The Impact of Deforestation

Learn about how Deforestation affects the world and what could be done to prevent it.

October 27, 2023

This video explains the causes and effects of deforestation.

What is Deforestation

Have you ever gone outside and wondered what this place was like before humans came? The most likely answer is that the place where you are standing is where a tree once was. Almost a third of the trees in the world have been destroyed, and the numbers are rising. This act is what we call deforestation. Deforestation is purposely cutting down trees for supplies, space for architecture, or animal gazing. Throughout history, this has been done countless times to clear out space for civilization. But in more modern times, these deforestation rates have skyrocketed. In 2016, around 28 million hectares of forests were cut down in the U.S. alone. 16% of the Amazon Rainforest (the largest forest in the world) has been broken down to provide space for farmers to raise livestock. With this in mind, we, as the inhabitants of our planet, should strive together to stop deforestation and find a more sustainable source of materials.

body of water near trees during daytime — What Deforestation looks like.

How do we stop deforestation?

To stop deforestation, we first need to understand how it affects the environment around us. Forests and rainforests provide homes and protect millions of species. These species are significant in producing medicine, so these species are hunted to near extinction. These forests also provide a natural solver to climate change. The destruction of these trees will be harming our planet as a whole. But how do we stop it? To prevent deforestation we can do a variety of things to stop it. For instance, people can upgrade to newer cars that run on electricity instead of cars that mainly run on gas. This will help reduce the need for wood as fuel as more people use electric cars. We can also use more natural and sustainable ways of farming and harvesting food. All of these methods are effective at reducing deforestation. Deforestation substantially impacts global health; therefore, we should all work to fix this issue together.