Summary:
Rainforests all over the world are disappearing due to deforestation. These rainforests are filled with priceless natural resources such as 70% of the plant-based ingredients for cancer medicine. This also includes a vast variety of plants and animals that are very important to the ecosystem. The primary source of deforestation is cattle farming. The farmers cut down large areas of the rainforest to farm, the soil dries up within a few years, and then the farmers chop down more rainforest. This cycle is continuous going on in the world's rainforests. The secondary source of deforestation is logging. The lumber companies will chop down large areas of the rainforest, just to find a small amount of rare woods. This, along with other factors, are causing severe damage to the rainforests, and the WWF predicts that within twenty years, if there is no drastic change in the situation, then two-thirds of the world's rainforests may be extremely damaged or completely destroyed.
Opinion/Reflection:
I was shocked at how fast and destructive deforestation has been for our rainforests. I've known about deforestation for a long time now, but I never expected it to be this bad. Though other things are also much worse than they seem (like the actual amount of money that the oil companies recieve from the government, even though the oil companies are the main contributors to the pollution which throws off the carbon cycle). The fact that the rainforests are being depleted so quickly, only proves that if this rate continues, then we should be expecting some more weird weather over the next couple years.
Questions:
1-Why do you think people would chop down rainforests when its apparently a major cause of global warming?
2-Why would anybody keep cutting down huge amounts of a rainforest to farm cattle, when its obvious that you'll eventually run of soil?
3-Why do you think the United Nations didn't make a strict policy to maintain and rebuild the rainforests that has every able country/large multinational company involved?
I can't believe rainforests are still being chopped down to farm cattle. If we weren't so wasteful we may not have to chop down rainforests to make factories and cattle farms. With all the warnings about chopping down rainforests you would think people would at least slow down the process, but instead the rainforests are being destroyed as quickly as ever. I think people are still cutting them down because they believe we need more cattle or more products coming from the farms and factories that replaced the forests when we have more than plenty here at home.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think people are still ignoring the warnings about cutting down the forests?
I knew that rainforrests were being cut down, but I didn't know that things were getting this bad. Also, I didn't know that there were things that could be used for cancer medicine was being unused when it could have improved cancer research. It shocks me how so many things are being destroyed!
ReplyDelete1- I think that it is because some people don't believe global warming is real, and that what they are doing is really affencting the earth.
i can't believe people are still ignoring this issue. at this rate, the rain forest will be gone within a decade. not only are we destroying habitats and killing off thousands of species of animals, we're preventing future life. without all those trees, we won't have oxygen. so future generations won't be able to live. not only is this selfish, it's ilogical. throwing away future life for wood and our needs now. why isn't anyone doing anything about this?
ReplyDeletesorry, my comment was anonymous, but it's actually me. :)
ReplyDelete