Deforestation in the Southern United States Introduction In the Southern Region of the United States, a pressing human-environmental problem looms large: deforestation. This historically rooted issue has evolved due to various human activities impacting the environment. Deforestation, predominantly driven by industrialization, agriculture, and urban expansion, has led to significant environmental degradation, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and other detrimental effects. The South, renowned for its lush forests, now faces the stark reality of habitat loss for numerous species and ecosystem disruptions, resulting in soil erosion, altered rainfall patterns, and increased greenhouse gas emissions due to the loss of carbon sinks. This …show more content…
By protecting the forest, we protect important ecosystems that provide clean air, water, and habitat for wildlife. Sustainable practices ensure the long-term health of agricultural systems and secure food sources for current and future populations (Short, 2018). Actions against deforestation protect natural resources, mitigate the effects of climate change and create a more sustainable future for all (WWF, 2024). In general, these activities aim to protect the environment and improve the quality of life for future generations. Conclusion In the Southern Region of the United States, deforestation is a big problem that's causing a lot of damage to our environment. As I explored in this essay, deforestation is caused by the spread of factories, farms and cities, leading to adverse effects such as climate change, habitat loss and soil erosion (Sun et al., 2005). It damages our forests, making them smaller and less healthy. We are losing the homes of animals, changing the way rain and air work. This is not just a current problem – it is something that will affect us and future generations. We must all work together to prevent deforestation. We need to tell people why forests are important, make better use of our land, and establish regulations to protect trees. If we don't do something now, it will only get worse. Let's join hands and take action to save forests and ensure our planet stays healthy for everyone. Together as individuals, communities, governments and businesses, we can make an impact and ensure a brighter future for us
The effects of deforestation around my home and throughout my state are becoming more evident every day. When a deer or other wild game loses its home, they move into cities, urban areas, and parks; thus causing issues with the human population. Most people living in Illinois have hit or nearly killed a deer driving on Southern Illinois roadways. This common occurrence could be kept at bay or maybe even avoided if the deer and wild game had more space to reside. There are many points that coincide with this reality but the main issues are the small subtle ones that affect everyday life and are often overlooked. Picture the Illinois we will leave for our children. Do you see a lush green forest or miles and miles of concrete and steel?
The effects of erosion and loss of marsh land in the Southern United States has devastating consequences to all of these benefits, both local and national. The loss of land can mostly be attributed to subsidence, erosion, and severe weather events. The USGS reports that a total of 118 square miles of land has been transformed to new water areas in a 9,742 square mile area from the Chandeleur Islands to the Atchafalaya River. This land loss is from fall of 2004 to the fall of 2005, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (USGS, February 2006).
Deforestation of the Pacific Northwest. One of the most controversial areas associated with the global problem. of deforestation in the Pacific Northwest of the US. The problem can be broken.
Robert, K. (2010, jan 26). Effects of Deforestation . Retrieved Dec 3, 1996, from www.earlham.edu: http://www.earlham.edu/~pols/17Fall96/inneske/effects.HTM
America’s Old Growth Forests are an endangered resource that is quickly disappearing. The ancient forests are being unnecessarily wasted, and are growing smaller and smaller with each passing moment.
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...).
Medine, Tyler. “Rain Forest Destruction and Prevention.” The Vocal Point Dec. 1997. 12 Dec. 2000 <http://bvsd.k12.co.uc/cent/Newspaper/dec97/p7/stories/medine.html>.
As destruction of the rainforest continues, man slowly paves the inevitable path to a clear end. It has been known that the rainforest is an essential provider for the balance of the mother earth and that it acts as a key for life as we know it. Yet, the world still decides to quietly watch the disappearance. In fact, most people realize what exactly is taking place. But however, instead of trying to aid in the termination of this disaster. They place this into the back of their ignorant little minds thinking that it will not directly effect them. Every day the removal continues, it actually occurs extremely fast and at a pace of 80 acres per minute. That means at 80 acres per minute with 60 minutes per hour and 24 hours a day, there is a loss of approximately 115,000 acres a day. This is an exorbitant amount forest loss in one day meaning that at this pace hastened by the roadrunner ethics, that the forest will not have a place in the environment for very long. The fact is that now is the time to voice your opinion before and act it is too late.
Environmental issues affect every life on this planet from the smallest parasite to the human race. There are many resources that humans and animal needs to survive; some of the most obvious resources come from the forests. Forests make up a large percentage of the globe. The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees improve the quality of the air that species breath, determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. The wood from the forests are used everyday form many useful resources. Moreover, thinning the forests increases the amount of available light, nutrients and water for the remaining trees. Deforestation (forest thinning) is one of the most critical issues of environmental problems that are occurring today.
Deforestation is a current problem in this world, and it’s happening every day, more and more. Deforestation is the clearing of the world’s forests on a massive scale. Every year, the amount of forest we lose is equivalent about the size of Panama. It is everywhere, look at where we attend college. Once upon a time, Eckerd College was all forested area. Every time we build something here on campus, more and more trees get knocked down.
Now is a critical time to address the issue of deforestation. Around the world forests are logged for timber and paper pulp. South America contains a large amount of mahogany and rosewood—highly coveted types of wood—within the Amazon basin. Forests are also cleared to make room for the planting of cash crops, such as coffee and soy, as well as livestock farms. After only a few years, overuse of these lands for crops typically causes soil erosion that quickly turns deforested regions into wastelands. Deforestation is responsible for 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than all emissions all motorized transportation added together. The destruction of forests does not just threaten our climate; it threatens the livelihoods of billions of people that rely on forests for food and economic activities. The modern world relies on rainforests more than for the well-known reason. People receive many of their fruits and medicines from plant species that survive solely within the heart of a rainforest. Let’s not forget that forests also serve as habitats to wildlife a...
Reason to Listen: You as the audience should listen and understand why our planet is becoming hotter and hotter, losing specialized species, and in-turn why plants are no longer able to survive for as long as they were able to before.
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.
Though deforestation has increased at an alarming rate throughout the past fifty years, deforestation has been performed during the course of history. According to the World Resources Institute, a majority of the world’s enduring naturally occurring forests are found in Alaska, Canada, Russia and the Northwestern Amazon. Research has demonstrated forests are more likely to be destroyed and repurposed where economic revenues tied to agriculture and pasture are prominent, typically attributed to advantageous weather conditions, or lower expenses of demolishing the forest and delivering merchandises to the global
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...