GLOBAL WARMING

Governmental policy related to deforestation and global warming



Governmental policy related to deforestation and global warming

Introduction

This paper will cover governmental policy related to deforestation, global warming, and what policy we have in place as a local, state, or federal government. In addition, the discussion will describe what the policy is and why it was created addressing these issues. The discussion will also highlight the policy's effects are and its target. The paper will decide whether current data supports the plan in a good or shamefaced way. The discussion will be tailored for the South American continent, and Latin America.

Discussion & Analyses

The idea of deforestation creates images of deforested areas. So when someone sees a picture of areas, highly deforested in parts of the tropics, they are surprised to see that there are still many trees there. In fact, there seem to be deforested. The reason is that at least 10 percent of the land is covered with tree canopy, if the percentage of forest falls below 10 percent, are considered deforested tropical areas. That does not mean there are some trees that the forest has not been damaged. Any reduction of the forest is a problem for the ecosystem (Fearnside, Righi, Graca, Keizer, Cerri, Nogueira & Barbosa, 2009). Deforestation occurs when forests are converted to farms for food or cash crops or used to raise cattle. Also, the cutting of trees for commercial use or fuel leads to the destruction of forests. Deforestation is not just about the loss of trees. It also has a great impact on the environment.

Many living things depend on trees so when the trees disappear, just disappear animals (reduced biodiversity). You lose potentially valuable drugs and materials, as well as water and clean air. Indigenous people suffer and possibly also national economies. The future of people and forests are interconnected. Trees also store water and then released into the atmosphere (a process called transpiration). This water cycle is an important part of the ecosystem because many plants and animals depend on water to help save trees (Fearnside, Righi, Graca, Keizer, Cerri, Nogueira & Barbosa, 2009). When trees are cut down, nothing can hold water, leading to a drier climate. The loss of trees also causes erosion because there are no roots that hold soil, and soil particles are then washed into lakes and rivers, killing the animals in the water.

It is widely accepted that global warming is caused by burning oil and gas. In reality from 25 to 30 percent of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year - 1.6 billion tonnes - is caused by deforestation. Deforestation is called the regression of forested areas. The indiscriminate and uncontrolled exploitation of certain tree species contributes to the abundant reduction of tropical forests. A recent U.S. study, 80% of the original global forest cover was shot down over the last thirty years (Nobre & Borma, 2009). Deforestation currently concerns mainly tropical forests, like that of ...