Deforestation is more than just the removal of trees it is the removal of all plant life, elimination of animals who are indigenous to its lands, and the cause of climate change worldwide. Most talk of deforestation seems to focus primarily on rainforests; however, it is taking place right here in the United States. While deforestation is a necessity for our growth, for the production of housing, food, for survival, it is also the abomination of nature, her recourses, and her life.
Some reasons why deforestation takes place is so trees can be used for timber or converted to fuel. Cleared lands can be used for pastures, transformed into urban areas, and in some cases have been used in war to prevent the enemies from hiding. This act of warfare is most memorable during the Vietnam War. National Geographic reports “more than 80 percent of the planet’s natural forests have been lost to deforestation”.
Some deforestation is done unintentionally. Wildfires contribute highly each year in forests becoming unusable land and sometimes happen due to natural occurrences such as lightening strikes, drought, or the misuse of fire by humans. The largest reported wildfire by National Interagency Fire Council is the Peshtigo fire dated October 1871 located in Wisconsin and Michigan, The fire succumbed 3.78 million acres and between 1,200 and 2,500 lives were lost. This fire occurred the same day as The Great Chicago Fire and formed a fire like tornado tossing homes and trains in the air and moving them across the land. This fire was reportedly ignited by a comet.
Larry West, former aboutus.com guide writer reports that on an annual basis roughly 78,000 square miles are converted to agricultural land or cleared for other purposes. According to The Nature Conservancy more than 32 million acres of our planets natural forests are logged each year and much of it repeated illegally. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reports that approximately 7.3 million hectares of forests are permanently lost every year.
Besides our loss of lands climate is also being affected by the loss of forests. The reason, forests are turning into deserts because they are unable to keep the soil moist. Tree limbs and its leaves block sun rays from the ground and facilitate the water cycle by returning water vapor back into the atmosphere. Heat is unable to be retained at night without the aid of trees. Trees also absorb greenhouse gasses which help to block gases from reaching the atmosphere.
Http://www.rain-tree.com reports that “experts estimate that we are losing 137 plant, animal, and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. That equates to 50,000 species a year.” If we are losing this many species amongst plants, animals, and insects in the rainforest alone, how much are we losing here in the United States?
