How Does Deforestation Of The Amazon Rainforest Affect The Environment
How does deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest affect the environment?
The Amazon Rainforest, located in the northern part of South America, is the largest rainforest on Earth, containing more than 60% of Earth’s fresh water, over 20% of oxygen on Earth, and huge amounts of carbon dioxide (ACEER). However, the Amazon Rainforest has been deforested principally in order to provide land for the locals who were homeless due to poverty, overpopulation, and government policies. Also, economic reasons such as providing land for cattle ranches, agriculture, logging, and mining (Maczulak) increased the rate of deforestation. In fact, since 1988, over 141,470 square miles of the Amazon Rainforest have been deforested (INPE). The imprudent use of the resources and land of the Amazon Rainforest is destroying the …show more content…
Consequently, the Amazon Rainforest contains “about 100 billion tons of carbon”(Powell) which is “more carbon than 10 years ' worth of human produced greenhouse gases”(Casper). However, when these forests are cut down, the trees and soil release the carbon in the air, forming CO2, one of the main greenhouse gases. It is expected that by 2050, the world temperature would increase by 3.8 °C and precipitation would be reduced by 30% due to the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest (Bondeau). Some scientists even predict that the Amazon will reach a point where it will give off more carbon than it absorbs. The release of carbon dioxide in the air will contribute to climate change, decreasing the rainfall in the rainforests, and killing more and more trees (Powell). The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and climate change will affect each other, eventually destroying the
The Amazon Rainforest, located in the northern part of South America, is the largest rainforest on Earth, containing more than 60% of Earth’s fresh water, over 20% of oxygen on Earth, and huge amounts of carbon dioxide (ACEER). However, the Amazon Rainforest has been deforested principally in order to provide land for the locals who were homeless due to poverty, overpopulation, and government policies. Also, economic reasons such as providing land for cattle ranches, agriculture, logging, and mining (Maczulak) increased the rate of deforestation. In fact, since 1988, over 141,470 square miles of the Amazon Rainforest have been deforested (INPE). The imprudent use of the resources and land of the Amazon Rainforest is destroying the …show more content…
Consequently, the Amazon Rainforest contains “about 100 billion tons of carbon”(Powell) which is “more carbon than 10 years ' worth of human produced greenhouse gases”(Casper). However, when these forests are cut down, the trees and soil release the carbon in the air, forming CO2, one of the main greenhouse gases. It is expected that by 2050, the world temperature would increase by 3.8 °C and precipitation would be reduced by 30% due to the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest (Bondeau). Some scientists even predict that the Amazon will reach a point where it will give off more carbon than it absorbs. The release of carbon dioxide in the air will contribute to climate change, decreasing the rainfall in the rainforests, and killing more and more trees (Powell). The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and climate change will affect each other, eventually destroying the