Rainforest Depletion
Long ago, the Earth had a green belt of
rain forests around its middle that
covered almost twelve percent of the
earth's land surface. (Miller & Berry
3) Today, the rain forest
covers two percent of the earth's land surface and it
is declining rapidly.
The following will be a description of the rain forest,
factors in its
destruction, and if there are any answers to slow or halt the
process.
"Today, as we enter the last decade of the twentieth century, we
have reached
a turning point; we can no longer use the excuse of
ignorance." (Hammond 2)
People need to try harder to stop rain forest
depletion. There are two major
areas on earth where rain forests are located.
One of these areas is
called "The Old World Tropics," which includes
Africa and Asia. In
Africa, the rain forests are primarily located around the
Zaire river.
The other area in which rain forests are located is called
"The New World
Tropics," which contains Central and South America. The
New World tropics
are in lower altitudes as opposed to the Old World tropics,
which are at
higher altitudes. Rain forests are located around the equator. This
location
of the rain forests makes them warm and humid all year round. There are
never
cold winters in the rain forests. During winter in the rain forests,
people
comfortably are able to wear T-shirts and shorts. The rain forest has a
rainy
season which usually lasts most of the year. "The rain forests of the
world
are home to more than half of the animal species that live on earth."
(CSIRO
1) Many of these creatures are some of the most beautiful and odd
creatures
in the world, Such as the large rodent Capybara, the Anteater, and
many
different colorful exotic birds. There are many beautiful creatures living
in
our Earth's rain forests. Many people are ignorant to the effects of
rain
forest depletion on our environment, and this ignorance is a major cause
in the
beginning of the destruction of the rain forests. "European
settlers
exploited the rain forests for timber and cleared them for
agricultural
purposes." (Parish 4) "The name scrub, which was originally
applied to
the rain forest by European settlers, became a term for land seen
as useless
until subject to ax, fire, and plough." (Parish 4) People did not
think of
the affects on the environment because the little knowledge that was
known about
the affects was not very widespread. Another cause in the
destruction of the
rain forest is people's values. "Many people value species
according to
their worth to human beings." (Miller & Berry 3) People
often ignore
the problems with the environment simply because they do not
want to deal with
it. "Natural checks against over exploitation have been
ignored because
those who are now consuming the products of the rain forest
are not those who
experience the immediate effects of its degredation."
(Hammond 2) Many
people believe that they will not live long enough to face
the consequences of
the destruction but they do not realize how fast the rain
forests are depleting.
Recently in Borneo's Sarawak rain forest, 24
cavers and scientists are braving
the rain forests elements and creatures to
save the regions natural riches. The
cavers and scientists are trying to find
plant and animal life diverse enough to
protect it from mining and to declare
it a national park. "Whether the
government sets aside the area this year, in
five years or never depends on
what's discovered out there." (Webster 5) This
is a case that often occurs
in rain forests. Many governments see no reason
to protect the rainforest unless
there is an important plant or creature that
lives in it. "With chain saws,
bulldozers, and other powerful equipment, we
can bring the giant trees of the
rain forest, the very symbol of strength and
majesty, crashing to the ground
from their lofty heights in just a few
hours." (Miller & Berry 3) All
of this destruction and havoc is leading
our world straight into events that
will threaten life on earth itself. Some
of the possible results in the future
if the depletion does not stop
immediately are global warming and increasing
ultra violet radiation as the
ozone layer of the atmosphere thins. "Already
80 percent of rain forest
frogs and forty percent of rain forest birds are rare,
declining or
threatened with distinction." (Parish 4) This is eighty
percent of the frogs
and forty percent of the birds which are a part of the
fifty percent of
Earth's entire animal species. The depletion of tropical
species effects much
of the biodiversity of rain forests, which is the variety
of living things.
(Miller & Berry 3) The variety of living things and
preserving their
environment is very necessary in the survival of life.
"People sometimes
become more interested in protecting individual species
of animals that may
be endangered than preserving the animals' habitats, which
are so necessary
for survival." (Miller & Berry 3) Hope in repairing
the damage done to
the rain forests unfortunately leads to unpleasant news.
Trying to repair
the damage would be like trying to put a band aid over a gaping
wound. "While
we cannot rebuild the rain forests, scientists believe it may
be possible to
establish small islands of artificial rain forests using tree
planting of a
range of rain forest tree species." (CSIRO 1) The best
solution in the
present to maintain and preserve our environment is to merely
put a stop to
chopping, burning and literally torturing Earth's rain forests. If
the
destruction would stop now life on Earth would be much more prolonged.
If
every person in the world knew about the rain forest being destroyed and
the
future effects, destruction would not be tolerated. Humans cannot
understand
what they do not know. People who do not know what is going on do
not see
anything wrong with the destruction of the rain forests. Education
about the
rain forest needs to be spread in order for humankind to understand
it. The rain
forest is a very beautiful and mystical place. It is full of
wonders and
creatures that look as if they are imaginary and were derived
from a dream. It
has so much meaning to our world that it is hard to imagine
why people would
destroy it. People may think that they are just rain
forests, and if they were
destroyed, they would be the only thing destroyed.
The Earth must really love
it's rain forests because if they go, so does the
earth. Destroying the rain
forests is like taking away the earth's
imagination and ability to dream. People
have to seek harder to stopping the
rain forest's damage. If every person just
stopped and stepped out of their
busy worlds of business and society , and would
take some time to give a
little bit of money or spread the word, they could buy
our rain forests
peace. Solving the rain forest problem could be one of the
biggest steps
ahead in history, the time when humans stepped together to right
their
wrong.