Over 47,500 forest fires have occurred within the past year. Of those 47,500 forest fires, 6,315 occurred within the Amazon. According to the article The Disappearing Rainforests, with this many fires occurring, “more than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, and much more is severely threatened as the destruction continues”. Not only does this information bring awareness to a sensitive situation, but it also encourages individuals to take action. Not only are animals and habitats harmed throughout the duration of a forest fire, but plant life is also killed. People need to be made aware of these occurrences and be informed on what action needs to be taken in order to help prevent more forest fires from occurring.
What many individuals do not understand is that humans are one main cause of forest fires. This is because in order to create more housing and farmland, trees are knocked down in order to make more room. This process is labeled as deforestation—forest fires can be a result of this action. According to the article Deforestation Explained, “since humans started cutting down forests, 46 percent of trees have been felled, according to a 2015 study in the journal Nature. About 17 percent of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and losses recently have been on the rise”(Nunez). Forests not only give animals a home, but they also help slow climate change. Trees capture greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide, preventing them from accumulating in the atmosphere and warming our planet. Preventing the planet from overheating helps not only humans but the food we grow and need to survive.
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The Amazon Rainforest is one of the largest rainforests in the world. This being said, there are many things that constantly seem to want to cause harm to it. The rainforest has delt with many other threats other than just fires. Deforestation is one main reason why the Amazon Rainforest has lost nearly 770,000 square km of forest. To put that number into perspective, the total amount of forest lost is equivalent to the size of Texas. All of this damage has been done only within the past thirty to forty years. The individuals who cut down all of the trees has managed to destroy more forest in the past four decades than the last 450 years combined. This does not just include the deforestation but the major forest fires that have come as a result.
As seen in the graph, the number of forest fires from the year 2019 has doubled since 2018. This is because, in order to accommodate more people; forests need to be removed to be able to build more houses, create more farms, and build more buildings for jobs and businesses. Not only does harming the tree increase climate change, it also conveys a big problem arising, overpopulation.
By the 1970s, overpopulation hysteria came fully back into vogue. Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb in 1968, which opened with the lines, “The battle to feed all of humanity is over”. Human overpopulation is among the most pressing environmental issues, silently aggravating the forces behind global warming, environmental pollution, habitat loss, the sixth mass extinction, intensive farming practices and the consumption of finite natural resources, such as fresh water, arable land and fossil fuels. Overpopulation has continued to become a rising issue—however, not much is being done to help gradually solve this issue. Many ideas have been thrown around to help solve overpopulation and some countries have enforced them, but others have not.
Not only does overpopulation have a big impact on deforestation, but forest fires also play a key role in shaping ecosystems by serving as an agent of renewal and change. But fire can be deadly, destroying homes, wildlife habitat and timber, and polluting the air with emissions harmful to human health. Fire also releases carbon dioxide—a key greenhouse gas—into the atmosphere. This have a huge impact on the animals who have mad habitats within these forests. In a recent article it portrays, “scientists told AFP that more than 2.3 million animals may have died in the flames racing through the protected forest areas in the region, as well as grasslands like the tropical savannas of the Chiquitania region”(D’Mello). Many animals have gone extinct because of forest fires and deforestation.
Many different primary forests makeup the Amazon Rainforest. Some of these forests could be wiped out by one forest fire because of how small of a percentage they take up. Many animals inhabit these areas and in they have to leave their habitat, some may die off because they are unable to adapt to new areas. Not only do animals have to move habitats because of forest fires but also people. Animals are most often moved by people who are experiencing problems with wildlife or by those who think the animal would be better off somewhere else. Never move wildlife; it can cause a lot of harm to the animal. The animal will struggle finding food, water, and shelter in a new area, possible leading to death.
Many organizations have been created to help these animals in need. Multiple options have been given to help save Amazon Rainforest’s: choose products that give back, support indigenous communities, reduce your carbon footprint, share rainforest news on social media. We need to make people aware that humans are a big reason for most of Amazon Rainforest's fires. Most individuals could care less about the outcome of our forests, not just the Amazon Rainforests. The forests are a big part of human evolution. We need the rain forests to produce oxygen and clean the atmosphere to help us breathe. We also know that the earth's climate can be affected, as well as the water cycle. Rainforests also provide us with many valuable medicinal plants and may be a source of a cure from some deadly diseases.
Deforestation and forest fires play a major role in the increase in climate change. Not only is global warming a result of deforestation and forest fires but overpopulation also has a part to play. Many individuals need housing and more farmland in order to compensate everyone. This then results in forests being knocked down to make room for new individuals. Not only are humans affected by this change, but so are animals. When forests are knocked down, animals need to migrate to a new area in order to stay alive. Unfortunately, some animals are unable to adapt and die off. Many things can be done to help reduce all these problems. What will you do to help the health and future of our earth?
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