Of all the ecological problems today, one of the most serious one is deforestation. Forests are considered as being one of the greatest beauties our planet earth has; yet, it is being destroyed every day all over the world. Even scientists say that deforestation has a great impact in destroying the earth. "About one half of the forests that covered the Earth are gone. Each year, another 16 million hectares" (www.globalchange.com) disappear. Many people also think deforestation should be stopped for various reasons. Although research proves that deforestation increases global warming and destroys habitats of millions of animals and insects, some people are still with the idea of deforestation. .
Deforestation is one of the biggest contributors to global warming. It is one of the major causes of enhanced greenhouse effect. Research has proved that tropical deforestation affects 20% of the world greenhouse emissions. So how do forests help prevent all this? Forests and trees are the number one sources of oxygen. Trees and other plants remove carbon from the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide during the process of making energy for itself called photosynthesis, and release oxygen back into the atmosphere during normal respiration. Only actively growing trees and plants can do this. However, when those trees are cut down and burnt for deforestation, the CO2 accumulated during photosynthesis is released back into the atmosphere, which increases the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere. Although scientists have said that deforestation does not affect the atmospheric oxygen levels, deforestation will release CO2 into the atmosphere that contributes to global warming. Deforestation also means there will be fewer trees can photosynthesize, and most of the CO2 in the atmosphere won't be converted into oxygen which will also take part in global warming. Those who deforested should replant the trees in either the same, or a different site to prevent global warming.
