Deforestation Deforestation is an impendingcatastrophe. With the present frequency of deforestation, in 100 years we willno longer be comparing the pros and cons of forest removal, because we will nolonger have forests to remove.
Without trees, humans will likely cease to exist.Starvation will set in within days of the devastation. Without trees our airwill become unsustainable. (Nassem, 2011) Trees play a vital role in the carboncycle.
Without them, more carbon dioxide will be released into the air causinga decrease in oxygen. This leads to a rise in temperature. Deforestation playsa key role in climate change. With no trees to prevent abusrd amounts ofcarbon, the freely flowing carbon will increase the temperature. Acoording tomomtastic.com, “Slowingdeforestation by 50 percent from current levels (by 2050) could saveapproximately 50 billion tons of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere– or the equivalent of six years of cumulative global fossil fuel emissions.
“That means just by reducing deforestation, we could lessen climate change.Researchers estimate nearly “15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are a resultof deforestation.”(worldwildlife.org). With a decrease in forests we see an increase of greenhouse gases. We havean excess of greenhouse gasses trapping the sunlight, causing warmertemperatures.
To put simply, deforestation equals faster global warming. Notonly do these gasses play a hand in global warming, they also cause an increasein extreme weather patterns and change normal weather patterns. In recent yearscategory 5 hurricanes are no longer shocking. Twenty years ago having threehigh category hurricanes in the same month was unheard of. Today we areexperiencing more and more extreme weather than ever before and its only goingto get worse if we do not fix it and fast. If you have managed to survive thepollutanous air, then the effect on the agriculture could be your nexttribulation.
The soil will transform into a toxic nightmare. Adding to the growing list of detrimental effectsdue to deforestation are droughts. Trees release their own water to the soil.Trees help to humidify our air, without them the air will lack moisture.
(naseem, 2011) Deforestation comes in many forms, not just clearcutting. Illegallogging is another issue causing more harm to our already endangered habitats.Laws are in place to protect how much timber is allowed to be cut and where. Ina perfect world every one follows these laws and we do not see so muchdeforestation. We do not live in a fantasy. Illegal loggers venture on private propertiesand protected areas and take whatever they want. This is becoming more and moreof a problem because we have less trees to work with.
Many species and plants cannot survive theirentire habitat being wiped out. Over half the earths animal and plant life livein these forest habitats. When we take out entire forests we are also takingout entire ecosystems. Entire species being taken out but no one cares because it’snot effecting them personally, yet.
Not only do trees help to maintain ourclimate, they also balance our water cycle. Deforestation leads to changes inthe way our rivers flow and precipitation. According to nature.
com, soil erosion usually prevented by trees willcause soil to lose its “arability” making it unable to support plant, whichmeans we can no longer grow any type of food. Once the trees are gone, there isnothing to hold fertile soil in place, leaving it defenseless as it gets sweptaway into the currents of our rivers, that are now floodingIn 1998, the YangtzeRiver in China saw its worst flood since 1954. Not only did the heavy rainfallduring El Niño cause the flood, but also deforestation. Trees help to controlour ecosystem. Once removed there can be a “multitude of largely irreversible consequences.
“(masleem,2018)Some of the consequences include droughts, landslide from soil erosion, anddevastating fires. . Not only do these fires change the make-up of the forest,they also serve as an invitation to unwanted, invasive species.
In 1997 Indonesiawas greatly affected by forest fires. According to wikepeida, The cause ofthese fires were a technique called “slash and burn” used by Indonesian farmersto clear land for agriculture. They used this method because it was cheap andeasy. This caused nearly $5 billion united states dollars in damages. Thesefires released an upwards of 3 gigatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere just in1997 alone. This excess deforestation boils down to human wants. Humans want tobuild new cities instead of rebuilding old ones.
Humans want paper products andtree products. Humans do not care that they are completely eliminating speciesof animals and plants. We don’t care that we are destroying our ecosystem. We don’tcare that we are destroying our future children’s home. Why? We don’t care becausewe want these things, we want paper so we will cut down a forest in order toget that paper, regardless of the negative outcomes. Humans as a species areselfish and this ongoing deforestation only proves that.
At our current rate ofdeforestation, for every tree you cut, you are also signing your future grandchildren’sdeath certificate.
