human activities such as industry, transport, energy generation and deforestation all produce these greenhouse gases. In the last 20 years, concern has grown that global warming is inevitable and now considered most probably caused by man-made increases in

Deforestation is a process of cutting down too many trees and it largely affects the climate. The Amazon rain forest is a perfect example of this. In the past 40 years a full 20% has been removed from that single rainforest alone.When cutting down trees the process of photosynthesis can not take place. Therefore large amounts of carbon dioxide are left in the air, and there is less oxygen. These C02 bonds interfere with the C03 in the ozone. Global warming is greatly affected by deforestation due to the increase in greenhouse gases it causes. Tens of Millions of acres are being cut down each week. These acres are as large as Italy. When these trees have been burned carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. Trees are 50% carbon dioxide, so when deforestation takes place lots of carbon dioxide is released. It accounts for 25% of carbon dioxide emissions.

Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change because they act as a carbon sink soaking up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns. Deforestation undermines this important carbon sink function. It is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the

Forests control the amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere therefore contributing to global warming. However we as a planet have a problem… deforestation.

Deforestation is another known contributor to global climate change. This is by contributing to global warming. According to Nanda (2011), trees are the main absorber of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Therefore, deforestation contributes global warming because less carbon dioxide was absorbed. Furthermore, decaying of these trees produces carbon dioxide. Therefore, governments should make legislation aimed at conserving and rehabilitating destroyed forests (Solomon et al., 2011).

Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make

The question is, as asked and attempted to answer by almost every scholar who studies about Rapa Nui’s anthropologist history, environmental history and archeology, that is deforestation the main reason of societal destruction. Peiser mentions that deforestation is the most important evidence held by Diamond and many scholars who see Rapa Nui as an example of ecocide (Peiser, 2005). Diamond is definitely not the first scholar, who links deforestation to Rapa Nui’s societal collapse; back in the 1970s, William Mulloy was one of the first scholars who suggests that deforestation is the cause of societal collapse, based on the point that pollen data has suggested that there were once native palm trees on the island (Peiser, 2005). Later in the

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.

In addition, human activities like deforestation may increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is because forests help in carbon sequestration, which reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. It follows then that clearing such tress will increase the amount of carbon dioxide since carbon sequestration will not occur (3). The man-made theory of climate change also explains that when these harmful gasses reach the atmosphere, they form a blanket, which traps heat in the atmosphere. This trapping of in the atmosphere is the phenomenon that causes the planet to get warmer, hence the term global warming (Sharma, 4).

Although, Earth experienced an array of climate changes in the distant past, these fluctuations were primarily caused by the change in Earth’s orbit rather than in an upsurge or diminution in solar energy. NASA states that, “climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives” (NASA). However, with the advancement in technology, scientists are now adept to collect data globally which indicates that approximately 70 years ago, atmospheric carbon dioxide increased vividly surpassing the 300 parts per million baseline. NASA states that, “based on the comparison of

Forests have covered the earth for millions of years, providing habitat and food for animals and humans. These forests have stabilized different ecosystems and have continued the natural cycle that keeps plants and animals in check. The discovery of fire changed all of this. It was the beginning of deforestation, a process that has continued and increased over the last 200,000 years. Humans are the responsible party for the deforestation that has occurred. Humans discovered that animals could be driven with fire. This led to accelerated forest loss due to uncontrolled burning for hunting use (Miller & Tangley 1991: 28). Agriculture was the next problem

Little do people know that, when trees are cut down and burned in large quantities, it is hurting more than just the forests by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and increasing the rate of global warming.In the first place, deforestation is releasing mass amounts of carbon dioxide. This is because these trees act as reservoirs, which means they are holding lots of carbon dioxide. So when they are cut down, all of this storage is released into the atmosphere, therefore, harming our earth. To prove this, as stated by Julie Casper, “As soon as the forest is destroyed, the carbon that was sequestered for long periods of time in the trees and soil is released to the atmosphere, forming CO2. In fact, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), tropical deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of the total human-caused CO2 emissions every year.”Not only is deforestation releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but it is also rapidly increasing the rate at which global warming occurs. For example, as stated in the textbook Greenhouse Gases, “Forests represent a critical resource on Earth because they provide habitat to more than half of the Earth's living species, as well as help slow global warming through the storage and sequestration of carbon. Forests also affect the rainfall regime of an area and are critical sources of food, drinking water, and

The issue of global warming should be on the list of our top priorities. Studies show that the average of global temperatures have risen since the Industrial Revolution began. Since the Industrial Revolution, human emissions has quadrupled the frequency of certain heat extremes and many scientists have warned that a failure to bring greenhouse gases under control could eventually lead to a 62-fold increase in extreme heat blasts (Gillis Justin A17). Most of the increase is due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. These activities contribute to a build-up in carbon dioxide and other gases in Earth’s atmosphere. The Earth’s atmosphere is made of gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen. These gases act as a blanket that covers and gives us warmth, but once these gases such as carbon dioxide absorbs heat, but does not release it back into space in which causes the increase in global temperature. This is called the greenhouse effect because it only traps heat but does not release it.

Deforestation is an increasingly prevalent problem worldwide. About half of the forests that once covered the Earth are now gone, much of which has happened in just the past few decades. Forests have been cleared mostly for fuel, building materials, and land for farming. Deforestation has been expanding and accelerating into the little amount of forests that remain across the world. Not only do forests provide useful products, but they also influence the Earth’s climate and are home to a remarkable amount of biological diversity. Deforestation has taken a lot of these elements away, and has also led to an increase in carbon dioxide. Without trees to use the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide put out by humans, the carbon dioxide simply remains in the atmosphere.

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.