Deforestation: The Tree's Destruction

In our life now, we are always surrounded by millions of trees. Everywhere you look, your eyes meet with the tall towers of nature that are vital to life here on Earth. Think of the green leaves of those towers swaying in the wind, and of yourself, taking a deep inhale of the fresh air. Now imagine all of that gone. Think about the chaos. Such a simple thing but such a big impact. What do you think life would be like after the trees' destruction? We tend to overlook even the most important things, even underestimate them. 

Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment, like climate change, global warming, and habitat loss. What may seem like a couple of trees is actually thousands of acres lost to destruction. Thousands of square miles of tropical rainforests are cut down each year. For example, the Amazon Forest, located in South America, makes a huge impact on climate stability and the quality of water, and has already lost up to 17-20% of itself. These forests also play a role in animal habitats. According to OSLIS, “The majority of Earth’s plants and land animals live in forests.” This means that logging trees and rainforests will negatively impact the plants and organisms that live there.

Deforestation in Brazil, the Pirititi Indigenous land, according to ‘Deforestation in the Amazon: Past, Present and Future.’ 

Deforestation has many causes, which include logging, agriculture, and urbanization. One of the biggest causes of deforestation is logging, which is cutting down timber for mostly industrial and urbanization purposes, and is used for wood-based products and fueling sources. Many farmers use large, flat land spaces for crops and raising livestock. In order to do this they must clear out the necessary space for their farming area. Some even use this area until the soil is no longer healthy or usable for their crops to live. With this, they must move and clear out more space for a new agricultural spot. The abandoned spot can reforest on its own time, but it’ll take a while for it to do so. 

Another common cause is urbanization. This is the creation of houses, roads, and cities, and is increasing at an alarming rate. There are also many other, less common, reasons for deforestation, such as mining and food product production. For mining companies, they usually need roads for their trucks to transport heavy equipment and items. And, in trees, palm oil is a very valuable substance, used in beauty products and food packaging or production. But, after all of these causes, repairing any of these rainforests would take incredible effort and a huge amount of time, especially when it comes to changing the way we are using that land. This would take a lot of time to tear down these agricultural and urbanization spots. 

All of these common causes of deforestation include cutting down thousands of acres of trees, and fires are a whole other, more devastating problem that feeds into it. According to OSLIS, “In 2024, uncontrollable fires broke out in tropical areas because of hot, dry conditions. Almost twice as much tropical forest was lost that year than in 2023 due to these fires,” Forest fires also strongly increase greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide, which leads to global warming and climate change. These fires are one of the main problems that account for deforestation. 

People are now suggesting solutions to this rising problem occurring in our forests, like creating controlled forestry plans, managing protected areas, and enforcing laws or policies. And, according to the article, ‘Deforestation in the Amazon: Past, Present and Future,’ there was an idea to extract trees from newer sites or forests instead of continuously eating away the current ones. As we walk closer to more solutions, we begin to create more hope for the future. Now, we just need to act.

Overall, trees are a vital source for life on Earth. They take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen for us to breathe, while filtering air pollutants. They are a natural habitat for organisms and are a crucial part in the fight against climate change. Even though we recognise the problem, there is still work to be done. The word needs to be spread, and the steps to action need to be made. Even this article is part of the ‘fight for the trees.’ Everyone’s voice matters, including yours. Though you may be thinking, “How could my voice matter in something bigger than me?” Well, it does, because even your one voice can make an incredible difference. Just sharing this article makes a difference. We can be the ones to prevent the trees from falling. We can stop the trees' destruction.

“What you do makes a difference, but you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall