Amazon rainforest deforestation has been a hot topic for decades now. Rainforests provide
us with a lot of resources and we surely cannot live without cutting some of them down,
but should we be cutting them at the rate we are? Statistics estimate 1.5 acres of natural
rainforests are being destroyed every second. While deforestation is providing us with
resources like timber and paper, our oxygen supply is also being reduced. Many people
believe convincing “millions of people that they can make more money by leaving the
trees alone than by cutting them down” is key to saving more of the rainforest. At the
current rate, it appears that humans are choosing Economics over the Environment.
The Amazon Rainforest basically takes care of itself and the surrounding areas.
Precipitation off the top of the trees gets passed around causes rain throughout the forest as
well as neighboring towns and cities. However with illegal deforestation going on the
forest is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Deforestation of Brazil’s has major
implications on our global health. According to the article Brazil is “ranked fourth amongst
greenhouse gas emissions and 70 percent of Brazil’s gases comes from deforestation”. This
is concerning because global temperatures have been hotter then ever, and temperatures
are only increasing.
Greenhouse gases make the earth hotter because they prevent heat from escaping earth’s
atmosphere. Reducing these greenhouse gas emissions can potentially save us from natural
catastrophes. The Brazilian government will need to create stiffer laws and enforce those