The Fight to Save the Forest
Deforestation affects every single life on this planet and at the rate it is going could destroy almost everything that we have. Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations. (Kricher.) The Rainforest are currently disappearing at 6000 acres every hour. Many people might not even think twice about it or even care to know, but whether or not we realize it deforestation is actually lowering our quality of life. When trees are destroyed and are not replanted we lose more and more habitats. About one half of the forests that covered the Earth are gone; each year, another 35-50 million acres disappear. (Global Deforestation) This is because trees are cut down to make things like paper, pencils, desks, room for crops and land development. At this rate the forest can completely disappear in about 100 years. There are many countries who face deforestation every day. The Amazon is probably one of the most talked about when it comes to deforestation. Deforestation has been a feature of Amazonian landscape since long before the arrival of Europeans in the 1500s. Indeed, no forest in the region can be considered "virgin" in the sense of being unaffected by past human activities. (Fearnside.) There is still time for change, if we can conserve, recycle and reduce the number of trees cut we can make a difference.
There are a few groups who have come together who want to make a difference and cut back or even stop deforestation all together. In order to work towards this goal, the causes of deforestation have to be pin pointed and fixed. So what causes deforestation? The main causes of deforestation are population growth, land expansion, logging and natural causes. Population growth is a cause of deforestation because the more people that move into an area the more trees they have to cut down to build and make room for the homes. Forest are cut down in order to create land for grazing cattle. Huge herds of animals require food and forest are cleared out to make way for grazing lands for these cattle. (Putatunda) People who live in the poorer countries seem face deforestation more than other countries. This is because the countries that face poverty have to make money by cutting down trees illegally to make their homes, make utensils and sell wood for money.
Another cause of deforestation is land expansion. In order to expand an area there is a process used called "slash & burn." Slash and burn is a technique that involves cutting down trees and shrubs on a large piece of land, allowing them to dry, and then setting a fire. There are also the instances where deforestation happens naturally. There are times when the climate will change. If there is not enough rain the forest will dry out and die. Another thing that can happen is heat. It can get too hot and a wildfire can break out and destroy acres of forest. "Fires are a natural and beneficial element of many forest landscapes, but they are also problematic when they occur in the wrong place, at the wrong frequency or at the wrong severity. Each year, millions of acres of forest around the world are destroyed or degraded by fire." (WWF) All these causes of deforestation have their own effects to the forest and need to be addressed.
Slash and burning, poverty, cattle ranching and illegal logging all have huge effects on the forest. Erosion plays a massive effect from deforestation. Once trees are cut down there is nothing absorbing water from rain, which makes it easier for the area to flood. If the trees are gone the water that is flooding the land can also quickly move over to rivers and damns making them dangerous. "Forest destruction causes many visible, but potentially more devastating, environmental problems. It dooms thousands of plant and animal species to extinction, often before they have been discovered. It often triggers a reduction in local rainfall. Perhaps most damaging of all, deforestation may hasten the process of global warming, a potentially catastrophic trend that may soon distort weather patterns in many parts of the world."(Cooper) Not only are plants and animals habitats being destroyed but villagers and tribes homes are being demolished as well. There are still tribes that live in the forest and choose to stay there because that is what they call home. These tribes have decided to make their homes in the forest and have been there for thousands of years. They eat, sleep, work and play here. When trees in the forest are cut down, it is taking more and more of their homes away making it hard for them to live. The effects of deforestation are really hurting the environment and solutions need to be made to stop it while we still have a chance.
There are a few ways to stop or slow down the process of deforestation. One solution would be to ask for government assistance. The government should be on top of deforestation as it is, but they have kind of just swept it under the rug. If the government were to step up and really press the laws that deforestation should not be done illegally, it can make a huge difference. Deforestation happens mainly in big rainforests in the Amazon and South America so their governments should handle it. It is not typical for it to happen in the US, but if it does we should be prepared to stop it. If the government continues to look past what is really happening then more and more people will continue to cut down the forest. Another way to help slow down the process of deforestation would be to get the community involved. If the community is made aware of the real consequences of deforestation more people will get involved to help put a stop to it. Learning to manage the water better is also another great solution to slow down the process. Sometimes the reason the forest is flooded is because the amount of trees that used to be in the forest are not the same. The less amount of trees the more amount of water that can cause flooding. The trees help to prevent flooding. Their roots suck up most the water from the rain and rivers near-by. Once cut down there is nothing there to stop the land from becoming flooded. Another great solution which does not really help to stop deforestation, but help the animals and plants affected by it would be to build Wildlife Sanctuaries. If wildlife sanctuaries were built then the animals would still have a place to live that is dedicated to them. The facilities would help to house the animals that have lost their homes or who have been hurt in the process of deforestation. They will later be reintroduced back into the wild. The sanctuaries can also be used to replant some of the endangered plants in the forest that are also being destroyed. The plants that are being destroyed could possibly be the next big thing to help people with their health and we are throwing it all away. A source that I found really interesting was a video by Michael Jackson. The video is called "Earth Song." This video shows all the harm that is done to the environment and the lives of humans, animals and plants. Trees are on fire and falling over, humans are running trying to save their homes and animals are dying. This is definitely something that should be checked out. The last and probably most important solution would be to plant more trees. If trees are replanted we can start to try to fix what was previously destroyed as a result of deforestation. Getting the community together a few times a year to get plant trees for a day, could help the forest out enormously as well.
Deforestation should not be taken lightly. People need to know what is going on and all the possibilities and effects it can have on our lives. The community should know that by even just learning to recycle or use both side of a paper it helps to save a tree. It is so important that we try to do something. It is not too late. We can still turn this around. We can save animal lives and our lives. This is a very important topic that needs to be addressed, because if we continue to live our lives like this one day our children and children's children will live in a rough world. If all the rainforest and trees were destroyed the world would also be destroyed. If there are not any trees then there is not much oxygen, without oxygen we will have no humans and without humans there will be no world. So we need to put a stop to this now.
Three areas I feel my essay could be stronger.
1. I feel like I have too many sources from the web and need to maybe try a few from an actual person or book.
2. I sometimes feel like my paragraphs are too long and do not know if I am giving too much information in each paragraph making it drag on or not enough.
3. My thesis I feel is okay, but I do not know if it is strong enough to really get the point across.
Deforestation affects every single life on this planet and at the rate it is going could destroy almost everything that we have. Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations. (Kricher.) The Rainforest are currently disappearing at 6000 acres every hour. Many people might not even think twice about it or even care to know, but whether or not we realize it deforestation is actually lowering our quality of life. When trees are destroyed and are not replanted we lose more and more habitats. About one half of the forests that covered the Earth are gone; each year, another 35-50 million acres disappear. (Global Deforestation) This is because trees are cut down to make things like paper, pencils, desks, room for crops and land development. At this rate the forest can completely disappear in about 100 years. There are many countries who face deforestation every day. The Amazon is probably one of the most talked about when it comes to deforestation. Deforestation has been a feature of Amazonian landscape since long before the arrival of Europeans in the 1500s. Indeed, no forest in the region can be considered "virgin" in the sense of being unaffected by past human activities. (Fearnside.) There is still time for change, if we can conserve, recycle and reduce the number of trees cut we can make a difference.
There are a few groups who have come together who want to make a difference and cut back or even stop deforestation all together. In order to work towards this goal, the causes of deforestation have to be pin pointed and fixed. So what causes deforestation? The main causes of deforestation are population growth, land expansion, logging and natural causes. Population growth is a cause of deforestation because the more people that move into an area the more trees they have to cut down to build and make room for the homes. Forest are cut down in order to create land for grazing cattle. Huge herds of animals require food and forest are cleared out to make way for grazing lands for these cattle. (Putatunda) People who live in the poorer countries seem face deforestation more than other countries. This is because the countries that face poverty have to make money by cutting down trees illegally to make their homes, make utensils and sell wood for money.
Another cause of deforestation is land expansion. In order to expand an area there is a process used called "slash & burn." Slash and burn is a technique that involves cutting down trees and shrubs on a large piece of land, allowing them to dry, and then setting a fire. There are also the instances where deforestation happens naturally. There are times when the climate will change. If there is not enough rain the forest will dry out and die. Another thing that can happen is heat. It can get too hot and a wildfire can break out and destroy acres of forest. "Fires are a natural and beneficial element of many forest landscapes, but they are also problematic when they occur in the wrong place, at the wrong frequency or at the wrong severity. Each year, millions of acres of forest around the world are destroyed or degraded by fire." (WWF) All these causes of deforestation have their own effects to the forest and need to be addressed.
Slash and burning, poverty, cattle ranching and illegal logging all have huge effects on the forest. Erosion plays a massive effect from deforestation. Once trees are cut down there is nothing absorbing water from rain, which makes it easier for the area to flood. If the trees are gone the water that is flooding the land can also quickly move over to rivers and damns making them dangerous. "Forest destruction causes many visible, but potentially more devastating, environmental problems. It dooms thousands of plant and animal species to extinction, often before they have been discovered. It often triggers a reduction in local rainfall. Perhaps most damaging of all, deforestation may hasten the process of global warming, a potentially catastrophic trend that may soon distort weather patterns in many parts of the world."(Cooper) Not only are plants and animals habitats being destroyed but villagers and tribes homes are being demolished as well. There are still tribes that live in the forest and choose to stay there because that is what they call home. These tribes have decided to make their homes in the forest and have been there for thousands of years. They eat, sleep, work and play here. When trees in the forest are cut down, it is taking more and more of their homes away making it hard for them to live. The effects of deforestation are really hurting the environment and solutions need to be made to stop it while we still have a chance.
There are a few ways to stop or slow down the process of deforestation. One solution would be to ask for government assistance. The government should be on top of deforestation as it is, but they have kind of just swept it under the rug. If the government were to step up and really press the laws that deforestation should not be done illegally, it can make a huge difference. Deforestation happens mainly in big rainforests in the Amazon and South America so their governments should handle it. It is not typical for it to happen in the US, but if it does we should be prepared to stop it. If the government continues to look past what is really happening then more and more people will continue to cut down the forest. Another way to help slow down the process of deforestation would be to get the community involved. If the community is made aware of the real consequences of deforestation more people will get involved to help put a stop to it. Learning to manage the water better is also another great solution to slow down the process. Sometimes the reason the forest is flooded is because the amount of trees that used to be in the forest are not the same. The less amount of trees the more amount of water that can cause flooding. The trees help to prevent flooding. Their roots suck up most the water from the rain and rivers near-by. Once cut down there is nothing there to stop the land from becoming flooded. Another great solution which does not really help to stop deforestation, but help the animals and plants affected by it would be to build Wildlife Sanctuaries. If wildlife sanctuaries were built then the animals would still have a place to live that is dedicated to them. The facilities would help to house the animals that have lost their homes or who have been hurt in the process of deforestation. They will later be reintroduced back into the wild. The sanctuaries can also be used to replant some of the endangered plants in the forest that are also being destroyed. The plants that are being destroyed could possibly be the next big thing to help people with their health and we are throwing it all away. A source that I found really interesting was a video by Michael Jackson. The video is called "Earth Song." This video shows all the harm that is done to the environment and the lives of humans, animals and plants. Trees are on fire and falling over, humans are running trying to save their homes and animals are dying. This is definitely something that should be checked out. The last and probably most important solution would be to plant more trees. If trees are replanted we can start to try to fix what was previously destroyed as a result of deforestation. Getting the community together a few times a year to get plant trees for a day, could help the forest out enormously as well.
Deforestation should not be taken lightly. People need to know what is going on and all the possibilities and effects it can have on our lives. The community should know that by even just learning to recycle or use both side of a paper it helps to save a tree. It is so important that we try to do something. It is not too late. We can still turn this around. We can save animal lives and our lives. This is a very important topic that needs to be addressed, because if we continue to live our lives like this one day our children and children's children will live in a rough world. If all the rainforest and trees were destroyed the world would also be destroyed. If there are not any trees then there is not much oxygen, without oxygen we will have no humans and without humans there will be no world. So we need to put a stop to this now.
Three areas I feel my essay could be stronger.
1. I feel like I have too many sources from the web and need to maybe try a few from an actual person or book.
2. I sometimes feel like my paragraphs are too long and do not know if I am giving too much information in each paragraph making it drag on or not enough.
3. My thesis I feel is okay, but I do not know if it is strong enough to really get the point across.