One of the biggest threats the world faces is the continuing destruction of our environment. Among the many ways that we as human destroy the environment deforestation by far has the most impact. Deforestation is a process by which forest are cleared in order to use the land for alternative purposes. Many may not think that losing a few trees will hurt anyone, however the fact of the matter is the impact effects all of us in a negative fashion. Trees are essential to life on earth. Trees provide us with oxygen, shelter for wildlife and play a major role in the carbon and water cycles, without them life as we now it could not exist. Trees exist for many reason, however their contribution to the carbon cycle is extremely important.
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There are many reasons why a forest would be removed however the biggest issues are industrial growth, agriculture, consumerism and the clearing of land for farm animals. According to the United Nations ' Food and Agriculture Organization “an estimated 18 million acres of forest are lost each year” (Bradford). The methods in which a forest is removed is also harmful to the environment. Some methods include burning and use of heavy equipment. The burning method releases carbon that has been stored in the trees into the atmosphere again contributing to global warming. An article posted on the WWF website states that “the most common pressures causing deforestation and severe forest degradation are agriculture, unsustainable forest management, mining, infrastructure projects and increased fire incidence and intensity” (Deforestation causes). This article claims that deforestation and forest degradation can happen quickly or gradually. The clearing of trees is the fastest way to destroy a forest. However human activity can destroy a forest over a period of time. As humans continue to contribute to global warming the earth’s surface heats up and in turn can cause wildfires which can blaze through a forest that is already vulnerable due to its …show more content…
However the destruction of the rainforest is by far our greatest loss. Many of the tropical rainforest are located on or around the equator and cover about seven percent of the earth’s surface. The rainforest contain more than half of the world’s population of plants and animals. The rainforest contains many different types of plants where medicine is derived from. According to an article posted on the Rainforest Adventures website “A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1500 species of flowering plants” (About the Rainforest). That is an extremely large amount of plants that have the potential to save lives. However with the constant loss of rainforest we are losing that medication. According to this article “50 million acres per year are lost”, acres of forest that cannot easily be replaced. Could you imagine one day not being able to cure a disease due to the fact that the very thing providing the cure had been destroyed? That is a scary thought. Cancer is known to be one of the biggest disease that the world faces. Well did you know that most cancer medications come from the plants of the rainforest? An article written in the National Geographic states that “The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that 70 percent of the anti-cancer plants identified so far are rain forest plants” (Rain Forest). If the rainforest keeps being destroyed we could lose more than half of the
There are many reasons why a forest would be removed however the biggest issues are industrial growth, agriculture, consumerism and the clearing of land for farm animals. According to the United Nations ' Food and Agriculture Organization “an estimated 18 million acres of forest are lost each year” (Bradford). The methods in which a forest is removed is also harmful to the environment. Some methods include burning and use of heavy equipment. The burning method releases carbon that has been stored in the trees into the atmosphere again contributing to global warming. An article posted on the WWF website states that “the most common pressures causing deforestation and severe forest degradation are agriculture, unsustainable forest management, mining, infrastructure projects and increased fire incidence and intensity” (Deforestation causes). This article claims that deforestation and forest degradation can happen quickly or gradually. The clearing of trees is the fastest way to destroy a forest. However human activity can destroy a forest over a period of time. As humans continue to contribute to global warming the earth’s surface heats up and in turn can cause wildfires which can blaze through a forest that is already vulnerable due to its …show more content…
However the destruction of the rainforest is by far our greatest loss. Many of the tropical rainforest are located on or around the equator and cover about seven percent of the earth’s surface. The rainforest contain more than half of the world’s population of plants and animals. The rainforest contains many different types of plants where medicine is derived from. According to an article posted on the Rainforest Adventures website “A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1500 species of flowering plants” (About the Rainforest). That is an extremely large amount of plants that have the potential to save lives. However with the constant loss of rainforest we are losing that medication. According to this article “50 million acres per year are lost”, acres of forest that cannot easily be replaced. Could you imagine one day not being able to cure a disease due to the fact that the very thing providing the cure had been destroyed? That is a scary thought. Cancer is known to be one of the biggest disease that the world faces. Well did you know that most cancer medications come from the plants of the rainforest? An article written in the National Geographic states that “The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that 70 percent of the anti-cancer plants identified so far are rain forest plants” (Rain Forest). If the rainforest keeps being destroyed we could lose more than half of the