Amazon Deforestation Essay
Why should we care about deforestation? Deforestation is a leading cause in global warming and the increase in greenhouse gases like carbon. Deforestation also affects many things including man-kind. The degradation of the Amazons trees and vegetation would be oil industries, and soybean farmers’ expansion into the rainforest. The effects are also important as well, some effects of Deforestation are the change in climate, the impact on the global hydro climate, and scattered rainfall; whether it be increased or decreased.
The Amazon is threatened by many factors one of them being the oil industries continuous search for the oil reserves held within the amazon. As stated within an article; “The Amazon rainforest and its surviving native communities …show more content…
are in greater danger than ever” (Earth Island Journal, 2007, p.11.). The Amazon rainforest is being degraded very quickly. One of the greatest factors causing Deforestation in the Amazon is industries wants and needs for new oil reserves. The Amazon holds a lot of potential for these companies trying to get more money. The oil companies are not taking into account the seriousness of what they are doing. The toxic waste from the oil drilling is not being taken care of properly. The oil waste is being dumped into the Northern Peruvian rainforest where the Achuar people live. This issue is one of the causes of an increase in deforestation in the Amazon, but there are also many others to take into consideration. In comparison to oil industries being a cause of forest degradation, another leading cause of Deforestation is the demand for soybeans. The demand for soybeans is not decreasing but increasing. This then causes soybean farmers and ranchers to need more land. Stated within an article on Deforestation, “The Amazon is being cleared by soybean growers and ranchers” (Brown, Lester R.USA Today Magazine 2010, p.23) With the Amazon rainforest in the way of the land they need, it is being cleared out so they can meet the world’s demand for soybeans. If the soybean consumption does not start to decrease, the want to clear more land could make the reduction of Deforestation very difficult. Since 1950 the soybean harvest for the world has increased form 17,000,000 tons to 250,000,000 tons. (Brown, Lester R.USA Today Magazine 2010, p.23).The amount of soybeans the world consumes does not look to be decreasing anytime soon. Therefore the Amazon is in more danger every time the farmers chop down more trees for land. All of the Causes of Deforestation create many effects and most of them are not good.
A big effect on the continued Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest would be climate change. The Amazon may start to become a cause of global warming because of the decrease in the rainforests vegetation. There is tons of carbon being contained in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon which usually helped to get rid of carbon may start to release more carbon that what it absorbs. This could create huge problems such as droughts, and decreased rainfall. There is also more of a chance for fires to start due to the degrading of the rainforest. As droughts or dry spells happen the trees can’t handle the change so they die off, whilst releasing tons upon tons of carbon. Dry seasons have gotten a lot longer in the Amazon and around it due to the loss of trees. “Precipitation that would have been captured by forests runs off into rivers instead” (Powell, Devin. Science News, 2012, pp. 5-6). This just further increases the severe droughts, and decrease in rainfall. “Drying climate threatens the stability of the Amazon rainforest, and its role with absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere” (Powell, Devin. Science News, 2012, pp. 5-6). Scientist only can hope the Amazon doesn’t reach its tipping point and become part of the problem with global warming and greenhouse
gases. The effect of Deforestation not only reaches the Amazon but also the global hydro climate. Deforestation in the Amazon not only affects the surrounding area but also the U.S., Europe, China, and other countries around the globe. The hydro climate has been affected by Deforestation taking place everywhere. In a study on the global hydro climate being affected by deforestation, Werth and Avissar identified a reduction in precipitation in North America when the Amazon was being deforested. (Hasler, Natalia et al. Journal of Climate 2009, p.1124). This further shows that the Amazon affects the world as a whole. Here is another example of when the Amazon rainforest affected another place on the globe; “In their numerical simulation of Amazon Deforestation, Gedney and Valdes noted a close correlation between precipitation anomalies over the North Atlantic and Europe and upper-level circulation changes due to Amazon deforestation” (Hasler, Natalia et al. Journal of Climate 2009, p.1124). Also found in this study was that the deforestation happening in the Amazon decreases the rainfall of the Midwest. ( Hasler, Natalia et al. Journal of Climate 2009, p.1124). Although deforestation decreases rainfall the majority of the time there is hope for rainfall in the denser areas of the rainforests. Although rainfall in the Amazon is decreasing steadily, there was another study that states air that goes over an area with a lot of vegetation will have a greater increase by about twice as much in rainfall.(Spracklen, D. V., et al. 2012, p. 282). This means that if deforestation declines and the areas deforested have good regrowth of vegetation, rainfall will be increased in those areas. Stated in the study is rainfall increases over highly vegetated areas but decreases over little vegetation, it does this by using the air that passes over any tropical forest including the Amazon.(Spracklen, D.V., et al. 2012, p.282).
Deforestation affects everything and everyone on earth whether one had anything to do with it or not, we all leave a carbon footprint. Deforestation is a very serious issue that is often ignored. It causes global warming and gases to disperse into the atmosphere. This not only affects humans, but animals, and vegetation as well. The only way to slow down releasing tons of carbon into the air is to stop deforestation, and by doing this one needs to bring the issue out and into the open. Deforestation is increasing and for the good of the world and everything on Earth it needs to start decreasing.
The Amazon is threatened by many factors one of them being the oil industries continuous search for the oil reserves held within the amazon. As stated within an article; “The Amazon rainforest and its surviving native communities …show more content…
are in greater danger than ever” (Earth Island Journal, 2007, p.11.). The Amazon rainforest is being degraded very quickly. One of the greatest factors causing Deforestation in the Amazon is industries wants and needs for new oil reserves. The Amazon holds a lot of potential for these companies trying to get more money. The oil companies are not taking into account the seriousness of what they are doing. The toxic waste from the oil drilling is not being taken care of properly. The oil waste is being dumped into the Northern Peruvian rainforest where the Achuar people live. This issue is one of the causes of an increase in deforestation in the Amazon, but there are also many others to take into consideration. In comparison to oil industries being a cause of forest degradation, another leading cause of Deforestation is the demand for soybeans. The demand for soybeans is not decreasing but increasing. This then causes soybean farmers and ranchers to need more land. Stated within an article on Deforestation, “The Amazon is being cleared by soybean growers and ranchers” (Brown, Lester R.USA Today Magazine 2010, p.23) With the Amazon rainforest in the way of the land they need, it is being cleared out so they can meet the world’s demand for soybeans. If the soybean consumption does not start to decrease, the want to clear more land could make the reduction of Deforestation very difficult. Since 1950 the soybean harvest for the world has increased form 17,000,000 tons to 250,000,000 tons. (Brown, Lester R.USA Today Magazine 2010, p.23).The amount of soybeans the world consumes does not look to be decreasing anytime soon. Therefore the Amazon is in more danger every time the farmers chop down more trees for land. All of the Causes of Deforestation create many effects and most of them are not good.
A big effect on the continued Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest would be climate change. The Amazon may start to become a cause of global warming because of the decrease in the rainforests vegetation. There is tons of carbon being contained in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon which usually helped to get rid of carbon may start to release more carbon that what it absorbs. This could create huge problems such as droughts, and decreased rainfall. There is also more of a chance for fires to start due to the degrading of the rainforest. As droughts or dry spells happen the trees can’t handle the change so they die off, whilst releasing tons upon tons of carbon. Dry seasons have gotten a lot longer in the Amazon and around it due to the loss of trees. “Precipitation that would have been captured by forests runs off into rivers instead” (Powell, Devin. Science News, 2012, pp. 5-6). This just further increases the severe droughts, and decrease in rainfall. “Drying climate threatens the stability of the Amazon rainforest, and its role with absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere” (Powell, Devin. Science News, 2012, pp. 5-6). Scientist only can hope the Amazon doesn’t reach its tipping point and become part of the problem with global warming and greenhouse
gases. The effect of Deforestation not only reaches the Amazon but also the global hydro climate. Deforestation in the Amazon not only affects the surrounding area but also the U.S., Europe, China, and other countries around the globe. The hydro climate has been affected by Deforestation taking place everywhere. In a study on the global hydro climate being affected by deforestation, Werth and Avissar identified a reduction in precipitation in North America when the Amazon was being deforested. (Hasler, Natalia et al. Journal of Climate 2009, p.1124). This further shows that the Amazon affects the world as a whole. Here is another example of when the Amazon rainforest affected another place on the globe; “In their numerical simulation of Amazon Deforestation, Gedney and Valdes noted a close correlation between precipitation anomalies over the North Atlantic and Europe and upper-level circulation changes due to Amazon deforestation” (Hasler, Natalia et al. Journal of Climate 2009, p.1124). Also found in this study was that the deforestation happening in the Amazon decreases the rainfall of the Midwest. ( Hasler, Natalia et al. Journal of Climate 2009, p.1124). Although deforestation decreases rainfall the majority of the time there is hope for rainfall in the denser areas of the rainforests. Although rainfall in the Amazon is decreasing steadily, there was another study that states air that goes over an area with a lot of vegetation will have a greater increase by about twice as much in rainfall.(Spracklen, D. V., et al. 2012, p. 282). This means that if deforestation declines and the areas deforested have good regrowth of vegetation, rainfall will be increased in those areas. Stated in the study is rainfall increases over highly vegetated areas but decreases over little vegetation, it does this by using the air that passes over any tropical forest including the Amazon.(Spracklen, D.V., et al. 2012, p.282).
Deforestation affects everything and everyone on earth whether one had anything to do with it or not, we all leave a carbon footprint. Deforestation is a very serious issue that is often ignored. It causes global warming and gases to disperse into the atmosphere. This not only affects humans, but animals, and vegetation as well. The only way to slow down releasing tons of carbon into the air is to stop deforestation, and by doing this one needs to bring the issue out and into the open. Deforestation is increasing and for the good of the world and everything on Earth it needs to start decreasing.