Issue+Background+-+DSP2

toc = = = = =Summary=
 * What is deforestation?**

Deforestation occurs when areas that used to be forested are converted for use in other ways such as logging or as agricultural ground. Deforestation can be at the heart of many problems that affect our environment.


 * Who is affected by deforestation?**

If you breathe, then you are affected. Forests are crucial in recycling carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. They basically act as a filter for the air we breathe. When a forest is disturbed, it can affect the balance of the environment and our human life. = = = = =Background Info=

At the start of the 20th century, people started noticing that the forests were disappearing rapidly. Now only 30% of the world's forests remain. Lots of organizations have been doing everything they can but nothing seems to be working. Other companies have been trying to get people to sign petitions but the UN still haven't put any pressure on the loggers who are a main cause of deforestation. Deforestation has not been a problem until the past 30 or so years. We used to only cut down as many trees as we needed. Now, we cut down excess trees that we do not need and our planet is suffering. At the continued rate we are cutting down trees, we may have no forests in 50 years. Cutting down trees also raises global warming.

= = = = = = = = =Issues=

An issue in the debate over deforestation, is how to balance corporate and human needs for forest land, against the needs of the environment. Deforestation is really a case by case problem but it happens for a few main reasons. The leading causes of deforestation include: In all cases except fire, the underlying cause of deforestation is economic.
 * expansion of agricultural lands
 * dams and other development projects
 * fires
 * logging
 * mining.

Farmers in China cut down too many trees for arable land. Trees help keep the land arable. After farming for a few years without trees the land will become not arable and soon farmers will be unable to farm on the land. This will cause desertification.

Slash and Burn technigue of deforestation is being used in China to make farmland. Slash and Burn technique of deforestation cause global warming and also destroys the ecosystems that live there. Also, this is used too much and the land it takes away should not have been destroyed and the farmland it gives is not needed.

Trees produce our oxygen using photosynthesis. When we cut them down, there are a few less things in the world to produce our oxygen. According to Oxfam, an estimated 26 hectares (37 football fields) worth of trees is cut down every minute. This limits our oxygen source. Cutting down trees/burning trees also release carbon dioxide into the air. This is bad because carbon dioxide is not only a poisonous gas but can also contribute to global warming.

Cutting down trees can increase the danger in natural disasters. For example, trees absorb the water in floods making them less dangerous and shorter, but without trees the water level will keep increasing and might even last weeks. This also goes for things like landslides and erosions.

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