A World Without Trees

by Ethan Marshall

Look out the window. Now imagine that entire green expanse becoming bare and desolate. For many people around the world this could become a reality too soon. Around the world today we lose 100,000 Km2 of forest every year ("Global Deforestation"). That's an area four times the size of Vermont. At this rate we risk losing all of the world's remaining rainforests over the next 90 years. So why should we care? They're just trees, right? Wrong. The disappearance of these forests can spell disaster for many species and have a widespread effect on our environment and mankind.

Forests are our planet's natural way of converting CO2 back into oxygen. The Amazon rainforest alone contributes nearly 20% of the world's oxygen ("Amazon Rainforest"). Clearly, if these massive forests were to disappear our air quality would plummet as our air became increasingly filled with poisonous CO2 gasses. Additionally, agricultural clearing of land causes most deforestation. Most of this clearing is done using slash and burn techniques. The trees burned in this process account for nearly one third of man-made carbon emissions ("Global Deforestation"). This combination of massive carbon emissions with an ever decreasing ability to turn CO2 into oxygen, plays a large role in global warming.

The destruction of these forests also poses large problems for local animal and plant species. Scientists estimate that "130 species of plants, animals, and insects are lost every day." ("Amazon Rainforest")This is a huge risk. Since we have not properly studied many of these species we do not understand what role they may play in the global ecosystem and therefore cannot accurately predict the ramifications of their extinction. Also we are potentially throwing away invaluable medical resources. Currently 25% of drugs in the United States owe their active ingredients to plants from the rainforest ("Facts and figures - on deforestation"). Only a fraction of the rainforest plants have been discovered let alone considered for medical purposes.

Deforestation is also the primary cause of desertification. Trees allow a region to retain water in a number of ways. First, the trees shade the ground. This keeps summer heat from drying out moist farmable land. Additionally, trees:
Transport great quantities of water to the atmosphere via plant transpiration. (Water is taken up by plant roots, bringing dissolved minerals into plant tissues. Plants exchange gases with the atmosphere through openings in their leaves, and lose water in the same way. That water loss provides the plant with a means to transport materials upwards, and so is beneficial, so long as water loss is not excessive). Much of that transpired water replenishes the clouds and rain that maintain the rain forest. If the forest is cut, much more of that rain will become river water, flow to distant seas, and the region will become permanently drier. ("Global Deforestation").

In this process excess water is evaporated from plant leaves back into the atmosphere to fall again as rain. Without this process this excess water creates increased flow in rivers and streams that carry this water away from the land and off to distant seas and oceans. As a result many deforested areas dry out at an alarming rate.

Extensive deforestation can also result in more extreme natural disasters such as floods and land slides. With no trees to soak up excess rain, rivers overflow much more quickly. This has been proven by the fact that as deforestation continues in Brazil, the Amazon River's flood crest has increased over the past years without any measurable increase in rainfall ("Global Deforestation"). These more prevalent and extreme floods can be dangerous to people and cause extensive damage to property and crops. Without trees large areas of land are much more susceptible to erosion and landslides which can be both dangerous and harmful.

In May of 2004 nearly 1700 Haitians lost their lives to rising floodwaters ("Dominican, Haiti floods death toll nears 2,000")."Police officer Juan de la Cruz Mota Dotel said he lost two of his children and his wife in the disaster, along with 22 other members of his extended family. A third child, a 3-year-old daughter, survived, clinging onto a gravestone in a cemetery" ("Dominican, Haiti floods death toll nears 2,000"). The storm swept away possessions, homes, crops and friends and family. A major reason for the extent of the damages is the deforestation on Haiti. The Haitian half of the island is nearly 98% cleared ("Haiti Floods Due To Deforestation"). In contrast, on the more lush Dominican side of the island the death toll was a mere 300 and most of them were near the Haitian border. This is a clear indication of the difference trees can make.

Wangari Maathai returned to her hometown in Kenya after ten years in the United States to find it ravaged by the effects of deforestation. The women of her village had to walk miles to find fuel to cook the nightly meal, soil eroded and blew off fields, the land was dry, there was little clean water and the children suffered from malnutrition. Maathai aimed to fix these problems with something as simple as planting trees. She started with seven trees and has developed her vision to repair the Earth into an organization called the Green Belt Movement with a goal of planting over a billion trees. The trees she has planted have brought life back to many devastated villages. The trees provide shade, help reverse desertification, prevent erosion, supply fuel and are capable of growing nutrition fruits to combat malnutrition. ("About Wangari Maathai")

Currently there are numerous groups and organizations at the local, regional and global levels like the Green Belt Movement that are working with the simple goal of planting trees. While this is helpful there are some more wide reaching groups such as the Save America's Forests organization, which has some extensive work to pass legislation in the United States to diminish deforestation and begin to rebuild.
Ultimately we need to realize that we cannot successfully exist without large forests and we must take legal action to ensure that they are preserved. Governments around the world could set aside land as wild life preserves, national forests and national parks. Additionally, we need more legislation around the globe to outlaw clear cutting of forest land.

Another major improvement would be for farmers and loggers to work together. For instance if a farmer needs cleared land it should be properly logged so that the cut timber goes to good use instead of being needlessly burned. This would cut down on CO2 emissions and supply much needed timber so that other trees could be left alone.
While it would be hard to do any of this yourself there are definitely some small steps you can take to combat global deforestation. The first and most basic is to conserve. Recycle your paper, buy reusable bags to carry your groceries and pay bills online. The next step up would be to make a donation to an organization like Green Belt Movement or write to your senator to support forestry bills such as the Save America's Forest Act. Finally there is the most obvious. Go out and plant a tree.

If you wish to make a donation here are the links to some organizations including Green Belt Movement: and The World Wildlife Organization


Here is the link to Save America's Forests where you will find
information on the bill and organization as well as a link to email
your senator: Click Here