Environmental Science: Deforestation

939 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What effects does deforestation have on the world

Environmental science

Deforestation

One would be amazed to learn all of the things that our environment provides for our everyday life, one of those things being trees. Trees do so many amazing things for us; they allow us to live on earth by providing oxygen, preventing soil erosion, provide housing for many different animal species around the world, providing heat and energy for us. They play such a big part of our daily lives that many people may not even realize it. Some little known benefits that trees provide us are that they actually increase our homes property value, we use them when we go to school, notebooks, when we eat lunch on fieldtrips, paper lunch bags, and so much more. Trees are an essential part of our everyday lives, but unfortunately, “three to six billion trees are getting cut down each year.” (Olson)

Whether we may be aware of it or not we use trees in almost everything we use. Some of the lesser know materials that are made of wood include; photographic film, coffee filters, chewing gum, vitamins, shatterproof glass, nail polish, imitation bacon, diapers, irrigation piping and hundreds of other things. We, as humans, take everything that the environment gives to us for granted. And to know that one-day maybe not in our lifetime but our children’s lifetime, that they won’t have access to something as basic as forests in their lives, is terrible.

Deforestation is a topic that is constantly being debated. Many people don’t really see it as that big of a deal. People think; they are just trees, then shouldn’t they grow back in time? But what people don’t understand is that unfortunately, the way civilization works is we want it all and we want it now, there is no moderation. Since the 1950’s we have al...

... middle of paper ...

...ebank. N.p., 07 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .

Global Deforestation." Globalchange.umich.edu. 04 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. .

Szalay, Jessie. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." Livescience.com. N.p., 06 Mar. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. .

Naseem, S. "No Trees... No Humans." Nature.com. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/our-science/no_trees_no_humans

"Modern-Day Plague." Http://environment.nationalgeographic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Persuasive Essay On Hemp

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet. They produce vital oxygen and provide homes for people and wildlife. Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, and 1.6 billion people rely on benefits forests offer, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter (drug war facts, Page 1).

    Read More

  • Logging on Public Lands is Destroying Our Forests

    2074 Words  | 5 Pages

    As long as humans have lived in forested areas, they have cut down trees for lumber and/or to clear space for agricultural purposes. However, this practice has resulted in the destruction and near extinction of our national forests. Today, fewer than five percent of our country's original forests remain (Thirteen) and the U.S. Forest Service continues to allow more than 136,000 square miles to be logged each year (Byrant). Even more alarming, is the fact that only twenty percent of the current public forest lands are permanently protected by law, leaving nearly eighty percent to be consumed by chainsaws and bulldozers (Heritage...).

    Read More

  • Destruction Of The Rain Forest

    3318 Words  | 7 Pages

    “In the time you can read this sentence, eight acres of tropical rain forest will have been bulldozed and burned out of existence” (Bloyd 49). However, this destruction has been neglected and overlooked for years. Many people do not understand the long-term consequences of losing the earth’s rain forests. The rain forests have provided people with many natural resources and medicines. The benefits that rain forests provide to people will be destroyed if the depletion continues to be disregarded.

    Read More

  • The Controversy of Deforestation

    2612 Words  | 6 Pages

    Deforestation is a widely used term, but one with different meanings. Disturbance deforestation refers to all man made disturbances that alter a forest, these are the most common. This argumentative essay discusses the positive and negative aspects of deforestation. In the first part of the essay the pro arguments of deforestation will be discussed. For example, the issue of Global population and how forests are being used, land use and the ways forests contribute, wood use, forest growth, destruction and the reasons for cutting down the trees. The second half of the essay will cover the issues that are harmful to the environment because of deforestation. Many environmental issues take place everyday; a big question that arises, is if the global economy will ever finds middle on the issue of forest thinning. If deforestation was used only in the most crucial of times, the world might become a better place.

    Read More

  • Information on Deforestation

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Restate thesis: In reality forests are better left alone, forests provide the earth with a regulated climate, strong biodiversity, and good nutrient rich soil for plants to strive on.

    Read More

  • Tragedy of Deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Deforestation is fast becoming one of the world’s worst environmental/geographical occurring disasters known to mankind, and is due to humankind’s greed, ignorance and carelessness when considering the future of our environment.

    Read More

  • We Must Save the Rainforests

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rainforests once covered 14% of the worlds land surface, however now it only covers a mere 6%. It is estimated that all rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Trees are becoming more needed and used everyday. We need them cut down for many reasons such as paper and timber, while also needing them ‘untouched’ for other reasons like oxygen, we have to ask ourselves, which is more important? At the current rate, most of the rainforests are being cut down for resources like paper and timber, but less importance is being placed on main resources like oxygen.

    Read More

  • The Disappearing Rainforests

    1633 Words  | 4 Pages

    Revington, John. The causes of Tropical Deforestation". New Renaissance Magazine. Vol. 3, No. 2.

    Read More

  • Global Warming is Destroying the Maldives

    2202 Words  | 5 Pages

    Szalay, J. (2013, March 6). Deforestation: fact, causes & effects [Fact sheet]. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from LiveScience website: http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: Why Do We Need To Growing More Trees?

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    II.Audience connection/credibility: It is very important for us to understand that trees do so much for our environment and we need to stop destroying the trees because trees provide a home for many creatures, they are the lungs of our world. Trees have medicinal benefits, that are very useful to the human race. Trees are very beneficial to the world and it is unethical to keep destroying the trees.

    Read More

  • Deforestation and Biodiversity

    2666 Words  | 6 Pages

    Deforestation, defined by biologist Charles Southwick as "the destruction of forests; may involve clear-cutting or selective logging" (p. 365), is a predominantly human-driven process that is dramatically altering ecosystems worldwide. "Clear-cutting" involves the indiscriminant removal of every single plant and tree species from within a selected area. The other major process of deforestation, "selective logging," focuses removal efforts on only specific, predetermined tree species within a chosen area. The statistics gathered about human deforestation over time are considerable, and they can be somewhat controversial. Depending on the source and the location selected, the magnitude of deforestation varies. Southwick estimates that, approximately 10,000 years ago, 6.2 billion hectares (23.9 million square miles) of forest existed on earth (p. 117). That figure is equivalent to 45.5% of the earth's total land. He further estimates that, by 1990, this amount had declined 30%, with only 4.3 billion hectares of forest remaining (p. 117). Southwick also acknowledges other estimates that place the total amount of deforestation between 50% and 75% (p. 117). NASA has similar deforestation statistics that confirm these trends. According to their website, 16.5% of the Brazilian Amazon forests have been destroyed. They also note similar magnitudes of deforestation in Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), despite the significantly smaller total area of forest within these countries. These grim figures are somewhat tempered by the NASA finding that, over the past ten years, the deforestation rate has declined from 6,200 square miles per year to 4,800 square miles per year. Though this trend is n...

    Read More

  • Growth Of Human Population

    1596 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...hich is an issue that simply cannot be ignored, due to the implications it has on our atmosphere. Our trees must be preserved as they are humanities biggest ally in the fight against the greenhouse effect, and if we continue to cut these trees down at rates faster than they can recover, the end for humanity as we know will be sooner rather than later. If deforestation is limited it will also limit the loss of biodiversity, which is an integral aspect to future survival.

    Read More

  • Discussion of the Issue of Deforestation

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    Deforestation is the amputation of trees from forest areas more swiftly than they can be replanted or regenerate naturally. The fact that trees play an incredibly momentous part in stabilising climate, atmospheric composition and soil structure, removing trees rapidly becomes a major problem. There are numerous reasons behind the felling of trees by mankind. The Amazon basin is a prime example of humans exploiting rainforests. Within this tropical rainforest lie a vast variety of tree species, with many uses, giving humans even more reason to exploit this area.

    Read More

  • trees

    407 Words  | 1 Pages

    Trees also benefit the environment. They alter the environment in which we live by moderating the climate, improving the air quality, conserving our water source and harboring wildlife. They take in energy from the sun, block the wind, and rain. Trees also control the temperature. In the vicinity of trees is cooler than that away from trees. The larger the tree, the greater the cooling, the better a person feels because they are not in the sun. Air quality is also improved through the use of trees, shrubs and turf. Leaves filter the air we breathe by removing the dust and other particles from the air.

    Read More

  • Impact of Deforestation on the Earth

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ll persons. Only when the population of Earth contributes as a whole to stopping deforestation, will this dire situation be resolved. Deforestation must be stopped; our very survival depends on it.

    Read More

More about Environmental Science: Deforestation

Open Document