The Amazon Rainforest Is A Vital And Spectacular Part Of Our Planet

Deforestation poses an alarming threat to Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and it has been a serious concern for over 40 years. For thousands of years, the abundant, valuable resources in the Amazon were familiar only to the indigenous people of the region. In the 1500’s, before European colonization of Brazil, there were an estimated six to nine million individuals part of different cultures that made up a rich Amazonian society (“History”). Surrounded by the luxuriant rainforest and its natural resources, these indigenous tribes were able to thrive by utilizing the resources without destroying their habitat. After European emigration, the government of Brazil exploited the value of the Amazon’s resources in the twentieth century. In the 1970’s, the Brazilian government discovered the “untapped source of boundless potential” hiding in the Amazon and began using incentives to persuade settlers to develop its resources (Casey). Once economists realized the importance of the resources found within the rainforest, European pioneers set out to transform the Amazon into their home. By endorsing colonization, the government could not only boost the country’s economy, but also gain control over Brazil’s vast territory. The government supported migration to the rainforest and campaigned for the construction of infrastructure (“History”). In concurrence, the development of roads such as the Trans-Amazonian Highway, a 2,000 mile road built in 1972, granted people and machinery entrance to

The Grande Carajas mining project, Brazil as well as other individual projects have created a series of problems for the rainforests. The Grande Carajas project in particular is a large complex of open pit mines, which takes up more than 6miles of rainforest. Along with many other schemes of this nature, the Grande Carajas is contributing to the continued deforestation of the Amazon. In addition large areas were deforested to make way for the construction of The Trans-Amazonian Highway, which was meant to allow access in and out of several project schemes. After the highway was built evidence of soil erosion could be seen as the ground was left exposed due to the lack of vegetation. Access roads like this have been known to encourage settlements for the transport links they offer, and people will often settle close to the road, which leads to deforestation in order to create space. The HEP Project; the Tucurui dam also had similar

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

The deforestation in the Amazonian rainforest of Brazil harms the environment and everything within it. Up to 30,000 species are expected to become extinct by the next centuries quarter due to deforestation. Oil is the number one leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon to sell to large corporate countries such as the United States of America. At 66 million tons of oil annually, 27 million hectares of land is used for oil plantations today and has a record of 700 land conflicts within the industry in just Indonesia alone. Many companies have tried to move protesters by promising a stop to deforestation, but many have overlooked this and proceeded to destroy the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, now resulting in protesters deaths by Brazilian police. It was recorded that in the past 20 years, 200 protesters have been murdered in a plea against Amazonian deforestation (Greenpeace 2016).

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest and river basin in the world. It covers around 2.1 million square miles of land, and exists in eight different countries and one French Territory. The Amazon rainforest is one of the most diverse places on the planet, accounting for ten percent of all known species, with more being discovered every year. But in this fragile ecosystem, people see opportunity to make money and a lifestyle, sometimes even illegally, trying to profit in the logging, mining, and agriculture industries. However, these industries help contribute to the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest.

The Denver Academy has recently researched and defined some of the important facts surrounding the Amazon rainforest. In 2017, the Amazon rainforest covers 2.1 million square miles of South America. It is a vast ecosystem home to 10% of the world’s known species (The Denver Academy). They go on to say that the trees are so dense, when it rains, it takes 10 minutes for the water to break through the forest roof. The destruction of this habitat could lead to extinction of these species, and have devastating impacts all over the world from the loss of the lungs of the earth. While it is mainly concentrated in Brazil there are also large portions of the rainforest in Peru and Colombia, so many populations and economies are directly affected

The battle for the Amazon rainforest is a daunting task. It's a long going battle between miners, loggers, and developers against the indigenous people who call it home. It's a battle like any battle in a war; it affects lives, families, the economy, politics, and the environment amongst other things. The main topic of this debate is the effects of the Amazon deforestation on the people who live in it, this will be the focus of this research paper. In this paper, I will discuss the history, causes, effects and solutions for the Amazon rainforest deforestation.

The Amazon Rainforest is home to a vast amount of biological diversity as well as many important ecological communities making it an important region to conserve and protect from damaging, extractive practices (Bowles 1998). However, many people, including myself, rely on this region for more than its environmental benefits. I use the forest for mining gold, a hugely important part of our country’s economy and future (Cremers 2013). I understand the importance of preservation but the government needs to set aside some land for miners like myself to use legally as well as make it easier for miners to go about their work in efficient, productive ways.

The greatest cause of destruction to the Amazon rainforest is humans. Whether we have good intentions or not the Amazon is in need of saving. Currently the Amazon River and its banks and channels are being mined for gold and other precious metals. Extraction methods are seemingly barbaric, blasting

The Amazon contains nearly half of the tropical rain forests of the world and a large area of ​​tropical savannah, constituting a major source of natural resources. The vast expanse of the Amazon and its position in the humid tropics gives the region a significant potential to influence the global

According to many scientific studies, there has been a significant increase in the levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.5 This increase in greenhouse gases has serious consequences for the region, as well as the rest of the planet. These effects caused by deforestation have led to increased surface temperatures across the region of the Amazon.6 When the trees are cut down, the farmers move into the newly cleared area. These farmers bring livestock with them. These livestock release methane, another greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. This only compounds the greenhouse effect seen in the Amazon region.7 The trees that were cut down absorbed much of the carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere. These trees are being replaced by organisms that release more greenhouse gases. Increasing surface temperatures are suspected to be one of the key factors in the continuing drought in Brazil. Since 2014, as shown in Figure 5 there has been an increasing drought throughout Brazil. With some areas experiencing less than 50% of their average precipitation levels. Brazil has begun to push for water rationing in most areas of the country. Climatologists in Brazil fear for the fragile ecosystem of the Amazon, worrying that continuing droughts could permanently damage one of the most important and diverse ecosystems on the

One of the methods used to clear the land of the Amazon basin is more destructive to the environment than any other method used. Burning of the amazon releases a large amount of carbon. Scientist believes that approximately thirty percent of carbon in the earth's atmosphere is due to the clearing of land in the amazon. The land that is cleared is used for cattle grazing and the planting of soybean. This is the main cause of clearing the land. “Scientist have been studying the effects of deforestation in the Amazon and it's changing the environment. Annotation #3” There is so many negative impacts on the environment due to deforestation. The amazon is so important to the environment and messing with it by clearing huge amounts of it at a time could disrupt the patterns of everything. This could lead to droughts which some already have happened. If we continue like we are right now we could have a drought the wipes out the whole amazon basin and its going to be gone forever if we don't make a

“The lungs of the Earth,” the Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world and is home to a countless number of species (National Geographic, 2015). In 2013 the rate of deforestation in the Amazon rose by 29 percent and was largely observed in the states of Para and Mato Grosso in Brazil (Teixeira, 2014). The latest images taken by NASA’s satellite, Aqua reveals that multiple fires took place in these mentioned regions and were reported to have been intentional in order to clear land area (NASA, 2014). Earlier this year Sao Paulo faced severe draughts and the “drizzle city” was compared to a desert with 20 million settlers facing water cuts (Lean, 2015). Scientists believe the reason for this is the clearing

Human activities have changed the rainforest in many ways. The rainforest has changed drastically in size and temperature. As well as this, the population of animals in the Amazon Rainforest has severely decreased. Due to the rapid changes of the rainforest, which is being caused by humans, it is predicted that in the near future that there will be a large increase in the spread of infectious diseases and an escalation of insect infestation. It is also expected that because of the dramatic climate change the Amazon is experiencing, around 60% of this rainforest will eventually become savannah. Since 1970, 750,000 square km has been cut down and turned into materials that are used for construction of buildings and other manufacturing. The land

Another ecologically problematic solution to Brazil’s economy is gold mining in the Amazon rainforest. Chemical compounds used in mining harm the organisms thriving in and around rivers (Butler). Excavators can find gold in river channels and where rivers previously ran, but have since dried up. Both small and large-scale mining operations blast riverbanks and clear floodplains of their trees to obtain the gold. After mining out the gold, they use mercury to amalgamate it (Butler). Companies reuse most of this mercury or burn some of it away, yet a portion of it ends up in the nearby rivers (Fragoso). Even though there is no scientific consensus about mercury’s contamination of the Amazon, biologist Michael Goulding says that there is evidence of mercury negatively affecting separate ecosystems (Butler). Once mercury enters the food chain, organisms are at risk of consuming the mercury. As mercury travels up the food chain, its concentration increases (Butler). This accumulation means top predators will have the most amount of mercury running through them. Due to mercury’s toxicity, it may