Imagine you decided to take a nature walk, on a nice, bright day. You walk outside expecting trees and fresh air, but are instead met with an endless amount of tree stumps and coughing.
This is called deforestation, the cutting down of forests and trees, which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is a cause of climate change.
Since 2021, 4.22 million acres of forest had been cut down, and 775 tones of carbon dioxide were released into the environment. Since then, it has only increased.
Many people believe the rapid increase of deforestation is due to the global demand for beef and palm oil products, increased human population, and the lack of care we have for our environments as a society. Many people use items such as rubber, palm oil, and beef in their everyday lives.
However, too many of these products have extreme negative effects on the environment. These types of products make up about 60% of tropical deforestation.
“Global demand for beef and palm oil are significant threats to tropical rain forests,” 10-12 environment science teacher Jim Walker said. “Climate belts shifting and invasive species are significant threats to the taiga, and general demand for timber and/or farm land are the significant threats to temperate forests.”
Some people who are concerned about this factor have been trying to look for substitutes for some unneeded global demands. Some of these are silicone being used instead of rubber, and beef being replaced with other different kinds of red meats.
With the human population being an estimated 8.2 billion, and the numbers only increasing, there is no wonder why there is such high demand for products that contain wood and trees. Resources become more limited by the day as the population of humans continues to grow.
“I think it will keep increasing, especially as countries develop and the world population continues to rise,” said 9th grade world history teacher Jacob Fiedler.
“In our area, a lot of trees are being cut down for houses and new businesses,” Fiedler said.
New neighborhoods and businesses are constantly showing up at this point of time, and are not being expected to slow down anytime soon. A lot of people can be quite oblivious to harming the environment, and deforestation is definitely one of them.
Such as Arctic ice melting from climate change, and the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the air every year.
“I think there is always hope that we can reverse the damage we are causing,” 10-12 Botany teacher Erin Forrest said. “But people need to care about changing before we will be able to reverse any of the consequences we are seeing currently.”
Some people simply do not care about the damage going on in the world, but usually, people are not even aware of how certain actions can hurt their environment exponentially.
The next time you go on a walk, take the time to look at your surroundings outside. There is plenty of evidence around that people do not see, unless you are looking for it.
“Forests have tremendous value in the ecological services they provide for our entire planet,” said Walker.
