Deforestation and the Role of Humans in Islandification By Kristen Hammond

So what is Deforestation? Deforestation is the destroying of our natural environment to get resources that our race needs to survive economically, like wood, coal and oil. It is extremely detrimental to our environment.

What is causing Deforestation: Population The destruction of our forests ironically lead to a better economy. And essentially, population issues are what dramatically separate different nation’s wealth. Upon the destruction of forests, these countries gained much needed financial security. For example, a country who is poor could easily become a major exporter of teak in a few years. Then the demand for this material goes up and before you know it, they have become a major economical power. Thus they continue to destroy forests and create islands.

Population Augmentation and Expansion Another way that population is the principal source in the deforestation cycle, is population augmentation. As population grows, so does the demand for food and fuel, the major benefits of cutting down a forest. People need to clear the land and turn in into farming land or clear it and use the cleared wood for fuel. This coupled with more and more people moving into forested area combines to created a crippling effect on our ecosystem.

Land Ownership The more times that land is owned, the more it can be cleared. In the rainforest for example, every time someone buys land, they can only clear 1/2 of it. This means, the more owners it has, the less of it there is. For example, if Bob buys it, then clears 1/2 of it and sells it to Betty, who clears 1/2 of the remaining land then sells it to Barbie, she only ends up with 1/4 of the original land.

Islandification: What you need to know Islandification is the creation of islands by an unnatural force, mainly Human beings. Islandification occurs when humans destroy their natural resources by deforestation, for economical reasons. It is a major cause of extinction.

What Happens During Islandification? During islandification first, the forest is destroyed. This causes all of the organisms to move into the center of this newly formed “island”. Next, the outside vegetation dies because allof the animals have moved innto the center. This continues until nothing is left.

Current Trends in the US Recent trends suggest that the US is getting a handle on the deforestation trend. Lately the number of commercial forest acres and noncommercial acres is coming close. This could mean that we are closer to gaining back our natural resources. Slowly buy surely, they are closing the gap.

What Can I Do? Get involved: Contact a group Interested in preserving the environment to see what you can do. Educate: Learn about whats going on and what you can do to help. Preserve: Reduce Reuse and Recycle to Preserve our natural resources. The fewer resourcdes we use, the fewer tees and forestes we destroy.

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