Deforestation
Jason Hennessee
Axia College of University of Phoenix

Deforestation
“Dad! Dad! It’s opening day! Can we please go to the forest to watch the boats race?” Junior, age 10, was very excited about the idea of watching the boats race from the relative quiet and shade of one of the forests to border the river. “Sissy already has the car packed for the trip, and I think she even remembered to grab the charcoal this time!” Dean opened one eye. Seven in the morning was a bit early to leave for the boat races thirty minutes away when they started at nine. But, such was Junior’s excitement that Dean forced himself out of his bed earlier than he planned on. “Ok, son. Let’s check Renee’s packing and we’ll see about weather and conditions. Does Mom have her work finished yet?” Anne appeared framed in the bedroom door. “Yeah. I have some more reading to do, but I can do it at the site. The races are not my favorite thing, but you’ll need my help if the kids want to get wet. However, there is something I need to talk to you about. Junior, honey, please go make sure you have a cooler full of water and juice for us today.” Off like a shot, Junior dashed out of the room and Anne went in, closing the door behind her and lifting Dean’s laptop to the bed. “Dean, I think the forest is gone. Check this out.” Dean read the headlines and cutlines of the pictures and articles that Anne showed him. He shook his head as one by one they all told a devastating story. “Proud Chief Stands Alone” talked about a cliff over the river where there was an Indian statue that overlooked the area. The picture showed a complete lack of hundred-year old trees that were there only last year. “Closed Park Sold to Highest Bidder” explained how yet another of the closed state parks was sold off to cover the state’s debt. “State Treasure Slashed” depicted a terrible scenario in which another past state park was razed for its timber. “Vanishing Wildlife” hit them both with near tears as Anne’s soft voice went through the story on how birds, deer, raccoons, and other animals were being forced out of the area due to the lack of trees. Dean asked Anne to call the kids upstairs. He got himself in check for what was going to be a gigantic disappointment in their young lives. Renee, age 8, flopped on the bed and Junior sat by his dad’s legs, automatically knowing something was wrong by his mother’s request. Dean sighed. “Guys, I know how much you want to go to the races, sit under Old Annie Oakley, and cook out in the forest today. I believe we can watch the boats, but Old Annie Oakley and the forest, well, the papers say they are not there anymore.” Renee cried out. “No! Old Annie Oakley was the oldest oak tree in the state! They can’t just cut her down!” Junior, always a thinker, put his arm around his sister. “Nay, it’s deforestation. We have to do some serious work before we leave so we can get this stopped.”
What is Deforestation, and what does it cause? Deforestation can be considered a modern day plague because it will affect not only the human population but all forms of life. What deforestation means is the permanent destruction of forests and woodlands [ (Collins, 2001) ]. Trees themselves can re-grow and become a forest again with time, but to become the forest that it once was, with all the smaller plant life and animal life is hard to say. The main reason that this is a rising problem that needs to stop or be regulated is that the trees are the planet’s best defense against global warming. The trees take the carbon dioxide which comes from humans and animals, and turns it into oxygen so that they can breathe. Carbon dioxide is classified as a greenhouse gas because it forms a blanket of gas in the atmosphere which captures and retains the heat from the sun. This retention of heat will increase the temperatures around the globe so that it is higher than normal. The trees also provide shelter for animals. Birds, squirrels, and other animals make their homes in trees for protection from predators. The trees in the forest provide shade and cooler temperatures for ground animals and plant life. Unfortunately, the forests and woodlands today are much less than they were only a few years ago. Even though there are currently laws in effect trying to regulate so that deforestation does not happen. However, between the years 2000 and 2005, the United States lost an average of 831 square miles or 531,771 acres of primary forest [ (Butler, 2005) ]. There is much more that can be done instead of relying on laws. Some of the deforestation is not the result from the lumber industry or paper mills but from nature or negligence. Wildfires caused from a lightning strike or an arsonist can destroy parts or the entire forest. The current fire science teaches fire fighters how to combat these types of fires, but each fire is different. The former Rochelle, Illinois Fire Chief Tom McDermott commented that there is much more to be learned. “[Today’s] firefighters have much more to learn to be able to fight [what has been going on] in California. I send some of our best out there to help, and they tell me that it is the hardest fire they have to fight (McDermott, 2010).” Deforestation is not just a problem that pertains to the United States of America, but to the whole planet. In the United States the forests are considered woodlands, other areas on the planet have tropical rain forests. These types of forest are located between the Tropic of Cancer (North) and the Tropic of Capricorn (South). Rebecca Lindsey from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) states that
“Although tropical forests cover only about 7 percent of the Earth’s dry land, they probably harbor about half of all species on Earth. Many species are so specialized to microhabitats within the forest that they can only be found in small areas. Their specialization makes them vulnerable to extinction. In addition to the species lost when an area is totally deforested, the plants and animals in the fragments of forest that remain also become increasingly vulnerable, sometimes even committed, to extinction. The edges of the fragments dry out and are buffeted by hot winds; mature rainforest trees often die standing at the margins. Cascading changes in the types of trees, plants, and insects that can survive in the fragments rapidly reduces biodiversity in the forest that remains. People may disagree about whether the extinction of other species through human action is an ethical issue, but there is little doubt about the practical problems that extinction poses (Lindsey, 2007).”

Deforestation is in most of the countries around the planet and affects everyone.
Current plans to fight deforestation The United States appears to grasp the importance to prevent deforestation by replanting a number of trees for every tree cut down. Some machines are currently being manufactured to plant trees as another machine chops down another. Both of these ideas are good and work, but they need to be in other countries as well. Every country needs to fight deforestation; they should not wait until it is too late to reverse the damage. A new idea that is gaining popularity is vertical gardening. Vertical gardening is just like it sounds, growing crops vertical, which makes better us of small plot. To help with the disappearing forests because farmers need more cropland, backyard gardens and people are growing their own food. This helps the farmers by allowing them to grow foods that people need and are hard to grow in a small garden. The government also provides tax breaks for people who own private land to run wild. That means that the land does not get mowed, trees do not get cut down, they allow the land to become wild or forest again, then they will get a tax break. For example, if a private land owner owns 10 acres, and allows 8 of them to run wild to their natural state for that area, the land owner has just done his or her part starting a possible woodland.
A better mitigation plan A better mitigation plan is indeed necessary. Laws and education are a start, as well as tax breaks, but what is to stop this from continuing? The first step in any mitigation plan has to be research. With the problem needing an imperative solution, this should only take a few months tops. It is not hard to try to understand ways to allow more trees to grow or how to chop down fewer trees. From research, the committee should move on to planning and feasibility studies. In this stage, the ideas flow into studies as in how it would work better to stop the tragedy of deforestation. Ideas like planting two or three trees for every tree cut down; harvesting only the oldest or youngest trees; and planting trees for the specific purpose of harvesting later should all be considered. Once the planning and the studies have been completed, government and the logging companies should work together in an educational attack to fully educate all lumberjacks, be they part of a company or they work freelance. Junior grabbed the last pile of sheets from his mother’s printer. He read through the information one last time. The problem is deforestation: the permanent destruction of forests and woodlands. We may never retrieve all that has been lost, but we can regain some of the lost ground. How: research, planning, education, and letting things grow. The family had also included the senators’ addresses and the state representatives as well. On the bottom was one of his and his mother’s favorite quotes of all time.
But now," says the Once-ler, "now that you're here, the word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear. UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. SO...Catch!" calls the Once-ler. He lets something fall. "It's a Truffula Seed. It's the last one of all! You're in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back. (Seuss, 1971) Junior smiled. He knew what he had to do. He pulled out some envelopes and stamps, and had his mom address them for him. Renee helped him insert the flyers to the Governor, as well as their Representatives and Senators. Dean stopped by the post office and mailed them out while Junior and Renee dashed inside with a small stack of flyers. The action may have been small, but the potential scope of the answer was huge.

References
Butler, R. (2005, November 16). United States has 7th highest rate of primary forest loss. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from Mongabay: http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1116 -forests.html
Collins, J. (2001, Febuary 1). Deforestation. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from EnviroFacts: http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/envFacts/facts/deforestation.htm
Lindsey, R. (2007, March 30). Tropical deforestation. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from Earth Observatory: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/ Seuss, Dr. (1971). The Lorax. New York: Random House.
McDermott, T. (2010, July 15). (J. Hennessee, Interviewer)