civics
...ies of plants and animals. The rainforest is also a huge place where most of the medicines are made because of the vast variety of plants. When you cut down the forest you harm everything because everything is attached to the forests by one way or another. Deforestation is done for many reasons. Most of the clearing is done for agricultural purposes-grazing cattle, planting crops. Poor farmers chop down a small area and burn the tree trunks-a process called Slash and Burn agriculture. Intensive, or modern, agriculture occurs on a much larger scale, sometimes deforesting several square miles at a time. Large cattle pastures often replace rain forest to grow beef for the world market. Commercial logging is another common form of deforestation, cutting trees for sale as timber or pulp. The logging companies seek to harvest the forest and make profit from the sales of pulp and valuable hardwoods such as mahogany. Deforestation by a peasant farmer is often done to raise crops for self-subsistence, and is driven by the basic human need for food. There are other reasons for deforestation, such as to construct towns or dams which flood large areas. Yet, these latter cases constitute only a very small part of the total deforestation. However, this destruction can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed. It is not as simple as fortifying fences around the remaining rainforests or banning the timber trade. You can do allot at home though. Recycle paper and other wood materials so that more trees won’t have to be cut down. You can also buy only recycled paper instead of new paper. Tell your friends...