The Problem of Deforestation Essay Example

Deforestation of the rainforests is one of the largest issues in global land use. By definition deforestation is the permanent removal of trees to make room for something besides forest. Forests cover more than 30% of the earth's land surface; while also providing food, medicine and fuel for more than a billion people, SO why are we cutting them down?(Derouin) Deforestation is bringing in a loss of trees and other vegetation; causing climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.(“Effects of Deforestation”)

Deforestation is having a major effect on the Amazon Rainforest and as a result, the atmosphere. The amazon hosts habitats for many kinds of animals, and those habitats are being destroyed. The amount of clearing that is happening is causing immense damage to the ecosystem and the lives of indigenous ethnic groups, by the enormous amount of fires and removing of trees. Tropical rainforests trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen during photosynthesis, but like all plants, they also carry out the opposite reaction; known as respiration. Respiration in plants means they release carbon dioxide in small amounts and then they store the rest of the carbon dioxide to grow. When the fires burn down the trees and plants, all the carbon is released back into the air as carbon dioxide which contributes to ten percent of global warming.(“Tropical Deforestation and Global Warming.” )

Even though many people see the effects  happening on Amazon, the president of Brazil has plans that are going to continue to affect Amazon. Mr.Bolsonaro promised to help expand the agricultural companies, which means more land is going to be cleared for these big production sites. The article states, “He appointed a Minister for Environment with good intentions, Ricardo Sales, who was later convicted of allegations of altering environmentally protected areas, including the river basin, for the benefit of the mining groups, when he was sitting in the chair as Secretary for Environment in the State of São Paulo between 2016 and 2018.” President Bolsonaro also found out that the previous president Ricardo Galvão had a letter that showed data of the rapid incline of deforestation.  President Bolsonaro declared it as fake news, amd is still showing no interest in the reduction of deforestation. (“Amazon`s Deforestation Explained.”)

Deforestation has not only negatively affected the ecosystems, but also the animals within them; the Atlantic Rainforest being one good example of such. The Atlantic forest stretches from Brazil, to Argentina and Paraguay. Its ecosystem is home to some of the most diverse examples of flora and fauna; second only to the Amazon, but not much of it remains. The ideas of Noe de la Sancha prompted researchers to take samples of hormones in rodents and marsupials in the Atlantic rainforest, showing that those living in the small remaining patches of South America's forest are more stressed than ones that are living in the bigger untouched areas. The habitats that are being destroyed can not only majorly affect an animal's feelings, but also it’s life.(Cockburn)  The amazon basin is an important global sink and store of natural gases. From about 1970 to 2010 about 9.9 percent of the forests were cleared for new pasture land and croplands. While that was going on, behind the scenes CO₂ had been rising and causing the climate to change all over the globe. Researchers believe that this will continue to a degree possibly for the rest of this century.(Guimberteau) Even thought most deforestation is in based in the tropical rainforests, the non-tropical forests still suffer from deforestation. What causes them to suffer is because as the climate warms, areas that were too cold to be used will now be warm enough to be used for agriculture. It is estimated that in 2100 their will be ten billion people on the Earth and to be able to provide all the natural resources like meat,vegetables and fruit, agricultural properties will have to expand by forty-three percent. (Longobardi).