This information comes from Andrew Pease from Colby College. In Brazil, deforestation is a “local problem with global consequences”.  The increase rate of deforestation raises major concerns for biodiversity loss and global warming.  Because of the Brazilian governmental tax policies and tax incentives, an economic distortion is created that harms the environment by the increasing demand in farm or ranch land. Large corporations quickly claim the land close to roads, but small farmers are being pushed further into the forest in order to farm.  Small farmers are being harmed the most because the low tax rate level transitions into land, which cause the small farmers to go into the forest to unclaimed land. Land and income taxes are the two types of taxes that directly affect deforestation.  Different parts of Brazil employ different programs that promote deforestation. The policies of the Brazilian government have shown to promote deforestation, increase size of land holdings, and hurt small farmers.

http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/defor-brazil.html

This information comes from Katie Weeks from Eco Building according to a Dartmouth College Study. A study was conducted to show if deforestation was a good thing. The study proved to show that more frequent logging or deforestation may actual benefit the environment. At higher attitude areas where the timber productivity is low and where snowfall is more common, it could actually benefit the area if all the trees were cut down because the snow would reflect solar energy off the snow and into the forest around it. The effects of hardwood and softwood forest rotations (tree is planted to tree is harvested) where modeled in the forest. The study argues that albedo should be valued in a manner like carbon to be adequately factored into forest management. The end result of the study was “high-latitude low-productivity forests with minimal carbon sequestration potential and frequent snowfall are more likely to be harvested more frequently.”

http://www.ecobuildingpulse.com/news/could-deforestation-be-a-good-thing_o

Being a hunter from Lancaster PA, forests are vital for animals and provide them with all the resources to survive. Lancaster County is different from Brazil in the way that the government isn’t pushing farmers into the forest. Also, in my area farming is a dying career and hardly anyone wants to become a farmer. The two case studies are different in the way that the first one blames the government for causing deforestation to increase and the second one is explains a study done that is actually shows that logging trees can be a good thing. We can learn from both of these cases, the first thing is to not push farmers into the forest because that will just increase deforestation. The other thing is that if we correctly cut down trees in the right areas, we can actually help out the environment. Geographically, the top of the mountain will help when it snows so timing for the winter is everything that way new trees can grow in the spring.