The Controversy Of Deforestation

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Deforestation is the process of clearing large areas of land to harvest its timber or to prepare the land for another use such as farming or construction. The land is cleared by logging, which is the removal of trees by cutting them down, and sometimes by burning trees. Deforestation is also caused by forest degradation, in which forests are destroyed unintentionally by fires, floods, insects, and changes in climate, as well as intentionally by illegal logging practices. Deforestation is controversial as it typically damages the land; however, the economic gain of destroying the amazon is not greater than the importance of its existence. While many new trees are planted each year, it is still not enough to replace those that have been destroyed …show more content…
This natural cover helps regulate temperatures. During the day, the cover protects the earth and wildlife from the sun’s rays and soaring temperatures. At night, the cover holds in the heat to protect the wildlife from freezing temperatures. When the natural cover over these plants and animals is destroyed, it exposes these innocent creatures to harmful and extreme temperatures. These unnatural temperatures have been proven to increase risk conditions for forest fires, which will cause natural even more destruction throughout the amazon. Deforestation interrupts the water cycle and causes soil erosion. Without the natural cover, moist forest soil dries out. Trees are not only important but play a crucial role in the the water cycle because they return water from the damp soil back into the atmosphere. Without trees, soil erosion is intensified and the once thriving ecosystem we call the amazon rain forest is left looking like a war zone. Deforestation intensifies global warming. According to the WWF, it causes 15 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Trees absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, and without trees more of these harmful gases are released into the