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Deforestation and the Environment

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Wilber Alfonseca

Deforestation and the Environment

Mankind has been cutting down trees since we first appeared in this world, for kindling, shelter, weapons and in more modern times for paper, furniture and housing. Changing and adapting the environment to suit our needs. Thousands of acres of forest have been cut down to satisfy our insatiable demand for wood and land in a process known as deforestation.

Deforestation is defined as the clearing of trees from an area of woodland or forest for many different reasons such as farms, ranches, or urbanization, all of which are commercial uses. Although deforestation makes our lives easier, it takes a toll on our environment. Deforestation causes many negative effects to the environment. Two of those negative effects are the loss of biodiversity and the increasing of global warming.

Deforestation can lead directly to the loss of biodiversity. Deforestation can cause certain tree species to permanently disappear, which, in turn, affects the biodiversity of plant species in our environment. Forests provide abundance in resources for humans such as timber, food and medicines. Many plants develop specific chemicals that can cure certain illnesses. We should be protecting the diversity of plant life in order to observe and study it, because is very likely that the cures to many diseases are out there, but at the rate that deforestation is occurring today, those species of trees are likely to be destroyed before we even get a chance.

Furthermore, when deforestation occurs, animals that lived in the trees no longer have their habitat, which makes them vulnerable to extinction. Those species that lose their habitat and are not able to relocate will surely become extinct. The effects of deforestation can have the

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