Less Greed, More Green

04.16.2021
─

Jaylen Gwyn
Lori Bedell
RCL II

The Lungs of Earth

Imagine a cigarette company offers a man a decently large amount of money

for every carton of their product he tests. He relies on this as his only source of

income, and before he knows it he is chain smoking constantly. The pay allowed

him to lead a fairly comfortable life until he began to notice issues breathing. Close

friends recommend that he stop using the cigarettes, as they could have serious

implications on his future well-being. Doctors echoed this message after an annual

check up. He could stop smoking and get another job, that would most likely pay

less, or continue with the habit. Is this strain on potential personal health, worth the

monetary value that is awarded?

This is not unlike the damage humans are doing to arboreal ecosystems

around the globe. Man has decimated forests worldwide to the liking of various
 1

industries such as agriculture, mining, infrastructure projects1. A study done in

2017, outlined the most recent figures for deforestation global net losses of tropical

forests of 6.1 million hectares per year for the 1990–2000 period and 5.9 million

hectares per year during the 2000s, which makes for 0.37% and .38% for each

decade, respectively 2. These figures do seem small at first glance, however for

context remember the world’s forests are finite, and Earth’s equator has a length of

7926.2 miles long 3. In other words, the scale of the planet is a bit unconventional

for human comprehension so that is more being lost than expected. Still, at this

very moment, TheWorldCounts.com predicts all rainforests will be lost in 78 years,

261 days, 3 hours, 9 minutes, and 27 seconds4. What then? The biggest impact

would be on one of the most crucial biological processes mammals undergo,

breathing. By absorbing the C02 in the air that is exhaled and replacing it with

oxygen after photosynthesis, trees and other plants maintain a symbiotic

relationship with wildlife

everywhere5. The

gargantuan tropical

rainforests contribution to

the atmosphere helps the

little girl do her best to

close out a soccer game

while providing for the

elderly woman who already needs an oxygen tank to survive. Here, the
 2

metaphorical nature of the cigarette story reveals itself. Trees are a lifeline for the

world's organisms and losing them would be detrimental to not only oxygen levels,

but animal habitats and climate regulation and soil erosion and even the

pharmaceutical industry6. While those previous figures of global deforestation

annually might make it initially seem as if this is a problem that can be staved off, if

increasingly more significant change does not occur it may be too late for

subsequent generations to right the wrongs of now. Tropical tree cover would help

with 23% of the climate mitigation that needs to be observed to meet the goals of

the 2015 Paris agreement7. So if not only for the sake of deterring an issue that

looms over some the world’s best minds, deforestation must be addressed.

Eco-death
To put it frankly, mankind would be putting

itself, and the rest or life on earth, in a dire

situation if deforestation continues as is. The

role trees assume in keeping greenhouse

gases from releasing into the atmosphere is a

key part of maintaining the world’s health.

These gases get trapped in earth's atmosphere

and are responsible for keeping the planet warm, but with humans skewing the

historical amount of carbon in the air with their activities a trend of harmful climate

change has been identified8. Global warming does not mean longer and hotter
 3

summers. Instead, extreme weather events and wildfires will become more

frequent 9. Hurricanes and tsunamis would destroy infrastructure and communities

across the world’s countries. Hurricane Katrina took the lives of 700 people in New

Orleans alone10. More recently, the 2020 California wildfires burned more than 3.7

million acres in California, 26 times as many as burned in the same period last year,

and 14 times as many as burned in the entirety of 201911. Mother Nature has been

spurned and at some point she may wage war against man through increasing

weather patterns such as these. For a planet to sustain such a wide array of life,

many of the necessary systems are reliant on one another. In other words, more

severe weather would be a huge blow to overall agriculture. The freshwater supply

is already under stress, so the water cycle being in flux only makes the commodity

even more scarce, not to mention how the erosion negatively affects the soil and

makes the ground poor for farming. Trees do more for the food supply than just

providing apples and oranges. Due to deforestation’s documented relationship with

climate change, every hectare cut down could mean adding to the already 690

million people that are still starving today12. Taking a gamble with the food supply is

clearly not wise at the moment, yet that and other serious threats to the very

structure of society and overall safety of people everywhere are becoming

increasingly likely in the wake of poor carbon footprints and unkind treatment of

forests.

While deforestation could have serious negative implications in the future as

a crucial factor of climate change and water cycle regulation, many of the world’s
 4

animals are already severely suffering as a result of the largest forests being

chopped down. Two thirds of the known species live in tropical forests. Within that

two thirds is 65% of the 10,000 endangered species13. The less square footage their

habitats consist of, the harder it is to survive in the already cutthroat environment

that is the wild. Food chains and the ecosystems they sustain can be incredibly

delicate and the drastic changes deforestation is forcing upon them puts

biodiversity as a whole at risk. Theoretically, deforestation could turn entire rain

forests into savannahs though climate change and many species will not be able to

adapt to the starkly different environment. Results from 2017 study down by Xingli

Giam, from the department of Ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of

Tennessee, indicate that tropical forest loss/degradation alone, even without

considering other human stressors such as climate change and habitat loss in other

ecosystems, will precipitate a mass extinction event over the next couple of

centuries14. No one should be burdened with the heavy conscious that comes with

being responsible for an event that rivals the one that took out the dinosaurs in

scale. Many creatures have already been slain for simply wandering too close to a

human settlement in search of a meal and posing danger to the people there. This

goes both ways however. On January 18th of 2021 in Chandrapur, India, a body was

found ravaged by a leopard so viciously that first responders were not able to

identify it as male or female on site15. Apex predators must be given the respect

they deserve, as at one point they ate away at human populations and are now only

kept at bay by the difference in numbers. The year prior, in that same city, 24 were
 5

killed by tigers, 6 by leopards, and 1 by wildboar16. It is in these beasts genetic code

to retaliate if cornered and with deforestation taking away habitats by the day, the

walls are only closing in on them. Without the prevention of deforestation, there is

no preserving the wide variety of wildlife Earth has to offer and these results are

not in the favor of any genus or kingdom. Failure to make change could mean

leaving generations much sooner in the future than one would hope to inherit an

arid and barren wasteland, devoid of any natural marvels that can currently be

enjoyed.

Resucitación de Verde
If the possible solutions are proportional to the impending problems they

prompt, then turning the already dire situation of deforestation around will need to

be a collective global effort. As long as the process is refined, a balance of

sustainable use can be found that keeps the climate regulation and habitats

provided by forests intact.

The most daunting and

maybe pivotal obstacle

would be the reduction of

population growth in

developing parts of the

world17. There is only so

much surface area on Earth

 6

and many of its resources are limited and where these resources are most scarce

seems to be where population numbers are increasing the most. The more people,

the more space is needed for them to live. This more means of course more forests

and trees will be cleared to make room. Amanda Mckenzie, Climate Council CEO,

advocates that the empowerment and education of women is essential to stalling

the growth of these populations18. Research has shown that the financial security of

women and birth rates are inversely related due to a multitude of factors such as

access to contraceptives in addition to educational and economic opportunities,

which all empower women to make their own choices19. While this connection may

not seem obvious from a glance, experts are in support of a solution that would not

only make the planet a better place to live physically, and socially. If the amount of

people in the countries where maintaining the forests are essential to the ecological

health of the world such as South America was able to slow down, this would ease

the pressure put on the environment immensely. Additionally, if the means by

which it is achieved means closing the gap in opportunity found between genders,

the world owes it to itself to uplift its females and fauna. This would allow for

forests to be able to take the time needed to restore themselves and better

maintain the systems they provide too through a break in the cycle of destruction.

The focus on population is not enough to fix the problem entirely. Without

real effort from government and industry, the situation will remain unchanged. Half

of the world;s deforestation could be stopped if the countries where most of it

takes place were determined to do so20. Policy regarding the increasing and
 7

management of protected areas must be implemented at a greater magnitude.

Estimates show only 12.4% of the world's forest are under protection, but the more

acres of land that fall under this umbrella means more trees and the benefits they

supply to nature21. This, alongside more organization for the areas set aside for

permanent timber production would tip the scales to a more balanced

consumption of natural resources. Experts found that 89 per cent of forests in

industrialized countries were under some form of management but only about six

per cent were in developing countries. If this is bumped to just 20%, not only could

timber demand be sustainably met but buffer zones could be established to

consolidate the protected areas22. Even though a medium can be found, a focus on

substitute materials would be a great relief and there is evidence of some materials

even exceeding the performance of timber. Researchers at Washington State

University found a fiberboard made of hemp tested to be two times as strong as

wood (16). Maybe of one of the most obvious, yet effective solutions is planting of

more trees. The Crowther lab of ETH Zurich found that around the world, the sum

of the areas suitable for reforestation and not being used by humans totals that to

the size of the U.S and filling this land with trees would capture two thirds of the

carbon emissions made by humans23. These findings are highly promising, while

also drawing attention to the minimal thought the world’s leaders are giving to this

issue. The 6 countries with the greatest potential for reforestation include powerful

and established nations like the U.S, China, and Russia and again this data was

calculated with the land used by people removed from the equations as to not
 8

obstruct any industry24. If these countries could work together and set a global

example, a real decrease in human environmental impact can begin. It is time to

nurture nature. As inhabitants of the Earth, it is the duty of civilization to prolong

the beauty and vitality the planet has displayed since long before the dawn of man

for as long as possible.

 9

Endnotes
1. “Deforestation Causes.” WWF,
wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/deforestation_causes2/.
2. Armenteras, Dolors, et al. “Deforestation Dynamics and Drivers in Different Forest Types in Latin
America: Three Decades of Studies (1980–2010).” Global Environmental Change, Pergamon, 11 Sept.
2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378016304745.
3. Cain, Fraser. “How Big Is Earth?” Universe Today, 25 Dec. 2015,
www.universetoday.com/42186/how-big-is-the-earth/.
4. The World Counts,
www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/state-of-the-planet/when-will-the-rainforests-be-
gone/story.
5. “Why Are Rainforests Important?” Rainforest Concern,
www.rainforestconcern.org/forest-facts/why-are-rainforests-important.
6. Ibid.
7. Nunez, Christina. “Deforestation and Its Effect on the Planet.” Environment, National Geographic,
10 Feb. 2021, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/deforestation.
8. “Greenhouse Effect: Keeping the Balance.” NASA, NASA,
climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-effect-and-carbon-cycle/.
9. GlobalChange.gov, www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/impacts-society.
10. “Hurricane Katrina Facts - 10 Facts about Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina Facts.” Interesting
Facts, 18 Apr. 2019, interesting-facts.com/hurricane-katrina-facts/.
11. Fink, Jenni. “Eight Facts about the Devastating 2020 California Wildfires.” Newsweek, Newsweek,
28 Sept. 2020, www.newsweek.com/eight-facts-about-devastating-2020-california-wildfires-1534609.
12. “Goal 2 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” United Nations, United Nations,
sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2.
13. “What Is Deforestation? Definition, Causes, Effects and Solutions to Stop It.” Youmatter, 13 May
2020, youmatter.world/en/definition/definitions-what-is-definition-deforestation-causes-effects/.
14. Giam, Xingli. “Global Biodiversity Loss from Tropical Deforestation.” PNAS, National Academy of
Sciences, 6 June 2017, www.pnas.org/content/114/23/5775.
15. Mazhar Ali / TNN / Jan 18, 2021. “Unidentified Person Killed in Leopard Attack: Nagpur News -
Times of India.” The Times of India, TOI,
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/unidentified-person-killed-in-leopard-attack/articleshow/80
318973.cms.
16. Ibid.
17. “What Is Deforestation? Definition, Causes, Effects and Solutions to Stop It.” Youmatter, 13 May
2020, youmatter.world/en/definition/definitions-what-is-definition-deforestation-causes-effects/.
18. Kilvert, Nick. “How Many Humans Can Earth Sustain?” ABC News, ABC News, 25 July 2019,
www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-07-25/population-growth-world-overshoot-day/11320990.
19. Ibid.
20. Kilvert, Nick. “How Many Humans Can Earth Sustain?” ABC News, ABC News, 25 July 2019,
www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-07-25/population-growth-world-overshoot-day/11320990.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. -, Good News Network, et al. “For First Time Ever, Scientists Identify How Many Trees to Plant
and Where to Plant Them to Stop Climate Crisis.” Good News Network, 12 Mar. 2020,
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/how-many-trees-to-plant-to-stop-climate-crisis/.
24. Ibid.