Argumentative Essay

Destruction of the World’s Forests Equals Death to Planet Earth

I believe that forests are the lungs of the Earth, and that the destruction of the world’s forests is going to amount to death of the world we currently know. The destruction of forests brings forth three major problems. Destroying the trees in the forests reduce our oxygen supply, which the trees contribute to greatly. The destruction of the forests also results in the loss of carbon, which helps to destroy the ozone and increase global warming. Lastly, the elimination of the forests also eliminates the habitats of all the animals and organisms that were living in the forest at the time of its destruction.

The reduction in our oxygen supply due to trees being cut down in forests could really be taking a toll on our lungs in the near future. An adult tree with lots of leaves can produce up to as much oxygen in one season as ten people breathe in for an entire year. Multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of trees that are being destroyed in forests, and that’s one gigantic loss to our oxygen supply.

Trees act as carbon sinks, because they absorb carbon dioxide in order to produce their food. The release of carbon into the air is a known cause of global warming and also contributes to the deterioration of the ozone layer. Surprisingly, many forests are cut down in order to stop global warming and destruction to the ozone. Palm oil, a major source for bio fuel is harvested on plantations that are built on top of leveled forests. Sources indicate that it could take anywhere from seventy-five to six-hundred years for bio fuel to compensate for all the carbon released from forests destroyed specifically for the production of palm oil.
And the last major loss caused by deforestation, is the elimination of habitats to the animals, plants, and other organisms living in the forests that are destroyed. As a result to the loss of their habitat and possible death to the machinery that is cutting down the trees, the animals’ and plants ‘ populations dwindle to or near zero. Not only are more animals becoming endangered species or close to it, valuable plants are lost that could possibly contain ingredients to cure diseases.

All in all, the destruction of the world’s forests is not a good idea whatsoever even if it gives us the chance to create bio fuels or makes more space for living. What’s the point of making bio fuel to stop global warming if it’s only contributing to it, and what’s the point of building more homes if there’s just no more oxygen left to breathe? There is no point, and that’s why deforestation is most definitely a path leading to the death of the world as we know it.

Nix, Steve. "Eight Reasons to Plant Trees." About.com: Forestry. The New York Times Company, 2009. Retrieved 17 Sept. 2009, from http://forestry.about.com/od/forestandtreeuses/ss/trees_value_3.htm

Wiley-Blackwell (2009, April 15). Biofuels Could Hasten Climate Change. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2009/04/090414120452.htm