Amazon Global Issues
Disappearing Amazon: Understanding a Global Issue by Kelsey Numan
In the past few decades, the Amazon rainforest has been in the spotlight of environmental debate—and rightfully so. The past 40 years of human destruction has resulted in a loss of about 20% of the rainforest. The Amazon is home to millions of unique plant and animal species that contribute to a vast majority of the Earth’s flourishing biodiversity. Methods of clear-cutting and burning for industrial, agricultural, and use for livestock, however, have left some areas of the Amazon in a state of barren wasteland.
It is important to recognize the detrimental effects that come with deforestation; extinction of specialized species, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, loss of habitat, and climate change are all serious matters that can no longer be thrown under the rug. Although the timber industry relies on trees, they should not be seen solely as a profit-making dollar sign. In reality, the Amazon contains so much more than just money. …show more content…
Amongst these 137 species may be undiscovered riches that we do not yet know the value of. It is estimated that over a quarter of the medicines we have today originated in the rainforest, and only about 1% of its native species have been studied for their medicinal uses. Knowing this, it is not outlandish to believe that the remedy to many diseases may lie within the depths of the Amazon. In addition to medicine, undiscovered tribes in the Amazon have been proven to exist by recent investigations by National Geographic. In sum, not only does the rainforest contain precious resources, but invaluable and untouched cultures as
In the past few decades, the Amazon rainforest has been in the spotlight of environmental debate—and rightfully so. The past 40 years of human destruction has resulted in a loss of about 20% of the rainforest. The Amazon is home to millions of unique plant and animal species that contribute to a vast majority of the Earth’s flourishing biodiversity. Methods of clear-cutting and burning for industrial, agricultural, and use for livestock, however, have left some areas of the Amazon in a state of barren wasteland.
It is important to recognize the detrimental effects that come with deforestation; extinction of specialized species, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, loss of habitat, and climate change are all serious matters that can no longer be thrown under the rug. Although the timber industry relies on trees, they should not be seen solely as a profit-making dollar sign. In reality, the Amazon contains so much more than just money. …show more content…
Amongst these 137 species may be undiscovered riches that we do not yet know the value of. It is estimated that over a quarter of the medicines we have today originated in the rainforest, and only about 1% of its native species have been studied for their medicinal uses. Knowing this, it is not outlandish to believe that the remedy to many diseases may lie within the depths of the Amazon. In addition to medicine, undiscovered tribes in the Amazon have been proven to exist by recent investigations by National Geographic. In sum, not only does the rainforest contain precious resources, but invaluable and untouched cultures as