Timber...

By Clark

Age 10 from the USA

Rainforest Deforestation is a big problem that has many different effects that are all bad. This is a constant issue, even though you might not notice it. Year after year, we lose many valuable resources for what? And it continues to speed up. If this is not seen and stopped, the human population may suffer losses over 5,000,000. This essay will teach you about the many reasons that Rainforest Deforestation is going to have many bad impacts in the future.

One of the many reasons that Rainforest Deforestation is endangering us is that it releases more carbon dioxide than all the world's cars, planes, and boats combined. Global warming is already a known problem, and yet we are too blind to see the biggest contributor. Greenhouse gases are noxious substances that are released by gas and oil and trap heat in the atmosphere. In 2050, it is predicted that the earth will be at least 1.5 celsius, and that if not for Rainforest Deforestation, it would only be 1.2 degrees. We could just stop destroying the rainforests and slow global warming by 20%. If this continues, then we might be warming up by several degrees by the year 2080. While they are destroying the trees, the carbon that is stored by the trees is released, and then it goes into the atmosphere with all the other gas. This is a big problem that we can not solve now, and may never solve.

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Also, one of the more obvious ones, we are losing many resources because of this, such as animals, wood, water, food, and medicine. We have only explored about 1% of the species in the world’s rainforests, and in the other 99%, we might find other plants and animals that could be vital to curing major diseases. It is known that one quarter of vaccines come from the plants living in the rainforest. (Better Planet Education) While we destroy the rainforest, we could also be destroying many useful items. This is also bad because we can not very well lose millions of logs that we could be using. Also, losing this many trees could have a very bad impact on the world's oxygen. Trees take in carbon dioxide that we breathe out, and in return, they provide us with oxygen that we need to survive. With the sudden loss of over ten million trees and counting, we could be at risk of running out of trees within the year 2250. There are also many exotic plants that call the rainforest home, and only the rainforest. These include the Cacao Bean tree, the beautiful Orchid, the Rubber Tree, and the Coffee plant. Imagine a life without all these either vital or plain gorgeous plants. We use Cacao to make chocolate, a giant industry that would devastate many people that rely on the keeping up of these companies because they work there. Orchids are used to create bouquets on a daily basis, and we would be very different, I feel like, if we could not see such beautiful plants and be enlightened. Also for the Orchids, “There are some plants, like orchids, which have beautiful flowers and allow you to attract insects in the forests.”, as we learn from Voyagers.com. Rubber is used for many linings, rain boots, rubber bands, and much, much more. Finally, we use Coffee to have a first hand experience of caffeine, which is used to gain energy so you can work harder/longer. (Panda.org)Another of the effects that rainforest destruction has is that it could cause major diseases that could wipe out 20,000,000 people. For example, as Nat Geo puts it, “An estimated 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases come from animals, and a major cause of viruses’ jump from wildlife to humans is habitat loss, often through deforestation.” This is a severe problem. 60% of infectious diseases come from animals, and most of those animals are on the loose only because humans have taken away their natural habitat. If over thirty million species of animals live in the rainforest, don’t you think that with loads of the space being destroyed for factories and stuff, that many animals would lose their homes? And with all these animals running around that potentially carry diseases, they might spring them to humans and then the humans spring them to other humans, and then there will be world wide death and pandemonium.

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Another reason is that we may be destroying ancient cultures and information that we could not figure out on our own along with millions of trees. There are two hundred tribes that live in the average Rainforest, and they could have languages or information that may or may not be written down, and we currently have very limited knowledge of all the species that reside in the rainforest. Not only animals will lose their homes with deforestation. Humans will be affected by the loss of space in the rainforest, and will lose their homes and ultimately will die. If these special humans die then we will lose much valuable information, and above all, many human lives. We could have quite the boost on rainforest ecology if we could just connect with these indigenous peoples and then we could both profit, us gaining information, and we could trade goods with them in order of payment. Also these people have been living here for “32,000 to 39,000 years.” as we learn from panda.org. It would be horribly wrong to kick them out of their native home just because we need to make some random building.

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One final reason is poaching. A lot of the animals that are forced out of their homes don’t have a disease, and they are liable to being poached either for their rarity or their pelts and teeth. Many different species live in the rainforest, and an abundance of them are not found anywhere else. If these animals accidentally stumble upon the poacher’s camps, or if they are found by the poachers, then they will be killed for their valuable pelts/rarity. This is bad, as it would fuel the black market a lot. One of the most targeted animals is the jaguar, which resides in the rainforest, and is hunted for its pelt, which is popular for clothing. Other animals that are endangered by poaching are the amazon river dolphin, the golden lion tamarin, the giant otter, the poison dart frog, manatees, and finally chimpanzees. Imagine how hard it is for these animals to survive when they are kicked out of their home, they are being hunted, and it is increasingly hard to find food.

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Rainforest Deforestation is a very bad thing happening, as it has many effects, compared to just one. It is releasing more carbon dioxide than a lot of things around the world, more than ten million cars. It is losing us many valuable resources, such as animals and plants. Also, it is liable to release many new diseases, maybe even world-wide epidemics. Another effect is that we may be wiping out ancient cultures that reside in the rainforest, that have valuable resources. Finally, many animals are forced out of their homes that are almost extinct because of poaching.

Works Cited
“Defenders of Wildlife.” Defenders of Wildlife, https://defenders.org/. Accessed 16 December 2024.
Nunez, Christina. “Everything you need to know about deforestation.” National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/deforestation. Accessed 16 December 2024.
“Panda.org.” WWF conserves our planet, habitats, & species like the Panda & Tiger | WWF, https://wwf.panda.org/. Accessed 16 December 2024.
“Rainforest Concern.” Rainforest Concern - Protecting the World's Natural Habitats, 21 March 2024, https://www.rainforestconcern.org/. Accessed 16 December 2024.
“Rainforests - Why are Rainforests Important?” Better Planet Education, https://betterplaneteducation.org.uk/factsheets/rainforests-why-are-rainforests-important. Accessed 16 December 2024.
“Rainforest Trust.” Defenders of Wildlife, https://defenders.org/. Accessed 16 December 2024.

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