Deforestation

 

  Watch this clip before you read

The clip above that you've just watched is from a movie named "Matrix". In this clip, the main protagonist, Agent Smith, is talking about how human beings are a disease to Earth, that we are just viruses moving from one place to the other, destroying everything in our path. Now I don't know if using virus is a right way to compare humans but what Agent Smith said was not wrong. We humans have been destroying Earth's habitat for centuries, and we're getting better and better at it. Environmental pollution, global warming, species extinction, natural resources depletion... these are just some of the many ways that we are destroying Earth right now. And for what? Money? Power? Success? Who knows? But one thing is for sure, we are corrupting the only place we have to live. If nothing can be done to stop this, one day everything will collapse, and humans will disappear.

So today I'm going to talk to you about one of human's most dangerous way that is destroying Earth: deforestation. Deforestation is pretty self-explanatory. It's the act of destroying forests for non-forest use. One common sight of deforestation that you'll see is farmers burning forests down so they'll have agricultural land. I know the fact that they need land to farm to feed themselves and their families, but I still don't understand why burning forests down is going to bring them any good in the long run.? Forests are the lungs of our planet. They supply Earth with oxygen to sustain not only our life but the life of every other living things on this planet. They are the lungs of our world. So if they are so important, then why would burn them down?

Another common sight is people cutting down forests after forests so they can take the woods and sell them money. Again, why? Considered forest only covered 31% of our planet's land area, you think that it would be a good idea to protect them, right? Those trees provide you with oxygen that you breathe every day. Without oxygen, you wouldn't be alive for more than a minute or two. So why would you cut down the things that are keeping you alive?

Deforestation is happening all around the world, and it's getting worse and worse every day. According to WWF, "12-15 million hectares of forest are lost each year, the equivalent of 36 football fields per minute." That means that by the time it takes for you to reach this sentence, 100 hectares of forests have already been lost. And what does depletion of forests brings? Biodiversity reduced, greenhouse gas emission released, water cycle disrupted, soil erosion increased, livelihood disrupted, all because someone chopped down trees for money.

So how can deforestation be stop? Well the quickest and simplest way to do this is to stop cutting down trees. But how can we stop people from chopping down forests is the problem. According to National Geographic, "Though deforestation rates have slowed a bit in recent years, financial realities make this unlikely to occur." So what now? Well, National Geographic did gave us another solution, that is to manage forest resources. This can be done either by creating areas that protect trees from being cut down or by planting new trees for every tree that got cut down. And this is exactly what the WWF is doing. They are trying to protect Earth's forests by working to reduce deforestation through management, creating protected areas, and promoting sustainable bioenergy. WWF is trying their best to make sure that Earth's lungs stay healthy and so do we.

So what can we do to help stop deforestation? Deforestation happened because people are unaware of the effects that it brings. I think that if we can help spread the word about the seriousness of this problem to everyone, then many people with have knowledge about this issue that is destroying our home. And if enough people know about this, maybe someone will rise up to help WWF, National Geographic or any other organization to fight against deforestation. The important thing is everyone needs to know about this so that in the future, maybe, just maybe, deforestation can be stop, and we can be more than just viruses destroying our home.

Some links about deforestation that you can check out:
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/deforestation/
http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation