by Christopher Mccollum

Created on: May 06, 2010   Last Updated: May 08, 2010

What is climate change? It is a change in the distribution of weather over periods of time. Deforestation is only second to energy sectors as a source of greenhouse gases according to a report by The Oxford-based Global Canopy Programme.

Every year two billion tons of CO2 enters the atmosphere from deforestation. Why is it that we do not make a change in the slashing and burning of tropical forests? The Congo basin and Indonesia are thought of as the lungs of the plant; so why are we destroying our own Earth’s lungs? (Howden) Deforestation contributes to many negative aspects in our world; it damages habitat, causes biodiversity loss, aridity, and it very significantly affects climate change. (Wiki)

Climate change is not only a problem for us humans but also for penguins; which have significantly reduced in numbers on Antarctica, and also for spruce trees such as those in Alaska that have been chewed up by spruce bark beetles. (NG) Deforestation may also lead to soil erosion and degrade into wasteland causing: extinction, desertification, and displacement of indigenous people. Logging is the process in which certain trees are cut down by a lumberjack. A lumberjack is a person who works at lumbering, and cuts down trees.

Being that tropical deforestation is responsible for about 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions and logging or lumberjacks are responsible for killing all those trees, we as people do cause and effect in climate change. (Howden) Maybe climate change is a natural cycle, but we aren’t helping to slow it down; it’s all contrary, we are speeding the change up.

Deforestation in Depth

A main argument for deforestation, other than the fact that the wood is needed for human prosperity, is that communities in third world countries profit. This argument is true. Life expectancies, literacy rates, and incomes go up. The thing is that after all of this, they are in the same condition as before, if not worse, and there are less trees to remove the CO2 from the environment, and the trees, when they are cut down, release most of their life time removal of CO2 (Strickland 38).

CO2 makes up 84.2% of the earths Greenhouse gases. (EPA) The leading cause for the release of CO2 into the atmosphere is deforestation. Trees remove CO2 from the environment, and store it in their trunks. A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs./year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings. (Nowak) It has

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