Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...
Deforestation Essay
1. Deforestation Essay
Shireen Sayareh Professor Bystrom EngWr 300 12 October 2014 Detriment of Deforestation
Image a planet without trees. This is a scary planet where the temperature is very hot and the air is
very difficult to breathe. This planet will have nothing to protect people from the sun, nothing to
slowdown the forces of the wind, and nothing to anchor topsoil from eroding in the rain. The
conditions at this imaginary planet can become our reality on earth if we do not stop deforestation.
There are many negative effects of deforestation. However, for the scope of this paper, I will discuss
three primary issues on how deforestation harms our environment. I will begin this paper with a brief
look at some arguments that support deforestation, followed...show more content...
In Amazonia, recent research has confirmed that more than half of the total uncertainty stems from
the carbon stocks created in deforested regions (Baccini). Carbon is not necessarily the problem; the
problem arises when this greenhouse gas gets trapped in the atmosphere causing abnormal
temperature conditions around the world. It was not until recently that areas of the world became
unsuitable for living because of the lack of natural regulation of these gases. CO2 currently accounts
for over 80% of the greenhouse gases caused by human activity (Baccini). The number of species,
including plant life and other animals, threatened by deforestation continues to rise. The desolation
of these forests is equivalent to the destruction of one's home and way of life. The hunting grounds
of animals disappear, which decreases self–sufficiency while also altering their overall state of mind.
Most animals, such as elephants, need a large area to roam; when this cannot be accomplished,
mating habits are transformed for the worse. This is mainly due to their heightened shift of focus to
survival, when facing desperate circumstances. The lack of forest causes animals to be vulnerable
victims against surrounding predators. Because CO2 causes a global transition in way of life and
forests hold cleansing aspects beneficial to the environment, animals are always making unnecessary
adjustments. Polar bears have been struggling, due to melting ice caps in their native region.
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2. Essay Deforestation
Deforestation
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Important Facts 1
Historical Background 1–2
Background Law 2
Causes of Deforestation 2
The Green House Effect 2–3
Reducing Deforestation 3
Case Studies 3–4
Pros and Cons 4–5
Conclusion 5...show more content...
Now with new technology, such as satellites systems, low altitude photography and side looking
radar, scientists can now figure that the world is losing about 20.4 million hectares of tropical
forests annually and if these figures are not reduced, we will lose all of our tropical forests in about
50 years. It has been suggested that the high deforestation rates are caused partly by the fact that the
new surveys are more accurate and thus reveal old deforestation rates that have not been detected
with older methods.
At first there was concern only among foresters about deforestation but now the public has created
organizations such as Green Peace to help increase awareness and reduce deforestation. The Food
and Agriculture Organization or
F.A.O, has worked mainly within the forest community to find new and better ways to manage the
forests. Also, in 1985 there was the introduction of the Tropical
Forestry Action Plan or T.F.A.P. This plan involved the F.A.O, United Nations development
programs, the World Bank, other development agencies, several tropical country governments, and
several government organizations. Together they developed a new strategy. More than 60 countries
have decided to prepare national forestry action plans to manage their forests.
Tropical deforestation has various direct causes: The permanent
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3. Deforestation Essay
Is Deforestation Worth It?
One of the most prevalent issues in our world today is the issue of deforestation. Deforestation can
be described as "the practice of clearing the natural forests for agriculture, logging, etc."
(Deforestation Statistics). After hearing the definition of deforestation, most people would not find
this to be a very significant issue in the world, but after hearing the alarming statistics associated with
deforestation, most would change their mind. For example, arguably the most shocking statistic is
that deforestation has resulted in 80 percent of Earth's forest cover being cut down (Deforestation
Statistics). Although the lumber harvested from these rainforests across the world serve important
purposes, I do not...show more content...
To make matters even more severe than they already are, the Sumatran tiger is
"critically–endangered," and this lumber operation was illegal (Mongabay). Is the wood harvested
from that forest worth risking eliminating the last of the 450 Sumatran tigers on earth (Mongabay)?
In addition to the harm deforestation inflicts on animals, deforestation is also harmful to society.
Many natives, especially in South America, rely tremendously on the rainforest. These tribes live in
the forests, and gather all of their resources from them as well. The lives of these natives are
turned upside down when they have no choice but to abandon their home, because the rainforest
is being destroyed whether they like it or not (Consequences of Deforestation). Tribes are forced
to leave everything they know, and move to more inhabited areas that they are extremely unused
to. How can someone who has lived his or her entire life making do with the resources that earth
provided suddenly learn to be successful in a city, where he or she is required to speak the
language and know certain skills? Deforestation ruins countless lives of people living in or near the
Amazon (Consequences of Deforestation). In order to put into perspective just how many people
are effected in such a way, an article in the Nature Conservancy website states that "more than 1
billion people living in extreme poverty depend on forests for their water, fuel, or
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4. Essay on Deforestation
Deforestation is a major global problem with serious consequences to the planet. These consequences
have a negative effect on the climate, biodiversity, the atmosphere and threatens the cultural and
physical survival of life. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and
woodlands. It has resulted in the reduction of indigenous forests to four–fifths of their
pre–agricultural area, so that now indigenous forests cover only 21% of the earth's land surface.
The world Resources Institute regards deforestation as one of the worlds most pressing land use
problem. It is now so bad that every minute an area of forest equal to 20 football fields is lost.
Rainforests cover less than...show more content...
Logging tropical hardwoods like teak, mahogany, rosewood and other timber for furniture, building
materials, charcoal and other wood products is big business and creates big profits. Several species
of tropical hardwoods are imported by developed counties, including America, just to build coffins
which are then buried or burned. The demand, extraction and consumption of tropical hardwoods
has been so massive that some countries which have been traditional exporters of tropical
hardwoods are now importing the wood because they have already exhausted their supply by
destroying their native rainforests in slash and burn operations. It is anticipated that The Philippines,
Malaysia, The Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Thailand will all run out of rainforest hardwood for export
within the next five years.
In addition to logging for exportation, rainforest wood stays in developing countries for fuel
wood and charcoal. One single steel plant in Brazil making steel for Japanese cars needs millions
of tons of wood each year to produce charcoal that can be used in the manufacture of steel. Then
there is the paper industry. A pulpwood project in the Brazilian Amazon consists of a Japanese
power plant and pulp mill. To set up this single plant operation, 5,600 square miles of Amazon
Rainforest was burned to the ground and replanted
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5. Deforestation Essay
Deforestation
Thesis:
Deforestation is one of the most significant issues of our time; considerable measures must be taken
to prevent further pillaging of our unique forest resource.
Ninety percent of the earth's trees between three and four hundred years old have been cut down.
The remaining ten percent is all we will ever have (Gallant, 97). The definition of deforestation by
the Random House Dictionary of the English Language is "to divest or clear of forests or trees."
Deforestation is one of the most significant issues of our time; considerable measures must be taken
to prevent further pillaging of our unique forest resource. There are approximately four–hundred
million hectares of forest in the world, nearly...show more content...
With new technology such as satellites systems, low altitude photography and side looking radar
scientists now figure that the world is losing about twenty million hectares of tropical forests
annually. It has been suggested that the high deforestation rates are caused partially by the fact that
the new surveys are more accurate and thus reveal old deforestation rates that were miscalculated
with previous methods (Westoby, 202). At first there was concern only among foresters about
deforestation but now the public has created organizations such as Green Peace to facilitate
increased awareness and reduce deforestation. The Food and Agriculture Organization (F.A.O.) has
worked mainly within the forestry community to find new and better ways to manage the forests. In
1985 there was the introduction of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan or T.F.A.P. This plan involved
the F.A.O, United Nations, World Bank, other developmental agencies, and several other
multi–national government organizations; together they developed a new strategy. More than sixty
countries have decided to prepare national forestry action plans to manage their forests (Gallant,
381). Tropical deforestation has various direct causes: permanent conversion of forests to agricultural
land, logging, demand for fuel–wood, forest fires and drought. Slash and burn clearing is the single
greatest cause of tropical rain forest destruction world wide. Air
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