Raquel Hardman

Professor Sally Timmins

Geography 1700/ePortfolio Signature Assignment
July 13, 2016
Deforestation
Our rainforests are under attack and not enough people seem to be noticing. Deforestation
is running rampant across the globe. Quick lesson on deforestation; The definition of
deforestation from voacabulary.com:
deforestation is the clearing of tress, transforming a forest into cleared
land. The first step in turning the wilderness into a shopping center is
deforestation.
The main reasons deforestation is practiced around the world; cattle ranching, commercial
logging and subsistence agriculture. These three causes are the biggest culprits of deforestation.
There are many other reasons for deforestation and they include; gathering fuel wood, clearing
roads and settlements and clearing for mining operations. In a few cases acid precipitation
would be a cause.

A more complex reason for deforestation is the population pressure. While population
explodes the demand for arable land to help feed the growing population increases. The need for
land to exploit for economic purposes is also increased as the population increases, which
includes forests lands cleared for people to build homes on.
Deforestation is occurring all over the world. The major places it occurs is in the United
States, South America, Africa and Asia. Most of the worlds rainforests are in the tropics. This
is also where most of the worlds deforestation occurs.
The Amazon Rainforest is the biggest rainforest in the world. Unfortunately, this makes
it the perfect rainforest to cut down. Slowly the borders of the Amazon Rainforest are being
pushed back. Each time a new plot of land is cut down the Amazon becomes smaller and
smaller.

With advanced technology deforestation has been made easier to perpetrate.

Technological advances such as chain saws, bull dozers and trucks have helped to speed up the
removal process of trees. These technological advances are helping deforestation occur in places
that were once unreachable.

Humans cut down rainforests so the people can farm for food. This process of cutting
down forests for farming is called slash-and-burn agriculture. This process is very hard on the
soil in the land. People cut down the trees and then proceed to burn all of the leftover vegetation.
This combination of slash and burning leaves the soil fertile and perfect for growing food.
However, this will give farmers only a few good years to farm the food. After farming the
deforested land for a few years the soil will then begin to lose all of its nutrients and become
unfertile soil. Farmers will then move onto the next forest to slash-and-burn.

Deforestation is also happening in Haiti. Haiti is using deforestation to use the burned
trees to make charcoal, they use this charcoal for cooking. In the 1980s the United States helped
Haiti plant 30 million trees. By 2008 the newly planted trees in Haiti had almost been entirely
cut down and burned for charcoal.
Deforestation is continuously happening around the world. Traditionally the only large
trees were desired for different uses, this helped to keep small trees growing and maturing.
Before technological advances in cutting down trees, the land would be given enough time to
naturally grow more trees before re-harvesting occurred. This is no longer the case.

Many things can be done and are being done to help prevent and change the ways of
deforestation. A good way for major companies to help is to help by changing their own policies
within the company and their supply chains. They would need to insist that all their suppliers had
zero deforestation policies. They could also insist on using only recycled wood and fibers in their
products. What can you be doing? Be paperless, purchase recyclable products, purchase
products made out of recycled products and look for ways to reduce products or things in your
life. Finally, we need to not look to our forests as a shopping center for all that we think we
need.

My Reflection
Deforestation is a bigger deal than I had considered. I have always been big on
recycling, but this has brought it to a whole new level for me. It is not enough to just recycle
what I use and consume I need to consume and use less. Considerably less!
While learning more about it, I came to understand how harmful to our ecosystem cutting
down forests can be. Not only are you harming the current inhabitants of the land but you are
also harming chance of future growth by destroying the forest. Completing this assignment has
definitely had an impact on me and I cannot believe there are people who want to cut down the
Amazon Rainforest for farming. With this being said, I also recognize that people need to eat.
More educating needs to be done so the indigenous people of these lands can learn better
techniques to feed their communities.

Works Cited
"Amazon Rainforest." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 12
July 2016.
"Commercial Logging and the Demand for Wood." Rainforest Conservation Fund. N.p., n.d.
Web. 11 July 2016.
"Cut a Tree, Plant a Tree." The Nature Walk. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.
"Deforestation - Dictionary Definition." Vocabulary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.
Keller, Edward A., and Duane E. DeVecchio. Natural Hazards. Fourth ed. N.p.: Pearson, 2015.
Print.
"Solutions to Deforestation." Greenpeace USA Solutions to Deforestation Comments. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 July 2016.
Theilmann, John M. Deforestation. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Science (2014): Research
Starters. Web. 11 July 2016.