Why are forests important?
Forests are the pinnacle element of vegetation on Earth, as they purify the air that we breathe, prevent erosion, filter water, and provide homes for numerous organisms. They also serve as a sign of proper greenery and an indication of healthy land. Their material is also used for numerous products like paper and furniture, but this is being overdone, as numerous forests are being cut down for human resources. This is known as deforestation.
What is deforestation?
According to Pachamama Alliance, deforestation is defined as “Deforestation is the permanent removal of standing forests, which occurs for a variety of reasons and has many devastating consequences.” The variety of reasons can include construction, material usage, clearing of land for animal grazing, and many other reasons. Deforestation causes a loss of habitat, destroying the environment that many organisms use to thrive. Cattle ranching is the largest reason for deforestation. Cattle ranching requires a large plot of land, so companies clear large forests to make room. Deforestation occurs mostly in the Amazon but also happens in Nigeria, India, and other tropical areas.
Impacts of Deforestation
As I have outlined previously, deforestation causes a loss of habitat for many organisms. For instance, in rainforests, trees create a canopy that regulates temperature. Without this canopy, organisms cannot thrive, as temperatures are not regulated, and may not survive within the different temperatures. Another impact of deforestation is the increase of greenhouse gas. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and expel oxygen and create glucose, a process known as photosynthesis. When deforestation occurs, there is a great reduction in trees, causing an increased amount of carbon dioxide in the air, as there are fewer trees to absorb the carbon dioxide. This is especially an issue in today’s times because humans are using more fossil fuels to create power, which releases an abundance of carbon dioxide into the air. With these two events happening simultaneously, Earth’s atmosphere is suffering severely. Trees also help the land hold onto water and keep the land hydrated, preventing soil erosion and flooding. When there is a loss of vegetation, the land is more prone to be dried up, causing soil erosion and flooding, This can damage the agricultural lands. There are many more impacts that deforestation has on Earth, but these are just the major issues. Deforestation will destroy the Earth that we know and love. Without trees, we cannot survive. We must learn to find alternative methods of dealing with our needs than destroying the very things that are keeping us alive.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WVMczmo522VVf5XLsEavaW-1920-80.jpg.webp
Where is this happening the most?
Deforestation occurs mostly in the Amazon but also happens in Nigeria, India, Congo, Indonesia, and many other tropical areas. These areas have extensive areas of forests that are being cleared for mining, timber, cattle ranging, construction, and many other human purposes. According to Green Peace, “In the last 40 years, the Brazilian Amazon has lost more than 18 percent of its rainforest — an area about the size of California — to illegal logging, soy agriculture, and cattle ranching.” This number seems so unbelievable, knowing that this has occurred within only 4 decades. The Amazon rainforest is a beautiful location of vegetation that contains the homes for lots of wildlife, including amazing creatures that cannot be found in any other region. It is important that we ensure that these forests are safe and healthy to prevent the destruction of habitats and biodiversity. As the largest rainforest on Earth, the Amazon rainforest must be preserved to ensure that the region and the overall health of Earth are great.
Why is it hard to prevent/regulate deforestation?
With so many organizations and people in support of stopping deforestation, why is deforestation still such a big issue even after many people are being educated about the negative impacts of deforestation? Ultimately, this is because of the companies and countries that are responsible for deforestation. Companies that market logs and timber refuse to stop marketing them. These companies are creating large profits as a result of deforestation and since companies are more concerned with money than the environment, companies will not stop attempting to make a profit at the expense of the life of wildlife. In addition, wood and logs are widely used for many things such as construction, furniture, paper, etc. With industries that are so large and so involved within this market, especially since demand for such material is increasing, it is arduous to put a full stop to deforestation. Deforestation is very illegal, especially in the Amazon rainforest, yet deforestation is still occurring. Why? This is because some nations or organizations do not put much effort into stopping deforestation, especially as many companies find loopholes around this. More regulation and law-making must be issued in order to save our environment. This is the attempt that many non-profit organizations around the world are fighting for.
What must we do to solve the issue of deforestation?
We have about 77 years left before all of the rainforests are gone if we continue the same trend, so what can we do? At an individual level, we can become more sustainable by using less paper and using more recycled material and using wooden products more responsibly. As a collective group, we can join conservationist groups and donate money to them to help them educate and spread the message about deforestation. These groups can also help regulate laws within the government by lobbying certain ideas so that more regulations can be made on cutting down trees. America has done a great job over the years with keeping our national parks and certain areas of land healthy and safe from deforestation, but countries such as Brazil must take more care of their rainforests before it is too late. The simple fact is that companies do not care about the environment and they will keep cutting until the money stops entering their wallets. This is a fact that we must all understand unless the company promotes the prevention of deforestation and directly contributes to the conservation of rainforests. We must do our part in order for us and trees to coexist within this world because we need each other to survive.
Sources:
https://pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation
https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html
Why is it difficult to regulate the deforestation of forests?
This was a very well-organized post. I appreciate how you made sections for separate elements of this topic. By diving into the who, what, when, where, why, and how separately, you definitely made your point clearer. In addition, I found that when you honed in on the Amazon Rainforest in specific, it put your argument into perspective. The fact that we only have seventy-seven years of trees left is a powerful statistic, and you should bring that out when it comes time to write the issue brief. Furthermore, the picture gave an effective visual to the post itself. Often, people discuss deforestation, but it can be harder to picture than it is to discuss. By including the picture, it helped me better understand your idea. In all, good job!
I appreciate your use of sections in this piece–it definitely helps indicate where one should focus if they are particularly interested in one aspect of deforestation. I also thought that your statement of “The simple fact is that companies do not care about the environment and they will keep cutting until the money stops entering their wallets” was deeply poignant, and it raises some moral questions about how companies function. As of now, their number one goal is to make money so that they can continue to exist, but that leads to what is almost an acceptance of immoral and unjust actions as the norm for companies. I think that if we ever want to really be able to hold companies to morals beyond “make money” there might need to be a fundamental switch in how companies are viewed/approached in the public eye. Like you mentioned, this would likely be pursued by way of implementing laws, more so than another avenue.
This was a very well-structured and written post. I think you broke down the problem very well in a manner that is quite easy to understand. I especially thought the more pathos-driven writing (such as “Deforestation will destroy the Earth that we know and love.”) was quite persuasive in getting me to care more about this issue.
I agree with you that its time that we step up to protect the environment on a global scale. Since as you mentioned we only have 77 years before all the rain forests are gone, I think we need to be pursuing drastic measures to curtail the companies which propagate the deforestation of our world.