How Is Global Warming Affecting The Arctic?

Today, the total percentage of forest cover of the earth is approximately thirty percent (“Deforestation”). That is about nine percent of the world’s total surface. The largest rainforest is the Amazon River Basin, located in South America. The Amazon is home to many species of animals, insects, plants and trees. Many of the trees and plants in the Amazon produce about twenty percent of the oxygen on earth, and absorb carbon. However, the Amazon is decreasing in size every day due to the ongoing deforestation of the land. Deforestation is when the forest of the land are cleared or destroyed, in order to be used for other actions (“Deforestation”). The Amazon is twenty percent less than it was about forty years ago (Wallace). In just about

"An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost each year." (LiveScience).

18 million acres of forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. Forests cover thirty percent of the earth. It is estimated that is one hundred years there will be no rainforests. The causes of deforestation are agricultural expansion, logging for timber, and infrastructure building.

Covering about 6% of the earths surface and spanning across Africa, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America, rainforests provide humans with timber, animal products and medicines. Unfortunately these resources are often over exploited, and many rainforests have been subject to heavy deforestation. Logging rainforests to make room for farming/urbanization is also an issue in many

As the Earth keeps warming, the Arctic's summer sea ice is vanishing at a stunning pace. This rapid melt is expected to have significant environmental and health consequences for the entire world, including sea level rise, affecting agriculture, endangering water and food security, erosion of coastal habitats, increasing intensity of natural disasters, and species extinction. Countries have since responded to climate change by adapting to its impacts and acceding to various international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol to mitigate green house gas emissions, thereby reducing the rate and magnitude of change.

The rainforest supports the greatest biodiversity on Earth, playing an important role in various areas. Unfortunately, parts of these biological wonders are almost constantly being wiped out. Thousands of acres of rainforest are lost every day. At one point they covered 20% of the land surface on Earth. Now they cover less than 6% but hold over half of the world's plant and animal populations. Scientists predict that if this rate of loss continues, all the rainforests could be gone in less than 50 years (Taylor). Human impacts such as deforestation and combustion are destroying the rainforests now more than ever and are creating extreme damage. Some reasons for rainforest destruction include wood needed for fires or timber, pulp to make paper, road construction, agriculture, extraction of energy and minerals, or land for people, crops, and animals (Butler). This disturbance that humans are creating can have a great effect on the cycles of matter.

One of the leading causes of rainforest destruction is logging. Many types of wood used for furniture, flooring, and construction are harvested from tropical forests in Africa, Asia, and South America. By buying

The rainforests have been suffering from habitat destruction caused by human impacts such as deforestation, which then cause the destruction of entire rainforest ecosystems. The causes for the human activity of deforestation include grazing for animals, wood used for fires & timber, pulp for making paper, road construction, and agriculture for poor farmers. The effects that deforestation has on an ecosystem include climate change, destruction of habitats and ecosystems, global warming, the extinction of animals, and the disruption of matter cycles. There is an abundant amount of undeniable proof to support the claim that human impact is the cause of habitat destruction in the tropical rainforests. As UXL Encyclopedia of Science states, “Agriculture is the biggest cause of habitat loss.” The human activity of agriculture and deforestation for goods have devastating effects on rainforest ecosystems, stripping them of their resources, organisms, stability, and ecosystem productivity. Another source to back up this claim that The Gale Encyclopedia of Science states, “Various human activities result in net losses of forest area and therefore contribute to deforestation.” Also, 10% of CO2 emissions come from deforestation, according to Tropical Deforestation and Global Warming. This shows that, undeniably, humans have contributed to not only deforestation, but all of the harmful effects that come along with it.

"An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost each year." (LiveScience).

deforestation. According to the World Wild Life organization, more than half of the trees removed from forests are used for fuel purposes. As human population and technology increases, so does the demand for land. Rainforests are burned down to create more room for housing, urbanization, agriculture, and more. Trees are removed and utilized in order to supply items such as paper, furniture, and housing materials. Since 1980, over 224,000 square miles of the Amazon have been destroyed. In past years, this deforestation was connected to the economic standing of Brazil. As the Brazilian economy slowed, so did the rates of deforestation. However, despite a booming economy in recent times, deforestation rates have been on a steady decline. There are different explanations for the this decrease and although improvements have been shown, it is important not to ignore the damages that have already been done to not only Brazil, but our planet as a whole.

Deforestation dates back to the late 1960s when Brazil began to cut down forests at an alarming rate. According to Schwartzman, S. (2013) Brazil has cleared 18 percent of the original Amazon - an area the size of France. In 2005 Brazil’s deforestation rate began to fall, which is good news because it went from 27,000 square kilometers to about 4,500 square kilometers. This is a good thing because if more rainforests are cleared, lower rainfall, combined with climate change-related drought could turn a large amount of the remaining forest in to savanna. The leading cause for the deforestation in the Amazon was to make way for cattle ranching. The figure above shows the sq. km deforested, per year and it shows what years have the highest in deforestation. Between 1995 and 1996 Brazil has deforested around 300002 km.

The deforestation of the Amazon creates space for agriculture, dams, mines, and infrastructure (Renick, Shirlick, Ariav 2016). These developments impact both the state as well as the indigenous people living in the Amazon Rainforest. Within Brazil, intense deforestation began in the 1960s as the Brazilian government offered incentives to for people to move into the Amazon. These incentives were combined with more efficient tools which led to an increase in intensity of deforestation (Renick, Shirlick, Ariav 2016). In 1988, the indigenous people were given a right to their land. This has been very effective decreasing deforestation (Krogh).

The reduction of the Amazon Rainforest has led to a loss of biodiversity, reduced cycling water amount, and contributions to global warming (Fearnside 2005). The deforestation started in the early 1970s, though many places are not bothered yet; however, the loss is huge. "Arc of deforestation", the southern and eastern part of Amazon Rainforest, are the parts that get deforested the most. The loss of biodiversity and climatic change are the greatest concern.

- Deforestation - Cutting trees down, and cutting them will higher the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide producing oxygen in return.

According to Friis (2012), Global warming is the increase in the near surface temperature of the earth; the increased temperature is due to the increased emission of greenhouse gases. It has been postulated by scientists that earth’s surface has been warming up by approximately one degree Fahrenheit every year for the past 140 years; a consequence of the emission of gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane and Nitrous Oxide from sources such as fossil fuel combustion. For example, fossil combustion that is coal and petroleum-based fuels. Other sources of these gases are deforestation, which also results in increased atmospheric carbon dioxide,