Disappearing forests are a common occurrence in today’s day and age, an occurrence that is disastrous and harmful not only to humans, but to every living creature on Earth. It isn’t just the beauty of nature that the Earth is losing, and neither is it merely the loss of oxygen the trees provide. Forests contribute to far more essential processes than most people believe. Without the root systems of forests, clean water would be a hard thing to come by. This is because “In addition to their influence on climate, forests purify water by filtering it through litter and soil,” (Berger 14) and Berger goes on to explain that, even with today’s technology, “Much of the water we drink, either from surface or underground sources, comes from forested
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We have our own filtration system now, of course, but that excludes the animals’ water use. This isn’t the only threat to animals that comes with deforestation, either. In fact, the very notion of taking down forests leads to the endangerment and extinction of hundreds of species. Sample and Cheng, authors of Forest Conservation Policy: A Reference Handbook, emphasize that, “Plant and animal species, many of them dependent on forest ecosystems, are quietly going extinct—at a rate faster than at any time since a comet smashed into Earth 60 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs” (1). Deforestation is eliminating shelters, destroying hunting grounds for carnivores, taking away food sources of herbivores, and, essentially, killing off every species besides humans and their domesticated animals. When one species is threatened, another animal who relied on that species for food is threatened, and another who relied on that animal is then in danger, and so the cycle …show more content…
How do we fix the mess humans have inadvertently created, then, one might ask. Well, the first thought that comes to mind for most people is to, simply, plant more trees. Or, going a step further, it is to replant forests, as well as create tree plantations in which all the resource materials needed will be taken from, while forests will be left alone for animals to enjoy. This sounds like a decent plan to combat the effects of deforestation, and it would help to slow the destruction, however, there are many flaws that need to be addressed. First, replanting the forests that we’ve previously demolished doesn’t help the endangered species who are already too far gone. We can reintroduce these species to their new habitats, but, given the time it
We have our own filtration system now, of course, but that excludes the animals’ water use. This isn’t the only threat to animals that comes with deforestation, either. In fact, the very notion of taking down forests leads to the endangerment and extinction of hundreds of species. Sample and Cheng, authors of Forest Conservation Policy: A Reference Handbook, emphasize that, “Plant and animal species, many of them dependent on forest ecosystems, are quietly going extinct—at a rate faster than at any time since a comet smashed into Earth 60 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs” (1). Deforestation is eliminating shelters, destroying hunting grounds for carnivores, taking away food sources of herbivores, and, essentially, killing off every species besides humans and their domesticated animals. When one species is threatened, another animal who relied on that species for food is threatened, and another who relied on that animal is then in danger, and so the cycle …show more content…
How do we fix the mess humans have inadvertently created, then, one might ask. Well, the first thought that comes to mind for most people is to, simply, plant more trees. Or, going a step further, it is to replant forests, as well as create tree plantations in which all the resource materials needed will be taken from, while forests will be left alone for animals to enjoy. This sounds like a decent plan to combat the effects of deforestation, and it would help to slow the destruction, however, there are many flaws that need to be addressed. First, replanting the forests that we’ve previously demolished doesn’t help the endangered species who are already too far gone. We can reintroduce these species to their new habitats, but, given the time it