For the first part, write about how deforestation has affected you in your own personal life. (150-200 words)
For part two, write about what problems it would cause for the environment and what action could be done to help reduce the problem. (250-300 words)
1. Deforestation affected me personally because my mom was born in Brazil and she has a house in Manaus, Brazil which is almost in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. When I was younger, we used to go there every year and visit my family and stay in the house in Manaus. I have always noticed the deforestation in the area, but in the more recent years it has become almost impossible to go there without seeing the effects of it. One of the best things about going to my mom’s house in Brazil was that the house was in the middle of nowhere and it was relaxing. Since the deforestation increased, the house does not feel like it is as secluded as it was and it makes it a lot less relaxing. This was how deforestation affected me on a personal level, but it does so much worse on an environmental level.
2. The Amazon Rainforest has the greatest level of biodiversity on the planet for how small the total area is. It contains over fifty percent of the world’s biodiversity as stated in the lesson, and there are many species of animals and plants including many that have medicinal value. Deforestation leads to habitat loss for the animals which causes them to lose their homes and food, which increases their chances of becoming endangered. There are millions of plants in the rainforest and it says in the lesson that we only tested about one percent of the world’s plants to see if they have medicinal uses. This means that deforestation kills potential medicinal plants and nobody even knows that were destroying our medicine. Also, since the resilience of an ecosystem depends on the amount of biodiversity, destroying the parts of the rainforest lowers the overall resilience of the ecosystem because much of the biodiversity is destroyed. There are many different actions that can be done to stop or reduce deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest. It says in the lesson that a big promoter of deforestation is the poverty of farmers causing them to clear more land in order to plant more crops. One thing that the United States can do to help reduce the deforestation in the Amazon is to help improve the economy in Brazil. If the economy improves, the farmers would not need to expand their lands by destroying the forests. Although the Amazon Rainforest is not located in the United States, I still believe that we should help stop the deforestation because that particular rainforest impacts the entire world.
Hi Eric, my name is Molly and I was really interested in your post because I am writing about deforestation in the Amazon for the final paper for this class. I think it is really cool how you have this type of connection with your Mom and Brazil because you have seen this first hand. I agree with you when you talk about how countries other than Brazil need to step up and help stop deforestation because the Amazon affects the world in many ways and shouldn’t be viewed as just Brazil’s problem. Overall, I really liked your post and I may refer to it while writing my own paper about this terrible issue. Here is the link to my post if you’re interested! http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/15/biodiversity-in-madagascar/#respond
Hello! I’m Tom and your post was interesting to me because the Amazon Rainforest is one of the most beautiful and mysterious places in the world. I agree that the United States could have a positive impact on preventing deforestation in Brazil if our country decides to help. I’m 100% behind preventing the spread of urban or agricultural areas to allow for the beauty of nature to remain. Every time I return home, I am saddened to see less and less of the natural countryside remaining to make way for buildings and homes. Here is a link to my post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/15/module-10-learning-activity/
Hi! I think that the background you included is very insightful and interesting! Here is the link to my post (https://sites.psu.edu/geog30/?p=57955&preview=true). Although I do not have as strong of a connection, deforestation is a topic that is very important to me as well, and I like how you chose to talk about it. I think that deforestation impacts everyone, no matter if they live in a city or deep in the rainforest. I would have totally overlooked the point about resilience of an ecosystem, but I think that it is a very important one. Coming from a farming background, I understand the deep problems that removing trees can create for agrarian economies.