DEFORESTATION

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is

thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of
forestland to agriculture or urban use.

The term deforestation is often misused to describe any activity where all trees in an area
are removed. However in temperate mesic climates, the removal of all trees in an area—
in conformance with sustainable forestry practices—is correctly described
as regeneration harvest. In temperate mesic climates, natural regeneration of forest stands
often will not occur in the absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic.
Furthermore, biodiversity after regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural
disturbance.

Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees or derived charcoal are used as, or sold, for
fuel or as lumber, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock, plantations of
commodities, and settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has
resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. It has adverse impacts
on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforested regions typically incur
significant adverse soil erosionand frequently degrade into wasteland.

Disregard or ignorance of intrinsic value, lack of ascribed value, lax forest management
and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur
on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation is an ongoing issue that is
causing extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement
ofindigenous people.
CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION

There are many causes of contemporary deforestation, including corruption of

government institutions, the inequitable distribution of wealth and power, population
growth and overpopulation, and urbanization. Globalization is often viewed as another
root cause of deforestation, though there are cases in which the impacts of globalization
(new flows of labor, capital, commodities, and ideas) have promoted localized forest
recovery.

In 2000 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that "the
role of population dynamics in a local setting may vary from decisive to negligible," and
that deforestation can result from "a combination of population pressure and stagnating
economic, social and technological conditions."

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

secretariat, the overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. Subsistence
farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for
32% of deforestation; logging is responsible for 14% of deforestation and fuel wood
removals make up 5% of deforestation.

The degradation of forest ecosystems has also been traced to economic incentives that
make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation. Many important
forest functions have no markets, and hence, no economic value that is readily apparent
to the forests' owners or the communities that rely on forests for their well-being. From
the perspective of the developing world, the benefits of forest as carbon sinks or
biodiversity reserves go primarily to richer developed nations and there is insufficient
compensation for these services. Developing countries feel that some countries in the
developed world, such as the United States of America, cut down their forests centuries
ago and benefited greatly from this deforestation, and that it is hypocritical to deny
developing countries the same opportunities: that the poor shouldn't have to bear the cost
of preservation when the rich created the problem.

Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global

deforestation. Some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they
have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and
labour needed to clear forest. One study found that population increases due to high
fertility rates were a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases.
Some commentators have noted a shift in the drivers of deforestation over the past 30
years. Whereas deforestation was primarily driven by subsistence activities and
government-sponsored development projects like transmigration in countries
like Indonesia and colonization in Latin America, India, Java etc. during late 19th century
and the earlier half of the 20th century. By the 1990s the majority of deforestation was
caused by industrial factors, including extractive industries, large-scale cattle ranching,
and extensive agriculture.

The destruction of the forests is occurring due to various reasons, one of the main
reasons being the short term economic benefits. Given below are some more common
causes of deforestation:

Used for Urban and Construction Purposes: The cutting down of trees for lumber that is
used for building materials, furniture, and paper products. Forests are also cleared in
order to accommodate expanding urban areas.

To Grow Crops: Forests are also cut down in order to clear land for growing crops.

To Create Grazing Land: Forests are cut down in order create land for grazing cattle.

Used for Fuel: Trees are cut down in developing countries to be used as firewood or
turned into charcoal, which are used for cooking and heating purposes.

Some of the other causes of deforestation are: clearing forests for oil and mining
exploitation; to make highways and roads; slash and burn farming techniques; wildfires;
and acid rain.
EFFECTS OF DEFORETATION
Environment change

One major effect of deforestation is climate change. Changes to the surroundings done by
deforestation work in many ways. One, there is abrupt change in temperatures in the
nearby areas. Forests naturally cool down because they help retain moisture in the air.

Second is the long process of global climate change. As mentioned above, deforestation
has been found to contribute to global warming or that process when climates around the
world become warmer as more harmful rays of the sun comes in through the atmosphere.

The ozone layer is a mass of oxygen or O3 atoms that serves as shield in the atmosphere
against the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Because ozone is made up of oxygen
atoms, oxygen react with carbon monoxide. Such reaction would use up oxygen atoms.

It follows that when there are more carbon monoxide atoms going to the atmosphere, the
volume of oxygen would decline. Such is the case of ozone depletion.

The third effect to the environment would be on the water table underneath the ground.
Water table is the common source of natural drinking water by people living around
forests.

Water table is replenishing. That means, the supply of water underground could also dry
up if not replenished regularly. When there is rain, forests hold much of the rainfall to the
soil through their roots.

Thus, water sinks in deeper to the ground, and eventually replenishing the supply of
water in the water table. Now, imagine what happens when there is not enough forests
anymore. Water from rain would simply flow through the soil surface and not be retained
by the soil.

Or other than that, the water from rain would not stay in the soil longer, for the process of
evaporation would immediately set in. Thus, the water table is not replenished, leading to
drying up of wells.

Effect to biodiversity

Forests are natural habitats to many types of animals and organisms. That is why, when
there is deforestation, many animals are left without shelters. Those that manage to go
through the flat lands and residential sites are then killed by people.

Through the years, it is estimated that there are millions of plant and extinct animal
species that have been wiped out because they have been deprived of home. Thus,
biodiversity is significantly lowered because of the savage deforestation practices of
some people.

Wildlife advocates have been constantly reminding that several wild animals left in the
world could still be saved if deforested forests would only be reforested and the practice
of slash and burn of forests would be totally abandoned.

Social effects of deforestation

Deforestation is hardly hitting the living conditions of indigenous people who consider
forests as their primary habitats. Imagine how they are rendered homeless when forests
are depleted. These natives would be forced to live elsewhere, and are usually left to
becoming mendicants in rural and urban areas.

Overall, effects of deforestation cannot be offset by the contribution of the practice to

development. While it is logical that progress is very much needed by mankind, it must
also be noted that nature knows no defeat. Destruct it and it would certainly retaliate, one
way or another.
WAY TO SOLVE DEFORESTATION
• Raise awareness about the potential hazards that will accrue if deforestation
continues unabated. Whenever in a group, converse on this topic and let people
know.
• Send e-mails to your friends and acquaintances, telling them about the practice of
deforestation and its harmful effects. Ask them to forward it to others, to make
everyone aware of the problem.
• Make placards saying ‘Plant More Trees’, ‘Do Not Waste Paper’, ‘Stop Cutting
Trees’, and the like. Try to get them placed at venues like the neighboring
community, schools, colleges, restaurants, etc.
• Do not waste paper at all. Instead, try to recycle paper as much as you can. Try to
imbibe the same sense in those around you, including your parents, children,
siblings, friends, and so on.
• Plant as many trees as possible. You can enlist the help of those around you and
plant trees in the public places, like parks, gardens, play areas, etc. If possible,
plant some of them in your house too.
• Make notes against deforestation and stick them on your desk in the office or pin
it on the notice board in your school. This way, you will make people realize how
important it is to stop deforestation.
• If possible, try to arrange conferences and meeting to enlist support, of even
strangers, for the cause. You can also get a local celebrity to tell people why and
how to stop deforestation.
• Try to convince the local counselor to introduce the idea of implementing
legislations in parliament, which would prevent the continued practice of
deforestation.
AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials

that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages
the natural environment into the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is a complex dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support
life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been
recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

Indoor air pollution and urban air quality are listed as two of the world's worst pollution
problems in the 2008 Blacksmith InstituteWorld's Worst Polluted Places report.

EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION

Health effects

The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes
directly attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor
air pollution. "Epidemiological studies suggest that more than 500,000 Americans die
each year from cardiopulmonary disease linked to breathing fine particle air
pollution. . ." A study by the University of Birmingham has shown a strong correlation
between pneumonia related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicles. Worldwide
more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents. Published in
2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air pollution annually. Causes of deaths
include aggravated asthma, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory
allergies. The US EPA estimates that a proposed set of changes in diesel
engine technology (Tier 2) could result in 12,000 fewer premature mortalities, 15,000
fewer heart attacks, 6,000 fewer emergency roomvisits by children with asthma, and
8,900 fewer respiratory-related hospital admissions each year in the United States.

The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in India was the 1984 Bhopal
Disaster. Leaked industrial vapors from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union
Carbide, Inc., U.S.A., killed more than 2,000 people outright and injured anywhere from
150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries.[citation
needed]
The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the December
4 Great Smog of 1952 formed over London. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000
more died within the following months.[citation needed] An accidental leak of anthrax spores
from a biological warfare laboratory in the former USSR in 1979 near Sverdlovsk is
believed to have been the cause of hundreds of civilian deaths. The worst single incident
of air pollution to occur in the United States of America occurred
in Donora,Pennsylvania in late October, 1948, when 20 people died and over 7,000 were
injured.

The health effects caused by air pollutants may include difficulty in breathing, wheezing,
coughing and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects
can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more
hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are
far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular
system. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is
exposed to, the degree of exposure, the individual's health status and genetics.

A new economic study of the health impacts and associated costs of air pollution in
the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley of Southern California shows that more
than 3800 people die prematurely (approximately 14 years earlier than normal) each year
because air pollution levels violate federal standards. The number of annual premature
deaths is considerably higher than the fatalities related to auto collisions in the same area,
which average fewer than 2,000 per year.
Effects on cystic fibrosis
Main article: Cystic fibrosis
A study from around the years of 1999 to 2000, by the University of Washington, showed
that patients near and around particulate matter air pollution had an increased risk of
pulmonary exacerbations and decrease in lung function. Patients were examined before
the study for amounts of specific pollutants like Pseudomonas aeruginosa orBurkholderia
cenocepacia as well as their socioeconomic standing. Participants involved in the study
were located in the United States in close proximity to an Environmental Protection
Agency. During the time of the study 117 deaths were associated with air pollution.
Many patients in the study lived in or near large metropolitan areas in order to be close to
medical help. These same patients had higher level of pollutants found in their system
because of more emissions in larger cities. As cystic fibrosis patients already suffer from
decreased lung function, everyday pollutants such as smoke, emissions from automobiles,
tobacco smoke and improper use of indoor heating devices could further compromise
lung function.
Effects on COPD
Main article: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include diseases such as chronic
bronchitis, emphysema, and some forms of asthma.

A study conducted in 1960-1961 in the wake of the Great Smog of 1952 compared 293
London residents with 477 residents of Gloucester, Peterborough, and Norwich, three
towns with low reported death rates from chronic bronchitis. All subjects were male
postal truck drivers aged 40 to 59. Compared to the subjects from the outlying towns, the
London subjects exhibited more severe respiratory symptoms (including cough, phlegm,
and dyspnea), reduced lung function (FEV1 and peak flow rate), and increased sputum
production and purulence. The differences were more pronounced for subjects aged 50 to
59. The study controlled for age and smoking habits, so concluded that air pollution was
the most likely cause of the observed differences.

It is believed that much like cystic fibrosis, by living in a more urban environment serious
health hazards become more apparent. Studies have shown that in urban areas patients
suffer mucus hypersecretion, lower levels of lung function, and more self diagnosis of
chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Effects on children
Cities around the world with high exposure to air pollutants have the possibility of
children living within them to develop asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory
infections as well as a low initial birth rate. Protective measures to ensure the youths'
health are being taken in cities such as New Delhi, India where buses now usecompressed
natural gas to help eliminate the “pea-soup” smog. Research by the World Health
Organization shows there is the greatest concentration of particulate matter particles in
countries with low economic world power and high poverty and population rates.
Examples of these countries include Egypt, Sudan, Mongolia, and Indonesia. TheClean
Air Act was passed in 1970, however in 2002 at least 146 million Americans were living
in areas that did not meet at least one of the “criteria pollutants” laid out in the 1997
National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Those pollutants included: ozone, particulate
matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. Because children are
outdoors more and have higher minute ventilation they are more susceptible to the
dangers of air pollution.

Health effects in relatively "clean" areas

Even in areas with relatively low levels of air pollution, public health effects can be
substantial and costly. This is because effects can occur at very low levels and a large
number of people can potentially breathe in such pollutants. A 2005 scientific study for
the British Columbia Lung Association showed that a 1% improvement in ambient
PM2.5 and ozone concentrations will produce a $29 million in annual savings in the
region in 2010. This finding is based on health valuation of lethal (mortality) and sub-
lethal (morbidity) effects.

CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION

Combustion Engine Exhaust
Cars, trucks, jet airplanes and other combustion engine vehicles cause air pollution.
The exhaust from these contains carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and gaseous oxide. This
type of air pollution creates smog (as seen in Los Angeles) which causes respiratory
health problems and holes in the ozone layer, which increases the exposure to the sun's
harmful rays.

Factories
 Factories, office buildings, homes and power-generating stations burn fossil fuels,
which cause air pollution. The burning of oil and coal (fossil fuels) also contributes to
smog. This air pollution destroys plants, damages buildings and creates oxidation on iron.

Petroleum
 Petroleum refineries release hydrocarbons and various particulates that pollute the air.

Power Lines
 Some power lines are not insulated and are high voltage. This creates air pollution.

Pesticides
 Pesticides used to kill indoor and outdoor pests, insecticides used to kill insects and
herbicides use to kill weeds all cause air pollution.

Radioactive Fallout
 Radioactive fallout causes air pollution from the nuclear energy dispersed, which is a
dust.

Fertilizer Dust
 Dust from fertilizers used to help plants grow causes air pollution.
Indoor Air Pollution
 Sick building syndrome (SBS) is the term used when there is indoor air pollution.
This happens when there is not enough ventilation to disburse the toxic fumes from new
carpet, paint and/or cleaning chemicals that are used indoors. Mold can also cause SBS.
Mining Operations
 Mining causes air pollution by releasing a variety of particles.

Mills and Plants

 Mills and plants, include paper mills, chemical plants, iron mills, steel mills, cement
plants and asphalt plants, release emissions into the air causing air pollution.

WAY TO SOLVE AIR POLLUTION

• Carpool- This will help to reduce the number of vehicles on the already congested
roads.
• Always keep your car tuned properly so that it remains in a good condition.
• Save energy- Try to use minimum amounts of natural gas and even electricity.
Whenever possible, avoid the use of air conditioner and use a fan instead.
• Always buy recycled products.
• Reuse things such as paper and plastic bags, paper etc. This will contribute a lot
towards reducing the effects of air pollution and global warming.
• Avoid the use of firecrackers. You don’t really need it to express your feeling of
happiness.
• Go in for water-based paints instead of varnishes.
• If you really cannot avoid using your car, plan your work systematically to reduce
air pollution.
WATER POLLUTION