Jared Kovacs
Ms. Laura Long
English 10
11/13/2016
Deforestation: The Dangers and Solutions
Deforestation is a grave issue that the world needs to face. This is a growing problem, and as our World progresses it will increase at a faster and faster rate. Even though damage has been done, it’s not too late to switch directions and use simple solutions to reverse the effects of deforestation.
There are actually many reasons for deforestation, but not all of them these reasons are things we as a people would normally support. First of all, people have cattle that need land to survive. Cattle were brought to South America for the simple purpose of spreading the population of cattle and their production into beef, as well as helping the people of South America. Since beef has become such a large product in South America, the people of South America have become incredibly reliant on the beef industry to fund their lives that more space is needed to raise cattle. Since cattle can’t survive in a jungle habitat, they need wide open fields covered in grass. According to the WWF website, 17% of the Amazon’s forests have been cut down simply for land to raise cattle. Cattle ranching in South America has become a huge cause of deforestation. Second, homes need to be built (since our world’s population is growing at a rapid rate, this housing is necessary for families and other people that need a place to live), and not everyone can afford a home made out of stone or steel. People need to use the next best product, which is wood. The only real way to get wood is to cut down trees, and this leads to another cause of deforestation. Finally, people need to grow the products we use every day. People all across the world use the products formed from trees. There aren’t any other places to get the paper we use today, and the only possible way we can reuse the paper is by recycling what we’ve already used. For example, people grow the materials used to grow toilet paper. However, as demand grows higher, more material needs to be grown. To make space for more farms, trees need to be quickly removed, and this causes deforestation. Over time, people have cut down over 75% of the world’s forests. Forests used to cover 14% of the Earth, but now they only cover a mere 6%. At the rate we’re going, in only 40 years our forests will be totally gone.
This might not sound like such a big deal, after all, what’s a few trees compared to the growth of the human world? The consequences of just one seemingly harmless procedure is enormous, and has the potential to destroy what we’ve spent eons creating. First of all, trees are a major part of controlling the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Without trees holding in all of that carbon dioxide, the temperature of the Earth is soaring due to such a fast release of that carbon dioxide. Deforestation is adding to an already major problem known as global warming. As stated in the Livescience Article, “deforestation releases nearly a billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere per year.” Deforestation has also caused an unknown process of vapor flows to decrease, according to the quote from the Livescience article “Deforestation has decreased global vapor flows from land by 4 percent.” Although this doesn’t seem like anything important, even a slight change in vapor flows can disrupt natural weather patterns and can change the current climate models. Not only is the removal of trees harmful to the atmosphere, but it’s also harmful to the plants and animals that thrive in the conditions of these forests and jungles. Without the jungle trees and vegetation that must be removed along with them, these creatures won't survive. One thing that goes on in every ecosystem is something called biodiversity. One organism's survival depends on anothers for population control and food. If removing an ecosystem (let’s say the jungle) and we need the jaguars that thrive there to control a capybara population, than removing the jaguars environment would hinder their ability to control capybara populations. Without jaguars (which have been almost totally removed from the location due to a loss of their homes) the capybara population will grow at a rapid rate and consume everything else at a rate too fast for it’s prey to reproduce at. Eventually, we would be left with a huge amount of capybara, and no predators or prey for it. The capybara would die from starvation, and the ecosystem would be totally destroyed. We’re already seeing a decline in many animal and plant populations due to deforestation. Finally, the ancient lands that have been around for so long are being turned into bare plains, covered by nothing but grass, cattle, and plantations. The ancient jungles and forests hold many secrets of past generations. With their destruction, the history of ancient creatures and people will also be destroyed for nothing more than timber. If deforestation keeps up even at the rate it is now, the remnants of what used to be an ancient world will exist no longer.
All's not lost when it comes to deforestation. We still have a chance to save these vast, ancient, beautiful lands! We don’t need to completely stop deforestation, but we can rebuild the forests we’ve cut down. If we replant the trees that have been chopped down, then our forests can return. Even though this seems like a simple solution, it is not happening. People need to be motivated to go replant forests and jungles, and this is a very large task. Even though the task is huge, it needs to happen for our forests to be saved and for our atmosphere to be returned back to the way it used to be prior to the huge amounts of deforestation. Next, loggers and the governments of the world need to begin to better manage the amount of deforestation that occurs, and make sure that they are only being used if they need to be cut down. Creating regulations for loggers by the government on deforestation would help save the animals and plants that thrive there, and it would also help keep climate change under control. The regulations should still allow some deforestation, but they should control where deforestation occurs and how much of it happens. Finally, if we even out the amount of deforestation across a broader scale (rather than just cutting down an entire forest or jungle, spread out where you cut down trees, and take some from everywhere instead of just the same jungle), than our forests can still stay large and beautiful, filled with life.
Overall, deforestation is an issue that I wish we could stop entirely. However, that is a seemingly impossible feat for now, and people must change how they cut down trees instead. There is a lot of damage already done, but not quite enough to the point that it isn’t reversible. Together, the world can regenerate what we’ve lost, and the planet will be beautiful once more.
Sources:
"Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information, Effects of Deforestation." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.
"Deforestation." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
Bradford, Alina. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 4 Mar. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
Ahola, Jason. "What U.S. Should Know about South American Beef Production." Progressive Cattleman. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
Wow. I really appreciated your blog post and I really appreciate your point of view. I think deforestation is a massive issue and it should be one of our top concerns, as a world. I like that you included that governments around the world need to take action on this, I have a habit of thinking only of our government, but everyone needs to cooperate, especially countries like China that have a growing economy, and as a result a growing negative impact. I do not know what science you are taking this year, but if you are staying at JVA next year, I recommend that you take AP Environmental Science. I am assuming that you're a vegetarian because you are aware of the impact the meat industry has on our environment, but I would be curious to know if you are or are not. I think we need to find funding to stop deforestation, to pay people money to replant trees and we need to invest in discovering another way for those who are chopping down trees to make a living for their families. There are so many problems with chopping down trees, the list is endless. But one that stands out to me that wasn't mentioned in your post is that rain forests are the most biologically diverse places on the planet and when we destroy rain forests we are impacting ridiculous amounts of species of animals, and possibly endangering or driving to extinction species whom we have yet to discover. I just found out about a really cool travel program today where you can visit rain forests and replant trees alongside many other cool, impactful opportunities. I suggest you check it out: https://www.experiencegla.com/destinations/teen-programs-latin-america/costa-rica/costa-rica-empowering-rainforest-communities/ Also, I just learned about a woman named Julia Butterfly Hill, she's a environmental advocate and activist who stayed up in a tree, known as Luna for over two years to prevent it from being cut down. I appreciate your mindset and that you feel passionate about this issue and I hope you continue to make a difference.
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