Informative Essay.

Climate Change: The Real Threat

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another”

My intention with this Mahatma Gandhi's quote is to raise awareness, we are living in a world where things such as global warming, deforestation, extinction of species, erosion, and pollution, among many other horrible things,  make me sick just by depicting them, but they are  REAL.

So let’s talk a little bit about what deforestation actually means, it sounds horrible, you may think. Well, it IS horrible, not just that,  but a true threat.

The word deforestation is used to describe the process of cutting down and burning the trees in forests and woodlands, so humans can make another use out of the land these trees were on before. It also means that the nature of trees have changed, such as replacing slow growing native trees with fast growing woods, which means that the precious eco-system of the forests, falls into less biodiverse ecosystems, such as pasture, cropland, plantations and removal of rainforest.

Forests still cover about 30 percent of the Earth’s surface, but each year about 13 million hectares of them (approximately 78,000 square miles) are converted into agricultural land or cleared for other purposes.

There are two key issues that deal with deforestation. Trees absorb CO2, helping to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, which is one of the key causes of global warming, so reducing these gases will help to slow and stop the greenhouse effect.

This effect is basically what is causing our poles to melt, making polar bears or other species of arctic animals go into extinction danger, just because of us, the humans, cannot, for the love of God, save our planet. Although many people don’t believe in it.  it isn't a real threat for our planet, but global warming is also the cause of many forest fires, since trees are often burned due to these fires that were previously mentioned. The wood from them is simply destroyed for no positive use.

 The burning of the woods releases carbon dioxide (Co2) into the atmosphere, and releasing harmful greenhouse gases, yet reducing the number of trees that would have helped to remove this from the atmosphere. It also contributes to global warming, tropical deforestation, for about 20 percent of all greenhouse gases, and has an important impact on the global economy.

Rainforest Action Network (RAN) campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants, and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action. RAN estimates that 90 percent of the rainforest is already gone.

But, what are the causes exactly?

Some of the most common causes of deforestation are globalization, urbanization, overpopulation and climate.

 Trees are being cut down for construction purpose, lands are cleared for growing crops and trees are also used as firewood.

Globalization in many countries has led to deforestation as many industries and factories are built, thing which emits carbon dioxide, that affects the trees and forests. India and China are a big example. China, being a big market for producing and supplying many products in various parts of the world, for which trees and forests are used to produce furniture and other products.

Urbanization contributes as well to deforestation as the country develops the cutting down of trees for the use of building materials, furniture, paper products and crafts used for highways and roads. Forests are also cleared in order to accommodate expanding urban areas. They are cut down in order to create land for grazing cattle and for growing crops. Trees are also cut down in developing countries to be used as firewood or turned into charcoal, which are used for cooking and heating purposes.

Overpopulation also causes an increase in population also means an increase in produce consumption for which the trees are being destroyed. The basic needs, like shelter and food are given with the help of forests for which an optimum amount of consumption and production is needed. Overpopulation in countries like China and India are a reason why deforestation rate is higher than in comparative countries.

Climate is one factor for deforestation, mainly acid rain. Climate does not only affect the people, but also trees, roads, and small plants. Trees are also harmed by acid rain, so scientists say that acid rain damages the waxy outer coating that protects the leaves. When this happens, it allows the acid to seep into the tree. Instead of water changing from a liquid into a gas inside the leaves, gas is taking the place of the water. This prevents the plant from taking in carbon dioxide to perform photosynthesis, and the plant eventually dies. Global warming is another factor as the temperature increases than the average temperature which affects the plants growth or soil growth.

And now, what is erosion?

Immediate effects of deforestation include the washing away of soil

in the monsoon season. This is because trees are no longer anchoring and binding the soil and so mudslides take place. The earth is leached of minerals by the large amounts of water. The lack of vegetation also means that there will be very few animals in the area. Most of nutrients are stored in the vegetation and the trees, so if these factors getting bad cycle, our eco-system will be destroyed. 

Once the tree and plant are cut down, essential nutrients separate easily and are washed out by rainfall. Thus, we would lose the nutrients that our body needs for daily life. If the soil gets dried and cracks under the sun’s heat without the shade of the trees, we can’t grow any plants, since the soil elements are lost.  According to the statistics, nearly 80% of tropical forest's soil is now infertile, and this will cause more and more spoiled ecosystems, which will affect the animals that live there and their habitats, so it may change their genetics as well.

By Juliana Restrepo, Step 9.