Deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation, involves the cutting down, burning, and damaging of forests. The clearing of tropical forests across the Earth has been occurring on a large scale for many years. If the current rate continues, the world 's rain forests will vanish soon, causing unknown effects on global climate and eliminating the majority of plant and animal species on the planet. It would also change the water and oxygen levels dramatically, which would increase the global warming. Deforestation is mostly experienced between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn especially in the Brazilian part of the Amazon, which covers 33% of the world 's rainforests.
There are many reasons for this process; most of the clearing is done for agricultural purposes such as cattle farming, which often replace the rain forest to grow beef for the world market. Farming is another reason for deforestation, this happens when poor farmers chop down a small area and burn the trees in a process called Slash and Burn. Deforestation by a farmer is often done to raise crops and is driven by the basic human need for food. In most tropical countries the farmers are very poor, they do not have the money to buy necessities and must raise crops for food and to sell. Logging, cutting trees for sale as timber, is another common form of deforestation. It uses heavy machinery, such as bulldozers and road graders, to remove cut trees and build roads. It is just as damaging to a forest overall as the chainsaws are to the individual tree.
Nowadays deforestation has been causing a major controversial issue in today’s society. First of all, many medicines come from plants. Most of the Amazon 's plants have yet to be discovered and catalogued, so we may lose valuable cures or vaccines that could have been used to fight illnesses such as cancer or AIDS. These plants could save the lives of millions of people all over the world, but are lost as a result of the destruction of the rainforests.
Deforestation, involves the cutting down, burning, and damaging of forests. The clearing of tropical forests across the Earth has been occurring on a large scale for many years. If the current rate continues, the world 's rain forests will vanish soon, causing unknown effects on global climate and eliminating the majority of plant and animal species on the planet. It would also change the water and oxygen levels dramatically, which would increase the global warming. Deforestation is mostly experienced between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn especially in the Brazilian part of the Amazon, which covers 33% of the world 's rainforests.
There are many reasons for this process; most of the clearing is done for agricultural purposes such as cattle farming, which often replace the rain forest to grow beef for the world market. Farming is another reason for deforestation, this happens when poor farmers chop down a small area and burn the trees in a process called Slash and Burn. Deforestation by a farmer is often done to raise crops and is driven by the basic human need for food. In most tropical countries the farmers are very poor, they do not have the money to buy necessities and must raise crops for food and to sell. Logging, cutting trees for sale as timber, is another common form of deforestation. It uses heavy machinery, such as bulldozers and road graders, to remove cut trees and build roads. It is just as damaging to a forest overall as the chainsaws are to the individual tree.
Nowadays deforestation has been causing a major controversial issue in today’s society. First of all, many medicines come from plants. Most of the Amazon 's plants have yet to be discovered and catalogued, so we may lose valuable cures or vaccines that could have been used to fight illnesses such as cancer or AIDS. These plants could save the lives of millions of people all over the world, but are lost as a result of the destruction of the rainforests.
Bibliography: * National Geographic http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview/ * NASA Earth Observatory http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/ * MongaBay http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html