This paper examines the far-reaching environmental consequences of deforestation in the Amazon rain forest. Moving beyond the local loss of habitat, the paper argues that clearing the Amazon drives species extinction, disrupts global precipitation patterns, and accelerates global warming through carbon cycle disruption. Drawing on studies of climate science and ecology, the paper contends that the tangible industrial profits gained from logging, mining, and farming are outweighed by the damage inflicted on the global climate and biodiversity. The author concludes that legal protection for the Amazon is essential to preserving not only the rain forest ecosystem itself, but the stability of the world's climate and the safety of human communities worldwide.
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Global warming, natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and the quality of resources like air and water are all controversial topics today. Many people argue that the benefits of industry and exploration outweigh the environmental costs — such as the loss of rain forests or the extinction of species. Others contend that these environmental resources ought to be conserved, even if it means scaling back industrial operations like mining, logging, or manufacturing. Although many individuals who illegally destroy parts of protected regions are fined or otherwise punished, hundreds more are never caught (Mirabella 1997).
The Amazon rain forest is one of the most debated of these areas. There are definite, tangible profits to be made through its deforestation and the pursuit of industrial activity; however, there are also significant costs in destroying or damaging this natural resource. This paper briefly examines several of the harmful ways that Amazon deforestation affects our entire globe and its environment.
The immediate effect of deforestation in the Amazon — or in any rain forest — is that the area is no longer a lush, tropical habitat for the many plant and animal species that depend on it. In many cases, these species have nowhere else to go, or cannot survive in another climate or region, and thus become endangered or extinct. There are twelve species of birds that are native and exclusive to the Amazon; by destroying the only region in which they live, industry and deforestation are eliminating these species, even if the extinction is "inadvertent" (Blake 1999).
The loss of these birds is only one of many ways that specific species are being displaced from their native habitats and, in turn, being pushed toward endangerment or extinction by the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. This extinction not only diminishes the number of animal and plant species available for observation and study worldwide, but also destroys potential sources of research — both medical and otherwise — that may exist only within these threatened species. Biodiversity lost to deforestation is, in most cases, irreversible.
Another, more far-reaching way that Amazon deforestation affects the wider world is through climate changes produced by shifts in carbon dioxide levels as trees are destroyed. Studies have demonstrated that when rain forests are reduced in size, precipitation over them also diminishes (Lawrence 2002). This decreased rainfall can translate into reduced precipitation worldwide, since a significant portion of the world's moisture originates in climates such as the Amazonian rain forest before traveling to other locations around the globe.
With less precipitation originating from Brazil, there is less available to be distributed to locations that depend on it for their own rainfall needs. For example, the deserts of the western United States produce no rainfall of their own, yet they do occasionally receive precipitation — moisture that originates elsewhere and is carried along wind or current routes to drier areas. A decrease in the moisture transported to these regions could leave parts of the United States with significantly less precipitation than they are accustomed to. In this way, Amazon deforestation directly affects living conditions in areas far removed from the forest itself.
A third effect of deforestation in the Amazon is the acceleration of global warming. The intake of carbon dioxide by the massive number of trees in the Amazon rain forest constitutes a significant portion of the entire globe's carbon dioxide processing. These trees convert carbon dioxide into oxygen; reducing the number of trees performing this function increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while decreasing the supply of oxygen. This disruption of the carbon cycle results in more heat being trapped in the earth's atmosphere, which produces overall global warming — also known as the greenhouse effect. This phenomenon has been linked to changes in the world's climate, including rising ocean temperatures, higher air temperatures globally, and the accelerated melting of the polar ice caps, all of which can be attributed to elevated air and oceanic temperatures (Wikipedia).
"Carbon cycle disruption and the greenhouse effect explained"
"Polar ice melt, sea level rise, and flood disaster links"
Mirabella, Marina. "In the Amazon, Deforestation Is on the Rise." CNN, 24 Nov. 1997, http://www.cnn.com/EARTH/9711/24/amazon.burning/
"Global Warming." Wikipedia, 2005, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
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