Essay on Amazon Deforestation

Words: 1689
Pages: 7
Open Document
Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest has evolved over millions of years to turn into the incredibly complex environments they are today. Rainforests represent a store of living and breathing renewable natural resources that for years, by virtue of their richness in both animal and plant species, have contributed a wealth of resources for the survival and well-being of humankind. These resources have included basic food supplies, clothing, shelter, fuel, spices, industrial raw materials, and medicine for all those who have lived in the magnificence of the forest. However, the inner dynamics of a tropical rainforest is an intricate and fragile system. Everything is so dependent that upsetting one part can lead to unknown damage or even destruction of the whole. Although it is portrayed to the public that deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest includes several benefits, there are underlining factors that prove deforestation is hurting more than just the environment.
One factor that isn’t often discussed regarding deforestation of the Amazon is the loss of biodiversity within the rainforest. Thousands of wonderful species of plants and animals have been lost, and others remain endangered. According to Alexander Cockburn and Susanna B. Hecht, authors of The Fate of the Forest, more than 80% of the world's species remain in the Amazon Rainforest. Tragically, they also claim that it is estimated that about fifty to one hundred species of animals are being lost each day as a result of destruction of their habitats. Many of the world’s most beautiful creatures, both plants and animals, have vanished from the face of the earth due to deforestation.
The wildlife of the Amazon Rainforest is important for multiple reasons, including the fact that animals help balance the ecosystem involving the food chain, maintaining the balance of life. Due to the increase of wildlife extinction, continuous efforts are being made by anxious animal lovers to protect the endangered species of wildlife as well as those on the verge of extinction and hope to save the world from running out its green heritage. To promote wildlife awareness among people, author Simon Romero from the New York Times notes that governments across South America have started various natural projects and programs such as Project Tiger, Nature Camps and Jungle Lodges. These projects not only help to preserve the natural heritage, but encourage eco-tourism to provide awareness for individuals all over the globe about the amazing wonders of the rainforest.
The growing demand by the industrialized world for agricultural products such as beef has led to millions of acres of forestland being bulldozed or burned to create pastures for cattle, especially in areas of Brazil where the rainforest is lush and rich in plant life. Cockburn and Hecht expose the tragic irony of this expansion for agriculture in the fact that the soil underlying the trees is often unsuited for pastureland or raising other crops (28). Exposed to sunlight, the soil is quickly depleted of nutrients and often hardens. The once beautiful green land becomes a parched desert, prone to erosion that may never return to forest. As the soil becomes less fertile, hardy weeds begin to choke out the desirable forage plants, and the cattle ranchers move to clear a fresh tract, continuing on an unfortunate path of constant rainforest destruction.
Other effects of deforestation may be less obvious to the public. Deforestation can lead to increased flooding during rainy seasons. Rainwater that once would have been slowed or absorbed by trees instead runs off hillsides, pushing rivers over their banks and causing devastating floods downstream. The role of forests in regulating water has long been recognized by engineers and foresters. Besides the increase in flooding in the Amazon, author Michael Williams adds that due to the fertilizers used on the brand-new farm land, the flood water naturally goes
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Amazon Deforestation

Deforestation In The Amazon

Deforestation can be considered the price society pays for economic development. Forests are cut down to expand existing communities or build new ones, to transform unusable space into areas that can be used for agriculture, and to build factories which in turn create jobs in nearby communities (17 Important Pros and Cons of Deforestation, 2015). Also is important to notice that cutting down forests requires a significant labor force and is the main source of income for a lot of people in countries…

Words 274 - Pages 2

Deforestation In The Amazon Rainforest

Deforestation Introduction: Around 31% of land on earth is covered by forest but over 150,000 square km are lost each year to deforestation. Forests are usually cleared to make way for agriculture, logging for timber and urban development. Forests are also lost due to fires and degradation via climate change. Deforestation is a main issue in tropical rainforests, the habitat of most of the world’s biodiversity. Places like the Amazon rainforest in South America have lost over 17% of the forest in…

Words 708 - Pages 3

Deforestation Of The Amazon: Article Analysis

The article “Brazil Beef trade and the Deforestation of the Amazon” was written by Tim Sparke and published in Volume 3, issue 7, in the Political science complete in 2016. I found this article by using the University of West Florida’s online library database. After opening the database, I searched articles that relate to deforestation and used the filtering feature to filter out only academic journals. This article is aimed at those who are producers of beef, consumers of beef, and those who are…

Words 405 - Pages 2

Deforestation In The Amazon Rainforest Essay

With an estimate of about 10 million types of plants and animals, the amazon rainforest is the largest in the world, and creates about 20% of the world's oxygen. In the Amazon, around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years, mostly due to forest destruction for cattle ranching ( ). The more trees that are cut down, the less oxygen will be produced and more carbon dioxide will remain in the atmosphere. The Amazon Basin stores approximately 100 billion metric tons of carbon, more than…

Words 866 - Pages 4

Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Research Paper

economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.” -E.O. Wilson (biologist). Rainforest deforestation should be practiced limitedly. They are natural oxygen producers and carbon sinks, it is home to plants, animals, and natives, and water/medicines are found in the rainforest. These are some of the many benefits of rainforests. To start, rainforests are the lungs of our Earth. The Amazon rainforest itself produces around 20% of our oxygen. Furthermore, they are natural carbon sinks meaning…

Words 449 - Pages 2

Amazon Rainforest Research Paper

According to Greenpeace International the Amazon rainforest has the most diverse ecosystem on earth. It comprises of more than 60000 plant species, 1000 bird species, and more than 300 mammal species that are known to the scientific world. There are however countless undiscovered species deeper in the rainforest. For years, Amazon has been affected by concentrated logging, mining and construction, cutting of huge paths through the tropical forest. Deforestation continues to erode the world’s most significant…

Words 1505 - Pages 7

Essay, Term Paper, or Research Paper

Deforestation in the Amazon Over the past 30 years, the Amazon has lost more than520,000 km2 of forest. The loss continues at up to 27,000 km2 annually since 1990, an area almost the size of Belgium. Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometers of forest—an area larger than Greece—and since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. What can be done to slow deforestation? Why is the Brazilian Amazon being…

Words 693 - Pages 3

Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon, famous for its immense biodiversity, is the world’s largest tropical rainforest in the whole world. Its rainforest area covers 1.4 billion acres. It is the home to millions of species of plants and animals (“Amazon Rainforest Facts”). It holds 30% of the world’s water supply, metals, and minerals (Kurian). The protection of the Amazon is an unsolved matter. Exploitation of the Amazon rainforest has both a positive and negative impact on the Indigenous people, ecosystem, and climate…

Words 739 - Pages 3

Research Paper On Amazon Rainforestation

Amazon Rainforest Deforestation The Amazon Rainforest, a major rainforest on our planet, is disappearing at an awfully fast rate. The size of 2,000 football pitches is lost during a 90 minute football match, which means more than 5300 square meters a minute. This can’t keep going. Deforestation is destroying the earth’s environment and the lives living on it. The Amazon is one of the most important rainforest on our planet. It contains over half of the planet’s remaining rainforest, and is the…

Words 533 - Pages 3

Rainforests: Amazon Rainforest and Rainfall Essay

showing that there is a vital relationship between the rainforests and rainfall. The forests regulate climate and weather through their absorption. They act like a sponge while recreating rain and exchanging natural gases in the air. For example, the Amazon rainforest creates 50 to 80 percent of its own rainfall through transpiration. It is surprising that people are actually cutting down these important forests in our eco system. Cutting the rainforests changes and affects global weather by changing…

Words 1007 - Pages 5