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Deforestation is the large-scale removal of trees in the forests. Trees are usually removed to make room for urban development, roads or even for agriculture. Though not all deforestation is done intentionally, some is done unintentionally by wildfires. Deforestation has had serious effects even though forests still make up 30 percent of Earth’s surface. It is estimated by “The World Wildlife” that we lose about 18.7 million acres of trees every year. I plan to show you the negative effects deforestation has on our planet and as to why deforestation is a huge issue we have to solve. I’d also like to point out some possible solutions to this issue and how we should be going about solving the problem of Deforestation.
Deforestation is a major issue that has been negatively affecting our planet for a long time this includes extreme effects on climate change, soil erosion/ flooding, a loss of habitat for animals and more negative effects. According to Scientific America, deforestation is accountable for more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than all the world’s cars and trucks on roads. Scientific America state that according to the World Carfree Network that cars and trucks are responsible for 14 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. While deforestation according to most analysts alone accounts for upwards of 15 percent. Logging is so bad because when a tree is cut down and then cleared out of a forest the carbon that the tree was storing inside of it and even in the soil is then released. While on a small scale it goes by unknown but on the scale that trees are currently being cut down to establish new developments it causes a major reaction.This evidence demonstrates that deforestation is a serious issue that we need to start addressing before it is too late. By fighting deforestation it has been identified that by having a global effort to restore 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded lands by 2020 and twice as much by 2030 that it would be a sixth of the carbon emissions needed to close the emissions gap. This shows that what is necessary is a global effort to start solving his problem and stop fueling it. Though in order to start a fight to stop deforestation there must be an incentive to encourage help. This is because the people that live near forests such as the Amazon rain forests while they live near this forest profit is the factor that drives them. This is because it costs to conserve forest and on the flip side it pays to sell wood charcoal and natural oils and many more things that come out of deforestation.
Deforestation has not only affected climate change and the people of areas where forests are but it has also affected the animals that call the forest home. This is because to those animals that call forests home once trees are cut down and cleared out to make new developments. The animals are left without a home, a place to breed and a source of food, which overall makes it harder for animals to survive as stated by greentumble. Similarly to this by cutting down forests this also leaves animals more vulnerable to predators and poachers and even weather that was not experienced before due to protection made by the forest Which leads to some species of animals to go extinct or become near to going extinct. This evidence shows that not only are we affected by this issue but also the wildlife is. It also shows that this is a very selfish act on us to put the ability to make a profit over the wellbeing of our wildlife. Similarly to this by cutting down forests this also leaves animals more vulnerable to predators and poachers.
Although not everyone is against deforestation and this is because while deforestation has many cons it also has pros. The future of working a leadership and career blog that has been recognized nationally by many publications, states that a benefit that comes out of deforestation is that it gives us the products that we use on a daily basis. This includes paper, furniture, materials used to build your home and cocoa. Also another benefit that comes from deforestation is that by cutting down forests we create more room to build neighborhoods and areas for people to live which is necessary for the growing population of the earth. Another thing that comes out of deforestation would be that once forests are cut down it gives us an opportunity to discover new species. This is because it allows to discover new species by being able to encounter these species out in the open instead of having to travel into a deep forest through thick layers of trees where a researcher might not be able to see a species due to the thick layers of trees. Although there are positives that come out of deforestation the negatives far outweigh the benefits. This is because although we all live off of some byproducts that come from deforestation, we cannot use these resources carelessly we need to manage the amount of trees we cut down so that we can try and limit our effect on our planet. Although deforestation helps many people by giving them an area to live, it is not a justifiable reason to why we should continue this practice because even though it may help people it will ultimately hurt them because of many factors like soil erosion and possible flooding in the area where they now live. Also while it gives them a place to live, it also takes away shelter for animals and instead of cutting down forests we could be making better use of the space we already have. Even though someone might say that deforestation helps to discover new species it also hurts those potential new species by making it harder for them to survive and search for for food and protection. Which in an overall viewpoint couldn’t be seen as an advantage to deforestation. This shows that while there are pros that come with deforestation that the benefits that come are short term and are limited.
Deforestation is a major issue that we all are affected by regardless of who you are. Although there are ways that we can fight against deforestation and help our planet. Solutions that are needed to stop deforestation as stated by Greenpeace, an organization whose mission is to “use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.” A possible solution they state is to stand with the indeginous people that call forests home. Greenpeace says that “Forests around the world have been home to Indigenous Peoples for tens of thousands of years. Evidence shows that when Indigenous Peoples’ rights to traditional lands and self-determination are respected, forests stay standing.” This shows that if we stand with those indeginous to the forest that we may be able to stop or at least slow down the rate at which forests are being cut down. Also another possible solution stated by Greenpeace is promote sustainable choices and this falls under avoiding the use of one time packaging, eating sustainable food and just make choices that will be positive on forests and the environment. By making these choices it can have a great impact on our planet and society.
This has shown that we all play a part in conserving our world and that if we each take a few steps towards making more environmentally friendly choices, we can start a culture that is based around protecting and conserving our planet rather than one that is based around taking all that we can out of it. Also by doing so we will see many benefits out of it such as seeing animal populations increase, positive effects on the climate and allowing those indeginous to the forest to live in the way the want. Although not everyone can plant a million trees but you can start by making the right choices and begin to make choices that are environmentally friendly.
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