ABSTRACT
Deforestation is a serious environmental issues being faced in the modern era. It is having a huge impact on ecosystems all across the globe. Like many of the environmental issues it can be attributed to human activities. Humans clear-cut, burn and strip in wooded acreage equivalent in size of countries each and every year. This impacts the weather, the air quality, the survival of plant and animal species within delicate global environments. While the damage cannot be undone, there are measures that can be taken to improve the issues and contribute to positive change. It will be necessary for humanity to seek greener and more environmentally friendlier alternatives if there is hope for tangible change.
INTRODUCTION
When people think of the woods or forest they see tall trees, lush grass, thickets filled with wild berries and woodland creatures, peaceful deer, rabbits and squirrels. These are beautiful places that are antithetical to the hustle and bustle of city life. While there are still places like this in many places across the globe, these areas are dwindling. Acres and acres of forest land is uprooted, stripped and devastated each and every one in sections as large as the country of Panama. This phenomenon is called “deforestation.” Deforestation is occurring all over the world; these lands are cleared for more space for people to build and to provide more and more grazing lands for livestock needed to meet the demand of modern society and as a result of wildfires, as well, usually due to human actions (National Geographic Magazine, 2016). Regardless, deforestation is not simply unfortunate and saddening, it is also proving to be dangerous. The damage of deforestation is causing local ecosystems to fail, the plant and animals species to suffer and is a result of or a contributor to other serious environmental problems that are being identified today.
BACKGROUND
The damage that deforestation causes to the land is permanent. The trees are not going to grow back, the environment will not simply restore itself and the practice is not slowing down. There are a number of specific factors causing the deforestation that we see today. Again, housing relies heavily on the lumber retrieved from forests, as well as, for things like paper and for fuel, cattle ranching and illegal logging, also, account for the problems with deforestation that we see today (Bradford, 2015). 30% of the Earths forests, whether in the mountains or the in rainforest, however 50% to 80% of animals and plant species call these areas their home. Some have estimated that dozens, if not hundreds of species of, both, plants and animals, are lost forever to the process of deforestation and were never discovered (National Geographic Magazine, 2016). That said deforestation is a serious issue worthy of dedicated research.
DISCUSSION
One of the greatest significant issues that must be discussed revolves around the fact that there is a correlation between deforestation and other serious environmental concerns, in particular, global warming. In fairness all things in nature are connected. How the weather behaves, affects the land, the land effects the air and all of the living things are subject to those forces. If the soil is no longer fertile or grows too dry, plants cease to grow, the herbivores food supply is more limited, their health and numbers fail, which leaves predatory animals with less prey animals to maintain them. Once a species is lost, in many cases, there is no “getting them back” (Bradford, 2015). The permanent loss of species is a serious concern and it has a profound effect on the ecosystems where they once lived. Deforestation is huge part of that harsh reality. This phenomena is happening all over the globe, but what many are not willing to accept is that one day, probably not too far in the future, that this same process will start to effect human beings, like every other species on the planet. We will become short on resources, clean, safe water, food supplies, living space and, with the perpetuation of deforestation; eventually we will lose quality, healthy air (Morrill, 2011). There are consequences for every action great and small.
Global warming is a phenomenon that is occurring due to the gradual increase of Earth’s atmospheric and ocean temperature, permanently changing the Earth’s climate all across the globe. Forest, particularly, tropical rainforests, play a huge part in the carbon cycle of the entire planet. As forests are cut down it ends the process of carbon absorption and, also, releases all of the carbon dioxide into the air, whether burned or just left to rot (Scheer & Moss, 2012). This equates to more than a billion tons of excess carbon in the atmosphere. This combines with other pollution and other greenhouse gases leads to our current problems (Bradford, 2015). Many experts argue that deforestation is the number one contributor to the changing climate in the world.
When the climate changes the environments also change; there could be droughts in places once lush and rain fall in places that seldom ever sees rain. Deforestation is, in part, responsible for most of these problems. What makes this reality difficult for many to accept is that deforestation and the issues of global warming can be directly attributed to the actions of mankind (National Geographic Magazine, 2016). Human civilizations produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases, they clear away and pave over much of the natural world and, yes, they are responsible for the deforestation that is having such a negative impact. In fact, studies have determined that deforestation is the second greatest anthropogenic, or human caused, carbon dioxide source (Bradford 1).
One of the greatest issues plaguing the realm of environmental damage that is being seen all over the world, is the fact that there are many people who deny the severity of the problem and, in some cases, deny that there is a problem at all. There are many voices claiming that global warming is not a symptom of a problem, it is natural and that the effect of humanity on Earth is not detrimental in any way. They criticize environmentalists and naturalists, stating that they are just using environmental “scare tactics” to promote their own environmental agendas. Unfortunately, as much as they stand by their viewpoint, the science, simply, does not support the objector’s perspective. The evidence of environmental damage, like deforestation, being the fault of humanity becomes more and more obvious each and every day (Bradford, 2015). That being said because much of it is caused by humans, but there are things that can be done by humans to halt the damage.
There are many people who believe that all that people need to do to reverse the damage of deforestation is to cease clear cutting of wooded regions and start planting more trees. However, it is not that simple, even with the existing trees left untouched and new trees being planted, it still will not be enough to resolve the carbon issue from other human actions, like burning of fossil fuels. The trees still could never hope to absorb all carbon dioxide that human beings are producing (Bradford, 2015). Real change can only be accomplished with a full paradigm shift in the human relationship with the environment. It will be necessary for human beings to cease deforestation, as well as, adopt greener and environmentally friendlier sources of energy, wood and paper products and livestock grazing.
CONCLUSION
There is no longer any point in denying the environmental problems that we are facing in this modern era. Our forefathers could never have conceived of the dangers associated with deforestation. They did not understand the science of it. However, today humanity understands the impact that they have had and continue to have on the environment and on all of the delicate ecosystems that it is comprised of. Human beings are responsible for these issues and it is only logical, ethical and descent thing to do is to contribute to the solving the problem and, with our modern knowledge, work to rectify the damage and embrace what is necessary to translate into positive change. There are greener technologies available today that can help humanity to eliminate the need for mass deforestation and many of the other dangerous activities of mankind that is causing genuine and perpetual damage to the world that all life, including human beings, relies upon for their existence. As a species human beings are slowly destroying their own future every time they slash and burn the forests of the world and that means that human beings must play a part in proactively addressing the problems and adopting whatever means necessary to facilitate real and tangible change.
REFERENECES
Bradford, A. (2015).Deforestation: Facts, causes & effects. Live Science Magazine. 1 Retrieved
February 12, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html
Morrill, S. (2011). A critical study of the literature about deforestation if the brazilian amazon.
Scheer, R. & Moss, D. (2012). Deforestation and its extreme effect on global warming.
Scientific American. 1. Retrieved February 12, 2016, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/deforestation-and-global-warming
National Geographic Magazine. (2016).Deforestation. National Geographic Magazine. 1
Retrieved February 12, 2016, from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview/
