Deforestation is the mass purge of Earth's forest and has been coined the nickname “The Common Day Plague." It is a modern day problem because of the numerous disturbances it has on ecological territories. Due to the lack of tangible evidence, countless people dismiss the issue of deforestation as a problem of the future. According to National Geographic, deforestation is rapidly increasing at nearly two percent each year. A major part of deforestation is currently occurring in the Amazon Rainforest, alongside places in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It has been estimated that the Rainforest will completely vanish within the next 100 years if the rate of deforestation stays constant.
Deforestation is the number one leading cause of habitat loss for animals, driving many of them closer to extinction. Millions of people today fail to acknowledge all the benefits that forests provide all life on Earth. For example, trees provide us building materials for houses and shelter as well as create pulp, which is a major component in the process of making paper. They are also responsible for producing many of the foods that we enjoy eating such as fruits, nuts and maple syrup. The rainforest, in particular, is a fundamental element of plant transpiration, which allows clouds to accumulate enough water to produce rainfall and prevent droughts from occurring. Let’s not forget about the fact that trees have a tremendous influence on global fluxes of oxygen and carbon dioxide, balancing the amount of greenhouse gases and granting us proper air to breathe, which is kind of important.
As a result of the fact that forests are no longer at the high thriving level they were once, many of the qualities they administer are at risk of no longer being attainable. Not enough people are aware of the massive environmental crisis our world faces today and instead claim defeat against change. Human desires are the number one cause of deforestation. We destroy many of the earth’s natural qualities for gains in agriculture, logging, roadways, fuels and money. We take what we want and refuse to recognize that earth’s natural resources are not limitless.
As humans, we damage the Earth faster than any other organism but are the only ones capable of properly restoring it. Small steps are indeed being made to preserve parts of forests, such as closer forest regulations, planting more trees and eliminating clear cutting, but although these actions are heading in the right direction, they are not enough. Change simply doesn’t happen overnight. Some of you may be thinking that you as an individual couldn’t possibly make a substantial enough impact, but if you take a closer look you may realize that you can.
One way of supporting the halt of deforestation is by visiting the website standfortrees.org and learning more information about it and how you can donate to the cause. Financial support will always be essential, but you can also lend support simply by becoming educated about the topic and speaking up about it. Life, as we know it depends on you and me, and we need to be able to protect this earth if we all want to experience a healthy tomorrow.
