Deforestation

When walking by a public park, I see a lot of trees missing. Now instead of looking at a beautiful, luscious park, I now see a desolate barren patch of land. What used to be my favorite place to play is now the ugliest part of the city. Scurrying little squirrels don't have any more places to scurry anymore. But what has happened isn't just limited to a public park, deforestation is occurring globally. Several things contribute to deforestation, such as the creation of industry and factories. The success of industry causes of a great deal of deforestation, causing animal life to become extinct or endangered. This can be prevented by setting up laws to protect the lives of animals as well as the environment.

Some people think that deforestation isn't causing a damaging effect. "But many wild species also lose out because their habitat is gone Ð'- roughly 100 species a day according to the World Resources Institute" (de Seve). Without homes, these species are weak and defenseless and will become endangered or extinct. In many forests there is much biological diversity, but deforestation has made these forests less and less diverse. To keep our planet thriving and full of life, "scientists agreed that the only way to safeguard animals was through protecting their habitat" (Economist) and deforestation is not protecting or preserving the animal life in anyway, it is destroying it. To stop this situation, there must be laws created to reduce deforestation. Several letters should be sent to commanding politicians to help this crisis. Some say that laws are already set up to limit deforestation, but they aren't enough. There are different laws around the world that try to limit cutting down trees. In the Netherlands, you must have a permit to cut down a tree in your own back yard. Also in Paraguay, there is a zero deforestation law that states no deforestation at all, but logging companies and different people still do it. Despite all these laws that are set up internationally, deforestation is still a worldwide problem. More and more species are dying each day and those laws aren't doing anything to prevent it.

Animal life isn't the only thing being affected; the plant life is also affected. Based on satellite images "the Amazon deforestation has accelerated since 1995 nearly 5 million acres a year" (de Seve). Plant life is an important aspect to life on Earth. They supply us with the much needed oxygen and keep the unwanted carbon dioxide out of the air. Because plants can do this, they are a necessity for life on Earth. These plants don't only keep our atmosphere clean; they also provide cures for various diseases such as cancer. Protecting plant life would "save those anti-cancer plants: that alone would generate health benefits worth several billions annually" (Myers 579). If some laws were to be set up to protect a few plants, several hospital patients could be cured and several lives would be saved. Since politicians love feeling that they made a difference in saving a life, letters explaining how they can will help our Earth. It is a better to invest in a life-saving plant than an environment hurting factory. One million lives are worth more than a harmful factory any day.

Our home, Planet Earth would also be affected. At the rate of deforestation, soon our home will become another barren wasteland. According to Dian Jukofsky "Planet Earth could hardly be called healthy if it lost half of all species of plants and animals" (de Seve). Usually when something is not full of life, it is not considered healthy. If we want to preserve our planet for future generations, we have to stop all of the things that are harming it. Right now, we are the source of deforestation. We humans "are deciding that there isn't enough room on the Earth for wildlife