Forests are essential to the Earth as they regulate global warming by absorbing carbon (Cesareo and Walker). Unfortunately, trees can also greatly harm the climate when they are cut or burned down. Struck states that, “As forests die, they release carbon dioxide, further raising Earth’s atmospheric temperatures.” As trees are cut down, the Earth’s climate is rapidly harmed. Deforestation is the second largest man-made contributor to increase in carbon levels of the Earth’s atmosphere and is responsible for about fifteen percent of all global warming (Bradford). The sheer amount of carbon released into the atmosphere is dooming future generations at an immense pace. Every year, almost 1 billion tons of carbon enter our atmosphere as a result of deforestation (Bradford). Global warming will only get worse as time goes on, but the speed of it can be reduced. If countries choose to plant more forests and cut down fewer trees, more carbon will be retained inside them. As global warming intensifies, the risk of forest fires increases significantly (“Deforestation.”). As a result, even more trees will burn and input their carbon into the environment. Deforestation is causing irreversible damage to the Earth and must be …show more content…
Entire countries are exploiting irreplaceable natural resources to earn money. Every hour, nearly six miles of forests are demolished (Struck). If deforestation is not reduced, the damages done will continue to become more and more severe. Unfortunately, those who earn money by cutting down trees will not stop for the benefit of the planet. They have no incentive to, because protecting the environment would lower profits. However, it is possible to incentivize countries to slow or even stop deforestation. In 2008, Norway offered Brazil a 1 billion dollar reward for reducing deforestation (Struck). Although this is a good step toward the end of unnecessary deforestation, it is not in most countries’ budgets to pay to protect the environment, as they have no incentive either. Because of this mentality, the Earth has been permanently damaged. Until governments put an end to deforestation, the Earth and its natural forests will continue to be destroyed. The selfishness of past and present generations will cause the suffering of future generations if changes are not made quickly. Fortunately, there is still time to prevent catastrophe, but actions must be taken