What Is Deforestation Knowledge Is Power

Mankind is feeling the wrath of nature. It seems that more and more natural disasters are taking place; and this has led to consciousness about the earth’s resources. Forests are the most affected ecosystem in the planet. This is probably due to the fact that basic necessities need trees as a raw material.

What is even more appalling is man’s desire for wider land areas, so they cut off more trees in order to convert the area into a housing community or subdivision; and an agricultural land or worse, a dump site – this perhaps can be the answer to what is deforestation.

By Definition

By definition, deforestation means the cutting or removal of trees from woodlands or forests in order to convert the land into commercial or logging reasons or for whatever purpose it may serve them. Generally, deforestation denotes the extraction of trees without sufficient reforestation or effort to replant a tree elsewhere to replace the one that has been cut.

Since time immemorial, man has been making the environment adapt to the civilizations' growing needs. First it was cutting trees down to use for kindling, next it was for shelter, and then for paper and other products. Thousands of forests have been cleared all over the world to pave way for man’s innovations and spatial requirements. It seems that forests are present to cater to man’s needs and whims.

Raising Consciousness

It is human nature to be moved into action when our sense of well being becomes endangered. This is undoubtedly the reason why most people are becoming concerned over deforestation.

The easiest way to make people care is to emphasize the benefits of forests and woodland, and to show how its depletion will radically change our lives for the worst. First off, deforestation revolves around a number of issues but none as totally important as the two key subjects that we must be aware of: the primary concern is global warming or green house effect, the secondary matter is the question of whether the trees are utilized properly and if reforestation efforts are being made.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide, helping reduce the amount of carbon released into our atmosphere. Deforestation kills the trees that help prevent greenhouse effect. Green house effect accounts for the Earth's over all temperature rises, thus causing bizarre weather patterns. That is why the frequency of droughts, floods, tidal waves, and other natural disasters have risen.

The second concern is that the trees being cleared to pave way for metropolis are simply slashed and burned. Aside from the excessive emission of carbon dioxide brought about by burning wood, there is the apprehension that the trees would have been put to better use providing shelter for the homeless, building materials or other useful undertakings. The subsequent effects are truly devastating. Who knew that deforestation can cause so much head ache?

Yes, who knew? If only people have taken the time to inform themselves then they would have been able to make informed decisions and fight for what is right.

What Can You Do To Help?

Since you are now knowledgeable of what is deforestation, it would be of much help to lead in the initial steps to change. Are you thinking what a lowly individual can do to help? Well, small steps make a huge difference especially when everyone is working at the same goal. Armed with the knowledge of the disasters that deforestation can bring about will definitely make a person regulate his or her actions.

Start by conserving the most basic of household materials like paper towels, napkins and tissue papers. Recycling and knowing how to recycle materials will greatly help find a solution to green house emissions. Next is to be pro active and help educate other people by joining campaign groups who fight against deforestation.

Generally you don’t have to be like a crazy person shouting at the streets and joining rallies, begin by changing your attitude and outlook and then you will see that little things do make a difference.

The History Of Deforestation And The Modern World

It is a common mistaken belief that deforestation is only a contemporary incidence. Some say that annihilation of the vast green world has dated back only to the 50's, but all these were proven to be wrong. The history of deforestation takes us back into the corridors of time when humans primarily occupied the earth.

Fire was used deliberately and was started to be the first cause of bald forests since half a million years ago. Ever since the era of the ancient domain has processed, the ways to barren our lands have evolved and thereby discovered recent man made ideations to deplete our forests of its natural glow. The turn of the twentieth century has further paved way for more advanced knowledge on deforestation techniques that the number of destroyed forests has not stopped counting ever since.

Although it is a sad fact, deforestation has been used as a method of means to earn a living. From small to bigger profits, deforestation has been used by humans in all class types and races. For whichever ways it served them, there is truly no excuse of destroying the forest and harming the nature that brings a heap of better and bigger possibilities for the world. Our forests offer a permanent life source, and it shouldn't be exchanged for the temporary joys of human gain and profit.

Pre Historical Deforestation

Some 4000 years ago, evidences of man made plant and animal extinction actions have been seen. Fire was one of the popular methods of balding a forest to be turned into an agricultural area. Grazing animals also became a lead to major deforestation in area locales. The aborigines transferred form one location to another whenever the land becomes barren and of no further use to them.

Perhaps the only reason why there were no significant effects at that time is because of the population issue. If the present population has been born in the past, then extreme deforestation actions could have happened. The world could not have tolerated the effects some million years ago if this were the case. Luckily, the population now isn't the same in number than the people who used to inhabit the earth. If it so happened that the aborigines were wide in number, then the earth now could have been one of the dreadful places to live in.

The Industrial Times Of Deforestation

Since the advent of industrialization began, deforestation processes still continued and even rose to bigger numbers. None at that time was able to see the probable effects that we are experiencing right now. During those times, timber was in great popularity among shipbuilders; thus, the business of logging grew in astounding counts.

Also, woods were used in constructions and pottery; and whenever forests were depleted of these essential businesses, men flew from place to place in search of a new and fresh source of timber. On and on the process continued until visible barren land areas came to view. Since then, it became difficult to put a stop to deforestation, and men only grew with greed for their sole profits.

Present Deforestation Trends

Marginal soils are being used in a slash and burn method for creating short term goals. Over 200 million people are using this technique all over the world; and perhaps it is the main reason why gigantic land areas have been totally exhausted and eroded. Such lands are of no use for any form of cultivation at the present time. Beyond doubt, the demand of growing businesses have endangered the forests ever since.

If people try to go over the history of deforestation then and now, it can virtually be seen that our untouched land areas are slowly disappearing. The means of reversing could still be probable; but it needs great deal of human effort to finally bring a change into our world.

No matter how unreachable goals may seem, there can still be ways to achieve it if followed with utmost sincerity and unconditional love for nature.

Depletion of The Forest's Resources

INTRODUCTION

Echo systems around the world help sustain life for millions of species. Echo systems that are mainly forests provide a home for a large majority of the species alive. Therefore the trees in these forests are considered to be the most important species. Although it is true, that most species are not able to sustain without each other.

There are many benefits that we get from our forests. Some of these include cleaner drinking water, a home for plants and animals, economic growth, clean air, recreational opportunities, reassuring future. Another benefit we get from trees is called oxygen. If there were no trees to give us oxygen to breath, we would not be able to live. So if you need one good reason why a forest should exist, staying alive is a pretty good reason.

CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM

Forests have many resources that people can use to raise their living standards. One example is the wood for building houses. Certain wood materials last a long time, they keep the house warm and make it easy to manufacture homes. Unfortunately the world is overpopulating and the demand for a higher standard of living is constantly on the rise. Therefore the demand for more resources is growing to levels that cannot be sustained. Since forests provide a large portion of the world's resources, many forests are cut down or burned.

The cause for cutting down forests is directly associated with the high demand for wood to manufacture paper products and lumber for other manufacturing. We practically use wood for everything. It is used in home building, marine products, furniture and the list seems like it's endless. Just look around yourself right now and chances are you will find a product within your reach that is made of wood. Not only is wood a good building material, but it also has great aesthetic qualities. Most people appreciate a nice wooden dining table set or classic wooden rails on a staircase. Unfortunately we don't always take in to account how many trees need to be cut down so we can have these luxuries in our lives.

Another major direct cause for forest depletion is simply burning forests for farmland. This is more common with countries that are undeveloped and have tropical rainforests. Many poor farmers in these countries burn or cut small portions of tropical forests so they can have room for farming and cattle. But the big scale problem is created when huge corporate farms burn thousands of square acres a year. They need this much room so they can provide farming on a much larger scale to compete in the world market for food. The reason forests are burned for the farmland is due to the rich minerals fertility of the soil.

Unfortunately even the large scale farmers in undeveloped countries are not educated on how they can maximize their results when reusing the soil. Therefore the soil is used up and left as a desert while the farmers burn more forest to make another farm. The Amazon rainforest which is the largest in the world has fallen victim to such deforestations. This forest is located in South America where countries are having tough financial times. Brazil's market is a third of all the Latin countries included. Yet "Brazil's foreign debt, except in the most implausible of positive economic circumstances, is simply unsustainable in the years ahead" (CRF.org 2002). Economical pressure on a country is another big cause that will force a country to deforestation such as the case in Brazil. Basic Science and Remote Sensing Initiative (BSRSI) show data that between 1978 to 1988 230,000 square miles, nearly the size of Texas was affected by deforestation (bsrsi.msu.edu). That is 16.5% of the whole rainforest in the Amazon.

The next example shows the cause of deforestation for farming. According to The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), "Between 1990 and 2001 the percentage of Europe's processed meat imports that came from Brazil rose from 40 to 74 percent" and by 2003 "For the first time ever, the growth in Brazilian cattle production-80 percent of which was in the Amazon-was largely export driven." As more roads are built to provide access to forests in undeveloped countries more deforestation is evident.

EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM

As mentioned earlier, we get a large portion of our oxygen from vegetation such as trees. Since most trees live in forests it is important to realize the negative impact deforestation may have on our air quality. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas that has an impact on the greenhouse effect. There is a cycle between CO2 producers such as cars and CO2 consumers such as plants. Together they create the "Global Carbon Cycle". The plants and soil of tropical forests hold 460-575 billion metric tons of carbon worldwide (McKane et al. 1995). From 1850 to 1990, deforestation worldwide released 122 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, with the current rate being between 1.6 billion metric tons per year (Skole et al. 1998). In comparison, all of the fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) burned during a year release about 6 billion tons per year. Therefore deforestation even when compared to all the other pollution plays a significant role in Global Warming and clean air.

Another extent of the problem with deforestation is a decrease in biodiversity. Biodiversity is important for Ecosystem sustainability, agriculture, medicine, recreation, aesthetic and commercial value. There are about 5 to 80 million species that live on this earth (Lawton and May 1995). Tropical rainforests cover about 7% of the world, but are home to more than half of the species living in the world. After a forest is cut down, many species cannot live without it and possibly go extinct. Since we depend on these species for many resources, their extension will rob us of their benefits. Perhaps we might destroy the next cure for AIDS by deforestation and not know it.

FUTURE

The negative impacts of deforestation are getting noticed internationally. Many countries are taking steps to reduce the problem for a more sustainable earth. Unfortunately financial gain and high competition still exists with deforestation, and for some it's the only way of survival. Many people are not educated about the long term results their actions may cause. Because of these reasons deforestation is still a reality around the world in many countries.

With more international involvement, countries will take effective steps to bring deforestation to sustainable levels. But there is still a great deal of work to be done. For some forests it is still not too late to bring them back quicker. Other forests that have been clear-cut might take centuries to grow to the original state. Areas where pesticides were used it is possible that the echo system was damaged and may take a long time to grow again. Many forests were replaced by large banana plantations. These plantations use pesticides that kill many species that are vital for an echo system to sustain. Erosion caused by deforestation may bring more water pollution in the future and may affect agriculture in the area. Other reasons for deforestation are simply to provide room for paved roads, residential and commercial development that are caused by urban sprawl. These types of developments permanently destroy forests. Deforestation is a serious threat to life's future on our planet. It has major effects on our global climate. It leads to the loss of millions of species that are important in sustaining a living earth.

SOLUTIONS

As we discussed the causes for deforestation, we realize how these causes are very different. Because the causes are often controlled by a countries economy, overpopulation and many other social reasons, it is impossible to find one solution to deforestation. Although there are many solutions, it will take time and cooperation of many different groups of people and organizations to make the solutions work.

One popular solution that has been in effect for a few decades is forest conservation. We can work internationally, regionally, and locally with organizations to develop policy and influence industries to help ensure a sustainable future for forests. Conservation helps protect, manage, and restore the world's most important forests by identifying threats and developing solutions to them.

Decrease the amount of products that are made as a result of deforestation. For example, using materials other than wood to build homes, furniture and other common products made of wood. Encourage recyclable materials so people don't go back to wood again. Switching from wood to other materials will decrease the demand/supply for wood.

Implement more efficient farming methods to encourage the reuse of land.

Educate people around the world about the negative impacts of deforestation, and what can be done to prevent it. Help finance more educational programs. Help countries make the right economic decisions.

Sign international treaties and make laws/regulations to control annual deforestation.

Import meat and dairy products from markets that do not cause deforestation.

The solution that I believe will be very effective is the second one. As far as cutting down trees, this is a very workable solution. We have too many products that are made of wood today. As economies grow around the world, the middle class will also grow. This middle class will demand more and more products that are made of wood. The American middle class is obsessed with wood products and we don't even realize it. A large portion of our homes are built from wood, and so is our furniture. Most cabinets alone require so much wood. If we like wood products so will the rest of the world.

The solution is to take the majority of the wood products and find alternative materials to them. This of course is not as easy as it sounds, but it is very doable. Once it is done, it will extremely decrease the demand for wood, therefore reducing deforestation. With such high advances in technology we can travel in space and replace hearts. Therefore it is possible to make materials that are safe for the environment and replace wood. Maybe even make materials that share most of the properties that wood has. We can even invent materials that imitate wood like the "burled wood" in our cars today. This "burled wood" in most cars isn't even wood anymore, it is some kind of a plastic and a pattern to imitate the look of the wood. Speaking of the auto industry, I can't believe how advanced our cars have become. These are cars that we drive everyday. Yet we live in new houses that were built with an ancient method of wood and nails. I think that is ridiculous. Perhaps the solution to replace wood with alternative materials will also lead to more efficient assembly methods and a safer environment. And most importantly the first solution is changing our attitude to help prevent deforestation.

The Depletion of Forest Resources is a huge problem with challenging solutions, let us work as a team around the world to help solve these issues.

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Deforestation In Africa Is It Poverty Related

Africa has been well known for its cosmic lands rich with sunlight, vegetation and the wild. Like other jungles, it is a home to millions of celebrated species. It has also become one of the greatest advertised tourist hot spots; and people came from all over the world for the mere purpose of Safari adventure.

If such lands are as abundant in resources as they say, why is it facing extinction? Why does deforestation in Africa continue to rise and take almost 5 million hectares annually, and why hasn't it stopped for the past ten years considering the green movement's focus on the matter?

Like many rich forests scattered all over the Earth, the population in Africa is among the poorest of all groups. Almost all diseases hover in their lands, and food is scarcely provided for the people. If it is still not known to you, millions of communities perish every year due to malnutrition; and about half of the statistics reveal that the critically distressed and affected nation is Africa.

Poverty And Deforestation

Millions of people in all parts of Africa suffer from poverty, and the problem hasn't been addressed to for many years now. About 217 million of the African population is now experiencing hunger, and these people divert to activities which can provide them with food. Truly, when life begets you of something, a person tends to deflect in other ways and seek measures to suffice their growling pit. Africa's condition has been as pitiful ever since; sadly though, it has not received much aid from the neighboring worlds.

When the African people found no means of getting food, they redirected to ways which can provide them with the money to buy their basic needs. Some of the population began to be laborers of huge logging companies while the others went to find their own fortune by cultivating plant and animal life. Thus, deforestation became a widespread solution for most of the African people; and since they are uneducated about its effects, they have mindlessly been doing harm to our world.

When you see it in the bigger picture, you'll be able to think that the problems of poverty are far from the issues of deforestation. However, when you try to see things on a smaller scale, you'll be able to see how poverty affects the bigger world. If this would go on in years, and the African nation still do not have means of responding to poverty, then deforestation would never come to an end.

How To Cut The Poverty Line

How can the African people make a real and lasting world when in fact they're presently living in a very disturbed place? The actual question is where and how to start the changes in order to make the people survive and at the same time save the forests. Truly, big things can only be acted upon with strong movements. If the walls built are weak, then the support given will easily fall apart.

Poverty is an issue that can be alleviated only with proper governance and aid from other countries. If Africa does not have both of these, then the need to establish strong financial incentives should be started. How things can begin is a question that can only be answered by their government. If honest and true people work for the survival of Africa, then saving the nation would be greatly possible.

If proper guidance and aid will come, the deforestation in Africa will totally be forgotten; and the chance of survival for both Africa and the planet Earth is a promising thing to happen. Remember, the world needs better people, and one of them could be you.

Wildlife and Deforestation Effects

Deforestation has been a huge controversy with environmentalists. Many people argue the benefits of deforestation, but they look past the negative effects it does have. People who support deforestation may explore the economic benefits of deforestation. Deforestation may have economic benefits, but despite that, the negatives greatly outweigh the positives. Deforestation destroys natural habitats for animals. When a species' natural habitat is gone, it becomes hard for that species to adapt- causing extinction. The ultimate result of deforestation is a major decrease in biodiversity.

In the article, Benefits of Deforestation, Nathalie Fiset mainly focuses on the economic benefits of deforestation. She claims that lumber products are one of the most stable constructive materials in human society, and that humans cannot live without lumber products (Fiset). That is true to a certain extent, but we are evolving into a paperless society. Nowadays, almost everything is run electronically. For example, people can pay almost any bill online now; there is no paper involved in that. Also, when people vote, they do it electronically. There are no more paper ballots. There is no reason to have to cut down so many trees when the human society is learning to live without paper products. Most paper companies today use recycled materials, not trees.

Another point that Fiset makes is that deforestation can create many jobs. She states that when environmentalists go against deforestation, it causes many people working with lumber products to lose those jobs (Fiset). When deforestation is looked at in perspective, is it really worth it? People can always get up and find another job. When these people destroy the homes of millions, those animals have nowhere else to go. It is harder for animals to just go find a new home. It takes generations to adapt to new surroundings. When these workers lose their jobs there are many eco-friendly jobs that these workers could go into. For example, they could monitor the forests and wildlife instead of cutting down trees and destroying natural habitats. Another job alternative is to work for a paper recycling company. Instead of cutting down trees, they can be saving trees by recycling used paper. Instead of destroying natural habitats, these workers could be working for a company that stands for something good.

Fiset believes that when companies destroy a forest that they can easily make up for what they lost by planting more trees in the place of old ones (Fiset). When lumberjacks cut down trees, they cannot simply just plant more trees and leave it at that. In one single forest there are various types of trees and it takes hundreds of years to create a voluminous forest that largely supports biodiversity and all the wildlife residing in it. Usually when forests are destroyed, companies plants only one or two species of trees to make up for what they removed. Certain animals need a specific tree to live or raise a family. When humans plant only one single tree, it might be hard for them to adapt, ultimately causing extinction. When natural habitats are demolished to nothing most animals get killed in the process or some of them flee. When the animals return, however, their home is completely gone. For example, many birds that had nests in the different species of trees that were destroyed, now has to raise its family in an open field just asking for a predator to eat this birds offspring. This happens because they cannot adapt quickly enough to support themselves in this new tree. When a species goes extinct, there is no going back. Once they are gone, they are gone for good.

The last claim she makes is that destroying forests could help find more natural resources, such as oil, natural gas, and coal (Fiset). The automobile industry is starting a new revolution with more fuel efficient and eco-friendly cars. The United States is slowly leaning away from natural, non-renewable resources. The effects from burning coal greatly impacted global warming with a dramatic decrease of O-ZONE levels, which protect the Earth from harmful UV rays from the sun. As a result, coal is not a major thing we should be looking for. There are so many other ways of electricity too. There is wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydraulic energy, and tidal wave energy. All of those energy sources do not have a need for natural resources, and they are all renewable and cause little to no damage to the Earth. If deforestation keeps going down the road it is going, then many more species will be diminished.

In the Amazon forest, there are thousands of different organisms. One certain study done by scientists was to record how the stingless bee adapted with deforestation. According to the article, these certain species of bees are important to not only the environment, but also with humans economically and culturally. Many people would say that bees are not important, but for people living in the Amazon and areas around the Amazon, bees are sacred. Some people even consider these stingless bees as pets. The stingless bee produces honey which has a variety of different uses. People can obviously eat the honey or use it in certain recipes and they can use it to make Balché, which is an alcoholic beverage. Another benefit of these bees is to pollinate farmer's crops. If there are no bees, then there are no crops which produce food that farmers need to sell.

In a study done on these stingless bees, scientists went to different areas of the Amazon that were being affected by deforestation and collected the bees to see how they were adapting to deforestation. As a result, they found seven different species of stingless bees, but only two of those species seemed to not be affected by deforestation (McCoy and Mushinski). So that means five of species of the stingless bee is vulnerable for extinction. This is just one example of how deforestation can destroy a species.

Another example of animals at risk because of deforestation is the ring-tailed lemurs. These monkeys live in Madagascar, but since the human population has been expanding rapidly in Madagascar companies are clearing forests and destroying the lemur's habitat. Many scientists believe that lemurs are what make a rainforest healthy (Butler). There are only about 50 species left of lemurs. Deforestation is putting a lot of pressure on these lemurs living in Madagascar. The evidence proves that there are so many different kinds of species being affected by deforestation ranging from bees to monkeys.

Clearing trees to build farms, cities, and homes just destroys natural habitats. Those are just the primary effects. There are other effects of deforestation that most people look past. One example of a secondary effect of deforestation is the pollutants brought in to the forest. When a company is clearing an acre of forest, they bring trucks in that deposit harmful pollutants in the wildlife. Researchers have found that thousands of harmful chemicals are introduced to the natural environment that disrupt the nervous, immune, endocrine, and reproduction cycles of animals that come in contact with these chemicals (Hose and Guillette 87). This also has a major effect on endangered species, because when affected with these pollutants, it can be hard for them to reproduce. This means that the population of the endangered species will not go up not making it difficult at all to go extinct.

However, there are some solutions humans can make to help prevent harmful products from entering a natural environment. One resolution can be to keep very close observations on the toxins exposed to the environment. This will limit how much chemicals can pollute the environment and will set reproduction cycles back on track. Another resolution can be knowledge of the chemicals that are being distributed into these environments. Once people know how bad these chemicals really are, then they might stop using them. The last resolution is to create model ecosystems, like restoration facilities, to help reform the endocrine system (Hose and Guillette 88-89).

Although deforestation has greatly impacted the wildlife, there are a few organizations trying to help some of the animals struggling in the wild. These organizations create restoration programs for animals on the brink of extinction. Scientists can measure the success rate of these facilities, and the success rate is usually very high. It is easier to measure success one facility at a time (McCoy and Mushinski). Deforestation may be destroying the lives of some animals, but when humans take little steps towards helping the natural environment is one step closer to ultimately helping an endangered species.

There are many examples of how deforestation can be beneficiary, but a lot are simply looking at what they can do for humans. Supporters want to destroy habitats to find natural resources which can and will destroy this planet. Global warming is prevalent, and deforestation is just adding more fuel to the fire. Also, when destroying an acre of forest, that is millions of animals homes being destroyed. When the homes of these animals that live in those forests that are being cleared everyday are gone, they have no protection for themselves and their offspring. This is a major problem for biodiversity. Each day thousands of species become extinct drastically decreasing the Earth's biodiversity. Deforestation has many benefits to humans, but it is a huge problem for the natural environment.

Sources
Butler, Rhett A. "Lemurs are Key to Health of Madagascar's Rainforests." Mongabay. 2008. 5 May 2009.
Fiset, Nathalie. "Benefits of Deforestation." Ezinearticles. 30 April 2009.
Hose, J.E. & Guillette, L.J. "Defining the Role of Pollutants in the Distribution of Reproduction in Wildlife." Environmental Health Perspectives 103 (1995): 87-91. JSTOR. Western Illinois University Library. 02 April 2009
Brown, Christopher J. and Albrecht, Christian. "The Affect of Tropical Deforestation on Stingless Bees of the Genus Melipona." Journal of Biogeography. 28.5 (2001): 623-634. JSTOR. Western Illinois University Library. 02 April 2009
McCoy, Earl D and Mushinski, Henry R. "Measuring the Success of Wildlife Community Restoration." Ecological Applications. 12.6 (2002): 1861-1871. JSTOR. Western Illinois University Library. 02 April 2009

Geena Bartley

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Deforestation Fact And Detail

The Earth's woodlands are under a great deal of pressure. Our abundant jungles are rapidly becoming extinct due primarily to illicit activities such as gold mining, hydropower, timber harvesting, and the hunger for land. Tropical and mature forests are being damaged by the lumber and paper trade.

Millions of the livelihood of the indigenous people living in the jungles is undermined, and a wide array of animal and plant types ceases to exist forever. If such deforestation facts are already known to man, then why is the rate of forest abolition continually growing?

Perhaps it is because that the people are in dire need for both money and food that such things come to happen. Through man's negligence, more than half of what used to be a viable rich land became swept off of its own natural possessions. That is why there is no blaming to nature if it strikes back at us through many different ways.

Now, the whole world is both consciously and mindlessly being tormented by the powers of nature. From floods, to the harmful sun's rays, and to the growing temperature of the planet, people are buffeted by the troubles rooted on them alone. It was never unlikely for such things to take place considering how the human race started to injure the most indispensable part of the world, our nature.

Truths On How Our Forests Rapidly Disappear

We are suffering the loss of Earth's supreme biological reserves just as we are making a start to be grateful for their significance to the world. The tropical rainforests once sheltered 14% of the planet's land mass; and presently, they guard only 6% of the earth's values.

Both environmentalists and experts reckon that the remaining wooded areas could be eaten and consumed in approximately less than a period of 40 years. Thousands of acres of tropical forests are lost every other second with disastrous and dilapidating consequences for both emerging and industrialized countries.

Experimentalists estimate that deforestation is responsible for the loss of 137 plant types, animal of various sorts, and insect species every passing day due to man's ruthless steps. The totality equates to 50,000 losses of species' lives per year. As the forest essentials fade away, so do many probable cures for grave and serious diseases.

At present, 121 recommended drugs retailed worldwide are derived from plant sources. The 25% of humankind's pharmaceuticals also originated from the forest's ingredients. Almost 1% of the woodland has been tested for more medicinal cure by scientists; and the rest of the promising flora offer more possibilities of cure.

Through rainforest deforestation, however, practically 50% of the world's species of flora, fauna and organisms will be ruined or relentlessly jeopardized over the next years to come. The very reason why our rich nature source is being depleted of values is because of multi logging corporations, short-sighted administration and carelessly irresponsible land owners.

If such practices will never cease, total annihilation of the nature will surely come next. If the possibilities for repairing nature are much higher now, then it is greatly suggested that bigger steps should be made to fight against the complete death of our world.

Mankind's Drive To Save Nature

Adequate call for sustainable and economically reaped rainforest crops is obligatory for conservation efforts to turn out to be a success. Procuring essential and viable woodland products can result to positive modification by generating a marketplace for these goods while at the same time sustaining the indigenous people's financial system and providing the economic explanations and substitution ways to wounding the forest just for the mere worth of its lumber.

The deforestation facts are widely known to man and thus should be given proper action. Both government and the localities should take advantage of the offered solutions to deforestation problems. If dealt with properly, our rainforests can endow the entire population's need for these biological reserves on a perpetual basis.

The Harmful Effects of Deforestation

Human beings always have been and probably always will be to some extent dependent on forests. Trees were their habitat, their environment, their source of food and their protection from enemies. Forests are very important to man, and other organisms, and one of the biggest problems the world is facing today is the threat of totally losing the forests due to massive deforestation and suffering the harmful effects of deforestation.

Deforestation can be defined as the large scale removal of forests. Deforestation occurs when forests are converted to non-forest areas for urbanization, agriculture, and other reasons without sufficient reforestation. It is the permanent destruction of forests and woodlands.

At present, forests are considered among the most endangered on the planet. Everyday at least 80,000 acres of forest vanish from Earth. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations show that the rates of deforestation has not abated and has actually increased by 8.5% from 2000-2005 compared during the 1990s. FAO has approximated that about 10.4 million hectares of tropical forest have been permanently destroyed from 2000-2005 compared to 10.14 million hectares in the period of 1990-2000.

The process of deforestation is often a complex pattern of progressive fragmentation of the forests. Mistakes of this sort could lead to forest destruction. Along with this destruction is the extinction of many species, heavy soil erosion, greenhouse effect, silting of rivers and dams, flooding, landslides, denuded upland, degraded watershed, and even destruction of corals along the coast.

Extinction of Thousands of Species - Destruction of the forests leads to a tragic loss of biodiversity. Millions of plants and animal species are in danger of disappearing as a result of deforestation. Tropical forests are much more biologically diverse than other forest and a very serious effect of deforestation in tropical countries is the loss of biodiversity.

Heavy Soil Erosion - One function of the forest is that its roots hold the soil in place. Without trees soil erosion and landslides easily happen. When heavy rains and typhoons come, soil is easily carried to lower areas especially to communities at the foot of the mountains.

Greenhouse Effect - Deforestation increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The conitnued degradation of our forest heightens the threat of global warming because the trees and other plants that takes up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to be used for photosynthesis are gone. The burning of wood or its decay contributes to the release of more carbon which combines with oxygen in the atmosphere thus increasing further the levels of carbon dioxide that causes greenhouse effect.

Silting of Rivers and Dams - Deforestation results in the silting of rivers sediments deposit which shortens its life span and clogs irrigation system. As a result of deforestation, the reservoir behind many dams are filled with sediments more rapidly than expected.

Flooding - One major importance of forest is that they absorb water quickly in great amount during heavy rains. But due to massive deforestation there are no trees to absorb the water thus resulting to the loss of many lives.

Landslides - The roots of the trees bind soil to it and to the bedroock underlying it. That is how trees prevent soil from getting eroded by natural agents like wind or water. When trees are uprooted, there will be nothing to hold the soil together thus increasing the risk for landslides which can cause seriously threaten the safety of the people and damage their properties.

Denuded Upland - After several harvests of the forest the cleared land is no longer suitable for planting trees. It has become a desert. The transformation of a forest to a semi-desert condition is called desertification.

Degraded Watershed - When forest mountains are denuded, watersheds are degraded and this leads to the loss of sustained water supplies for lowland communities. This is because trees affect the hydrological cycle. They can change the amount of water in the soil, groundwater, and in the atmosphere.

Destruction of Corals along the Coast - Coral areas are degraded and coral reefs are affected by siltation. As a result of deforestation there is an increase of flooding during the rainy seasons and decreased stream flow in dry seasons.

The forest provides us with many products and important services. It stops soil erosion, refreshes the air, and protect us from typhoons and other calamities. But if rampant deforestation is not controlled it will result to several problems. In one way or another, the denuded forests will back fire and people will certainly lose to the harmful effects of deforestation.

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Deforestation in the United States

At one time, the northwest coast and East Coast of the United States (from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River) was a huge, ancient forest. Now, only small pockets remain. The loss of virgin forest through logging, importation of blighted trees and wood products, agriculture, and monoculture has changed the face of America.

Timber industry has long been an important feature of the United States economy, providing wood and many well paying jobs. But without regulation and due to ever-increasing demand for wood products and land for developments, the American forest has suffered incredible devastation.

Trees prevent erosion. They trap and retain water. When rain falls on exposed, clear cut land, nutrients in the earth are lost along with the top soil that is washed away. Clear cutting causes flooding due to excessive run-off. The loss of shade creates a rise in temperature along streams and rivers, which effects fish and amphibian life that depend on certain temperature levels. Wildlife habitat, destroyed by deforestation has endangered America's plants and animals, leading to the extinction or near extinction of certain species.

From the earliest colonial times, trees have played an important role in America's history and economy. Early colonists felt uncomfortable in the great, virgin forest that was the East Cost of America. The huge, ancient trees and darkness gathered there made the colonists nervous. Of course, trees had to be removed for agriculture and homesteads and much of the old forest was removed for a fledgling timber industry. The American colonies became a seemingly limitless source of lumber for Europe.

America has been faced with several tree losses. Many cities and towns attempted to beautify their streets by planting American elm trees. The tall, gracefully shaped trees provided shade and created lovely tree lined streets in urban neighborhoods as well as the beautiful avenues of trees sentimentally associated with small town America. But the planting of a single type of tree, which is called monoculture, created a terrible loss for those areas. Dutch elm disease devastated those lovely avenues of trees during several outbreaks in the twentieth century. By the late 1960's, few American elms remained.

Another blight attacked American chestnut trees in the early part of the 20th century. Chestnut trees were once a dominant hardwood species in American forests. The importation of Japanese chestnuts introduced a blight first identified at the New York Botanical Gardens in 1904. While the imported chestnut trees were blight resistant, the disease spread throughout America creating what has been called the worst ecological disaster in the United States.

Southern hardwood forests began to disappear at an alarming rate following the American Civil War when timber companies logged out vast tracts of old growth forest. Millions of acres have been lost since then. In the mid twentieth century, the explosion of interest in soy bean production encouraged land owners to clear cut old growth forests in order to dedicate the land to soy beans. The resulting loss of ancient forests eventually destroyed what was left of the great southern forests and the habitat of the Ivory Billed woodpecker, an impressive bird of the south now thought to be extinct.

The West Coast was once home to extensive tracts of virgin redwood forests. Timber industry reduced the size of the ancient forests. In 1963, a National Geographic survey found that only 300,000 acres of redwood forest form the original two million acres remained.

Industrial interests have long battled with ecological interests over the condition of American forests. Timber industry decries government regulation claiming that they have a right to clear cut, that it creates jobs and business opportunity for the United States. Agriculture demands large, open areas for food production. Housing development invaded forested areas during the housing boom of the late twentieth century. But there must be a balance between business and environmental interests. The virgin forests are gone, now. Only hidden pockets remain. But the few ancient wooded areas must be preserved. They are our national heritage, a reminder of the America that once spread beneath a leafy canopy of trees.

Read the story of the Ivory Bill Woodpecker, with pictures and links concerning the debate over its extinction. Is the Ivory Bill still with us? http://hubpages.com/hub/IvoryBilledWoodpeckerFaithHopeandtheIvoryBilledWoodpecker

A beautiful story of personal loss, how a child's view of the world grew and changed in a woods. http://hubpages.com/hub/ParadiseLostAChildhoodMemoryofLostInnocence

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