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Jonathan Kirk

English, Domingo

Period 2

11/1/04

Deforestation: A Global Crisis

Deforestation is a crime against beauty and nature. Forests are one of the most precious things that we have left alive in our world. They are home to millions of diverse plant and animal species, are a necessity for our environment to thrive, and, if nothing else, are the very essence of beauty. However, the sheer greed of corporate businesses has resulted in a continual decrease of forests around the globe. This deforestation must be stopped to protect the beauty of nature, slow down global warming, and save the lives and habitats of millions of flora and fauna. A versatile, inexpensive alternative to wood must be created along with greater, strong enforced forest protection programs if forests are to thrive, or even merely exist for our children to enjoy, many years into the future.

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Deforestation is the destruction of forest area-tropical or woodland- from any cause, be it a natural forest fire, or, what we commonly associate with the word “deforestation”, logging companies chopping the trees down for their commercial use. Are loggers environmentally-ignorant, uncaring mindless tree-hacking barbarians? While it may be true in some cases they are ignorant to the entirety of the consequences of their actions, for the most part, loggers and the corporations that employ them know full-well the havoc they are wrecking, but simply are too greedy or impassive to care. According to Julie Lyke, Presidential Management Intern, U.S. Forest Service, human destruction such as this is why there only remains around 3,000 hectares of forest compared to the 6,000 hectares which covered the earth nearly eight-thousand years ago.

Deforestation has been occurring around the world for hundreds of years, though not in such a large scale until the last century or so. Industry and large, rich corporations have the power, in some areas, to simply march into a forest, and start hacking down trees. This is why the main contributors to the problem of deforestation are the industrialized countries of the world that have not set

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environmental preservation as a top priority. Thus explaining why fifty-seven percent of the remaining forests are in developing-countries, while the other forty-three percent are in developed countries. Predictions were that in the years to come the problem will become increasingly worse, and by the looks of the state of the forests around the world at this present time, that prediction is becoming a reality.

Not all countries, however, are active contributors to the problems. In fact, most countries have established strict laws which protect certain forests from harm. The sad truth is that fifty percent of all total global deforestation comes from the top ten countries, as far as annual forest loss. These countries would argue that the wood is a necessity for their survival, and that strict forest protection laws would cripple their economy. That, however, is simply an excuse to delay what needs to be done to preserve our Earth. A viable alternative, such as plastic, could be used in place of the wood that would be gathered from the trees. If nothing else, research could be launched, targeted to discover a more environmentally-friendly means of gaining the wood without destroying thousands of acres of precious forest.

The best solution is to establish a firm set of laws which will protect forests and inaugurate an array of government-funded global

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programs to restore forests which have already suffered the greed of humanity. Deforestation simply must be stopped. Not only does it kill the oxygen-giving trees we need to breath and increase global warming by diminishing CO2 reduction, but it also destroys the habitats of millions of magnificent creatures and exotic plants. It is sad to imagine that the future, perhaps only thirty to fifty years from now, that, thriving forests hardly exist but in memories and pictures. It is a grim fate, but one which we take one step closer to with each swing of an axe against one of those silent, hulking giants.

Think about it, by destroying what gives us so much, we are, in turn, destroying ourselves. Do we want our grandchildren to gather around us and listen as we tell tales of forests and what they were like? Or where will we take them camping in the summer? Everyone can play a part in the prevention of deforestation. Joining a committee or organization that might raise funds that would somehow contribute to the prevention of deforestation is one small step in the right direction. However, global intervention is needed by means of discovering a viable alternative to wood and enforcing broader laws to protect forests, if we are to enjoy the beauty of our forests in the

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coming years. Deforestation is not just an urgent problem, it's a global crisis.