Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Facts
on
Deforestation
By
Hannah
Bisbing
Image
courtesy
of
Flickr
Trees.
We
see
them
everywhere.
They
stand
tall
among
their
companions
in
the
forest,
offer
their
limbs
for
children
to
climb
upon,
and
provide
fresh
oxygenated
air
for
us
humans
to
breathe.
Forests
cover
approximately
30%
of
the
Earths
surface
and
come
in
all
shapes
and
sizes
-
ranging
from
tropical,
to
temperate,
to
coniferous.
But,
can
you
imagine
a
world
without
trees?
Judging
from
global
deforestation
trends,
you
might
very
well
have
to.
Today,
the
lungs
of
the
Earth
are
being
threatened
by
ravenous
deforestation.
Deforestation
is
the
process
of
clearing
natural
forests
through
logging
and/or
burning.
According
to
the
World
Wildlife
Fund,
agriculture
is
the
primary
cause
of
mass
clear-
cutting,
with
logging
companies
timber
and
paper
production
being
a
close
follower.
Natural
events
like
wildfires
or
overgrazing
of
land
are
also
contributing
factors
in
the
global
disappearance
of
forests.
In
order
for
the
effects
of
deforestation
to
be
diminished,
a
change
in
lifestyle
needs
to
occur.
Between
12-15
million
hectares
of
forest
are
destroyed
each
year,
which
equals
approximately
36
football
field-sized
areas
per
minute.
As
stated
by
Energy
Conserve
Future,
an
online
resource
devoted
to
natural
conservation,
If
the
current
rate
of
deforestation
continues,
it
will
take
less
than
100
years
to
destroy
all
the
rainforests
on
the
earth.
Destruction
of
forested
lands
is
currently
causing
a
variety
of
highly
negative
consequences.
The
environment,
wildlife,
and
humanity
are
all
being
impacted.
For
forest-
dwelling
species,
forest
removal
is
the
equivalent
of
habitat
destruction.
Deforestations
elimination
of
large
amounts
of
flora
and
fauna
is
a
major
risk
to
global
diversity,
particularly
in
places
like
the
Amazon
Rainforest
that
houses
50%
of
the
worlds
species.
Permanent
damage
to
forests
also
results
in
lower
oxygen
supplies
and
increased
greenhouse
gas
levels.
Since
trees
play
a
critical
role
in
absorbing
greenhouse
gases
that
fuel
global
warming,
atmospheric
temperatures
will
heighten
at
a
faster
rate.
Furthermore,
if
modern
deforestation
trends
continue,
disrupted
water
cycles,
soil
erosion,
and
altered
livelihoods
incur.
Without
global
forests,
lifestyles
for
those
who
rely
on
forests
for
sustenance,
medicine,
and
raw
materials
will
dramatically
change.
Food
supplies
will
also
become
scarce,
medicinal
products
will
stop
being
produced,
trade
will
slow,
and
the
general
health
of
the
planet
will
suffer.
To
combat
this
issue,
reforestation
is
an
obvious
first-step.
Planting
more
trees
to
replace
those
lost
will
begin
to
make
a
positive
impression
on
barren
lands
and
the
carbon
cycle.
However,
if
we
want
to
live
in
a
world
where
life-altering
climate
change,
desertification,
and
carbon
emission-overload
are
not
serious
threats,
reforestation
alone
is
not
enough.
We
need
to
change
our
ways
of
life
to
become
more
sustainable
and
less
ecologically
damaging.
Ending
slash-and-burn
agriculture,
cutting
our
demand
for
tree-products,
and
practicing
better
conservation
of
forested
areas
will
make
a
larger
impact
in
the
long
run.
To
protect
our
world
from
deforestations
destructive
implications,
we
need
to
change
our
ways
of
life
to
become
more
sustainable
and
more
environmentally
conscious.
Sources:
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-
overview/
http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-deforestation-facts.php
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/deforestation_update3.php
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/deforestation/