Brazil: Amazon Rainforest

It was stunning the article I read about Brazil and its rainforest.  According to the article, “BrazilPlans Amazon Tree Census to Assess Deforestation,” the Brazilian government will launch a four-year tree census in the Amazon to increase environmental awareness (Watts). Clearly the government is aware of the impact of logging and tree razing in the Amazon rainforest. However, could it be too late? Apparently, human settlement is increasing rapidly near the Amazon rainforest, resulting in the construction of homes. Furthermore, a drought twice the size of California is affecting part of the rainforest, due to climate change (Watts).

It is clear that deforestation is a continuing threat for forests all around the world. About 3/10 of the land is covered by forests, however strips of land the size of panama are lost each year (Deforestation). Due to deforestation, many habitats are lost, and climate change then becomes a dilemma. When trees are present in a forest, they serve many purposes, and some of them include keeping the land moist and providing shelter to many animals. So when trees are razed, there is a high probability that the sun will heat the exposed land that the land would eventually become dry. At the current rate at which the forests are being depleted, they could disappear in about 100 years (Deforestation). Clearly, this is bad but how can we fix this? 

We are depending on the forest and the land on which it sits on. Logging, which provides us with wood and paper products also contribute to deforestation. Nevertheless, we need these products for school, the construction of homes, and furniture. So, are you willing to not live in a home? Then there is another contributor to the destruction of forests, and it is agriculture. This is probably the most destructive factor because trees are razed to provide temporary land for crops. When the land is being used for crops, the nutrients in the soil are eventually depleted, so this mean anything you try to plant later on will not grow. This then implies that there will be constant cutting of trees for rich soils.

Hopefully the Brazilian government will do its best to protect the Amazon rainforest, for it is one-of-a-kind.  

  Works Cited:

 -"Deforestation." National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.       <http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview/>.

-Watts, Jonathan. "Brazil Plans Amazon Tree Census to Assess Deforestation." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/27/amazon-tree-census>.

China's Disaster

So, I was doing some reading over the weekend, and I came across a startling article about China. In Discovery News, an article titled, “China’s Urban Air Kills Rural Plants” comments the struggle China is currently facing. China encountered an unfortunate air pollution that covered Beijing and northern China with a toxic smog. Researchers stated that this is making it difficult for plants and crops to flourish.

 

The air pollution was so severe, the American Embassy called the pollution levels “hazardous.” This has been a terrible mishap for China, and they now have to find solutions for this problem. These toxic fumes are negatively affecting its enormous population and the crops needed to feed the public. What might be causing the air pollution? Well, the burning of fossil fuels and awful regulations. China relies mostly on coal to provide electricity to its public and with regulations that basically allow anything it ends in disaster.

 

I believe China has to start worrying about the pollution it’s creating, for it will get to the point where it will be irreversible. China is burning more coal than the United States, Europe, and Japan combined. Probably changing the type of energy consumed would help; nonrenewable to renewable. What do you think?     

Introduction

The environment, in the Encarta Dictionary, is defined as the natural world; it is also known this way when it is harmed by humans. The blog I will be starting today will be about the environment, and the choices we make that affect it. A majority of us have already tried to do our part in helping the environment by reducing, recycling, and reusing. However, protecting and preserving the environment is limited to who it is. A child who is motivated to do their part most likely won’t be as influential as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is why corporations should try to limit their ruthless impact on the planet and set forth an example. Some of you may say that corporations are not the only ones to blame, for they expand due to the demand of the public. However, that might not be always true because some businesses know the impact of their expansions, so why would they do it? The answer is most likely avarice, but justified with the popular demand of people.

I will try to do this topic justice, for it is a very extensive topic.  Also I would like to express one more thought. The environment provides us with everything we have and need.  Whether something was artificially created or synthetically made by humans, the basic compounds to produce the item were found on this planet. We live on a gold mine! We have to preserve it.