Strothman 1

Deforestatio
n
By: Nate Strothman and David
Mueller
C501
Mr. Diehl

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April 2016

Nate Strothman
C501
Mr. Diehl
April 2016
Research Paper
"Deforestation"
Take a deep breath and appreciate the fact that the oxygen you have just inhaled
comes from trees. Next time you write on paper, appreciate the fact that it comes
from trees that are most likely older than both you and me. Trees are one of the
most amazing creations on this earth and they serve as a plentiful resource for
mankind to use. They provide such luxuries as furniture, medicine, paper, and air.
Many countries have used trees for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. The
logging industry is now a massive part of many countries' economies. Many third
world countries rely solely on the logging business to survive and stay afloat. This
raises the question of if the act of deforestation is an economic necessity in these
third world countries. After thorough research and thinking, it is my opinion that
logging and deforestation is not an economic necessity in third world countries. It is
not a necessity because first world countries do more harm than good, there are

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many alternatives to deforestation, there are negative effects on the indigenous
population, it has a negative effect on the earth and its ecosystems, and most
importantly, it destroys a very valuable resource.
In the United States, logging is a pretty large industry. We usually choose to
move our logging companies to tropical, third world countries. In reality, our country
is home to a multitude of forests that could just as easily be used as our logging
yield. The agents of destruction in third world countries by first world countries are
agricultural practices, logging, cattle ranching, and mining. Since 1960, the world
demand for wood has skyrocketed 90%. Timber is a very valuable resource and can
be used for many things . Wood has been and continues to be a major fuel source in
many parts of the world. From the loggers' point of view, tropical rainforests, like
any other forest, are to be exploited with little concern for the environmental
consequences. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to gain
access to more remote forests which leads to further deforestation. These forests
are also cut as a result of growing urbanization. The acts of the first world
businesses in tropical rainforests that are most destructive include excessive
logging, road construction, slash and burn agriculture, mining, and exploitation of
natural resources. The United States has specific policies about these matters. A
share of the funds from the sale of timber harvested on federal land is returned to
national forests in other countries. Congress appropriates millions each year to
manage national forests. Taxpayers subsidize the sale of timber and contribute the
destruction of some temperate rainforests in the eastern hemisphere. The amount
of tropical cutting of wood is expected to increase worldwide.
Deforestation results in many negative effects on the earth such as erosion,
carbon emissions, and climate change. As the forests of the world are logged and

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cleared, their soils erode and the diversity of their plant and animal life suffers
greatly. Forest soils are moist but without protection from sun blocking tree cover,
they quickly dry out. Trees also help perpetuate the water cycle by recycling the
water vapor right back into the atmosphere. Many forest land would dry up and
quickly become barren deserts if there were no trees to fulfill these roles. Taking
trees away deprives the forest of portions of its canopy which keeps the sun's
harmful rays out during the day and keeps its heat in at night. Without this canopy,
temperature swings can happen that will be harmful to the plants and animals that
would regularly inhabit it. When it comes to global warming, trees are essential in
absorbing the greenhouse gases.
Governments around the world are starting to step up and take action in
preventing the carbon emissions from deforestation. When the 1990s began, the
world forests were disappearing at the rate of 80 acres a minute. Each year, 40
million to 50 million acres were being wiped out which is equivalent to about six
times the size of Maryland. In the Amazon, experts reveal that over 20% of the
rainforest has been lost to deforestation. The process used in the Amazon
Rainforests require heavy machinery and a large amount of slash and burn
agriculture. Because of the constant burning in the Brazilian Amazon, the area has
become the third largest source for carbon emissions in the world behind China and
the United States. Tropical deforestation accounts for almost one-fifth of greenhouse
gas emissions worldwide and threatens the world's most diverse ecosystem. The
single largest direct cause of tropical deforestation is conversion to cropland and
pasture mostly to meet daily needs.
Reduced deforestation and forest degradation could cut global deforestation
rate in half by the year 2030. This would preserve 1.5 billion to 3 billion metric tons

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of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions yearly. An estimated 50% of all animal and
plant species live in these tropical rainforests even though these forests only cover
less than two percent of the globe. As of now, humans have studied only one
percent of the species of tropical rainforests for their broad spectrum of usefulness.
In many computer models of future climate, replacing tropical rainforests with a
landscape of pasture and crops creates a dried, hotter climate in the tropics. Some
models predict that tropical deforestation will disturb rainfall patterns all around the
world in countries such as China, Northern Mexico, and parts of the United States.
These climate predictions of decreased rainfall are based on a virtual replacement
of tropical forests with pasture and crop land. The value of the forests of the world is
immeasurable. It is invaluable to society and humans and therefore cannot be
destroyed.

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