IRLS210_AC's Trail

On this site an abundance of information can be found on deforestation. The particular portion of this website that I found most useful is the regional breakdown. It was very surprising to me that North America was endanger of completely losing some of its forests. How could this be happening right under our noses? The site is very easy to navigate and will give a wealth of information on all aspects of deforestation.

The site has a wealth of information beyond the home page which can be found through the links on the the right side of the page. The "facts on deforestation" has some startling statements made by scientist regarding the loss of plant species. This sparked an interest in just how valuable these plants are. I know there have been many benefits to the medical world from rain forest plant life. It is scary to think about how many benefits we may have lost forever because of the rapid rate that deforestation has happened.

Even though this article is about one particular company, there are several companies that have increased their interest in what the rainforest may hold for medicine. There is a good list, toward the bottom of the page, of current medications that derive from plants. With the astronomical number of undiscovered plant species in rainforests, it seems like the most logical place to look for cures on seemingly unbeatable diseases. Hopefully the rekindling of medical interests in forest plants will help to bring awareness and ultimately stop deforestation.

On this site, it has some good information for the biggest causes of deforestation. It also has very surprising statistics on some of the countries doing the most damage. It is troubling to think that so many of these countries are not even concerned in the slightest about what they are doing to their very limited land. It states that the biggest problem is converting the land for growing crops or raising livestock, but how it gets to that differs. Sometimes just trying to benefit extremely rural areas by building a road ends up giving access to unclaimed forests. Loggers often tear a large area down, and then leave it, making it a great place for a farmer or rancher to get started.

After reading on site after site about logging being the main reason for uncontrolled deforestation, I wanted to look into logging companies. Future Forest Consulting, Inc. is a company that monitors logging companies while harvesting a piece of land over the course of many years. Trees are specifically targeted and harvested so that many trees will still be standing and allow for newly planted trees to fill in areas and maintain the forests ecology. This process takes much longer then older methods of logging, but is the only way to continue logging and preserve forests. This method is still controversial and still considered to be devastating for wildlife.

After seeing many logging companies harvesting in a responsible manner, I didn't understand how logging could be so devastating on forests. The reason is illegal logging. While many countries have laws and regulations to prevent complete destruction of forests, many poverty stricken countries do not have the resources to monitor for illegal logging. Immediately you can see the appeal for illegal logging as the forest products industry is a $150 billion a year industry. In many of the countries that have a problem, the average annual income is sometimes as low as $250.

With deforestation devastating in so many parts of the world, the UN's Enviroment Programme has a vital role in fixing the problem. Keeping in mind that deforestation is done for farming, a logical first step in the direction for resolving the problem is improving agriculture around the world. When the world's population is increasing at the rate that it is, there has to be some way to farm while maintaining the integrity of forests.

After realizing the consequences of deforestation, most wonder what the solution is. While this site goes over all the different effects of deforestation, it also has some alternatives to prevent the demand for forestry products. While everybody is screaming about finding alternative fuels to halt global warming, they should be focusing on stopping deforestation first. Not only are large amounts of green house gasses put off from burning, but it also removes the best way to combat GHG's, photosynthesis. Investing in logical alternatives for forestry products will be the biggest contributor to global warming

The Arbor Day Foundation is an easy way to take action to resolve the problem of deforestation. It brings awareness and offers solutions. Not only does it just go off to help poor countries, it also takes action here at home. They do not take an extremist stance or use terrorism as a means of resolution, but rather encourages planting trees in cities, and fire damaged forests.

This site is an amazing source for information, and should be looked over. When reading through this page it is almost overwhelming to think about how much depends on the rainforests, and how much will be lost if something is not done. Not only will the effects be felt by those in and near the forests, but there will be global consequences that may be hard to imagine.

While knowing the problem, and the source of the problem, is important, taking action is the best way to influence others to get involved. Nobody wants to be told what the solution is from a inactive activist. I thought this was a cool way to get active and not be an obnoxious picketer.