In the United States alone, tree cutting companies cut down thirty-six million trees each year. This clearing of a wide area of trees is called deforestation. As we allow deforestation to continue, we are causing the world to heat up more. Deforestation destroys taking away habitats from animals and people. We also allow more water to get polluted, resulting in the loss of more wildlife. Even though we rely on the cutting down of trees for some things, we need to stop deforestation.
Trees and plants create oxygen and absorb greenhouse gasses, like carbon dioxide. These gasses are what trap heat and cause a rise in temperatures which is called referred to as global warming. When the temperature in a habitat changes, it also changes what animals can survive in the new temperature. Most animals are adapted to one environment and will have a hard time adapting to a new one, so many animals might die when the temperature changes.
About 80% of land animals live in forests. When we allow deforestation to continue, we Destroy the homes of those animals and threaten the populations of many species. This also endangers indigenous people, like the Doma people who still depend on forests for protection and the animals for food.
When deforestation occurs, soil will loosen and dry because the tree's roots are no longer there providing moisture and cohesiveness. This means that when a tree is removed by a river for example, the river is much more likely to be polluted by silt. This pollution decreases the quality of the water which isn't good. It creates health problems for the animals that drink it. It also affects the fish living in the water. This in turn affects anyone who fishes or gets water from this spot and can cause them to have health problems too.
As humans, we depend on cutting down trees for things we need every day. We rely on trees for paper, cardboard and packaging. We also use wood to build furniture, tools, and homes. But we can also cut down on how much new wood we use by recycling. If we recycle a wood product, we are allowing it to be made into something new without cutting down more trees. So, we can still use wood, let's just find ways to shrink the number of trees we cut down each day.
Even though cutting trees is good in some ways, it can also be very bad for the environment. We damage the animal populations. We make it so that soil can pollute water. We contribute to global warming. We really need to be more caring for this major part of our world. So help stand up for the trees.