In Our Hands

Today, the world is facing a serious problem. A problem that needs our help. An ecological crisis is well on it's way if we don't try to do something about it and one of the main concerns is deforestation. There have been several warnings about an ecological crisis for us, but nothing that has caught enough attention to make an impact. This is not new news though, this is something that has been going on for thousands of years but is increasingly becoming more and more of a problem in our world today. Now, it's our time to step in to stop this crisis before it's too late.

"The Lessons of Easter Island" by Clive Pointing is a great example of what can happen if we are not aware of this problem and work toward a solution. When Easter Island, a tiny remote island off the coast of South America, was discovered by Dutch Admiral Roggeveen, he stumbled upon something which was probably very unexpected. The island had turned into a rustic war-like environment and the few thousand of people left on the island had turned to cannibalism to survive. Years before, when the population was at it's prime, the island was an extraordinary place. People were intrigued by how socially and technologically advanced the island was. However, if you don't use your resources wisely it can create many problems, and this is what the people on Easter Island soon discovered. Deforestation is what caused the downfall of easter Island. They used the trees for everything from food sources to transportation and when there were no longer trees left there was a fight for survival. Today, we are facing the same type of problems and it is up to us to take control and use our resources wisely.

Another way deforestation an impact us today is in form of natural disaster. As stated in "Ecosystems Millenium Assessment" deforestation has a major impact on natural disasters such as floods and fires. These natural disasters have increased due to the fact that natural forests are diminishing. Also, as the human species is increasing, the number os species is decreasing which is creating problems that relate to the ecological crisis. Because the human population is increasing so is the demand for things such as food, water and timber. It is important that we use our resources wisely so we do not face an event like Easter Island.

However, there are ways that deforestation. The article"Benefits of Deforestation" from Edu.udym.com explains that "the forests are disappearing because people benefit from deforestation." Cutting down the forest helps to meet the needs of people in more ways than one. We need deforestation in order to get our supplies of lumber and wood products which greatly benefit our economy. Another reason it is a good thing is because it provides access to natural resources located beneath the mature trees and provides land for building homes and industry. Last, it creates many jobs that support the economy and people rely on these jobs to support their families. The world would be without many jobs without deforestation.

All of these stories and articles make great points but there has to be a balance. There has to be a way for us to balance this ecological crisis that we are facing because as stated, it does provide many benefits but it also has many negative effects. It is not necessarily deforestation that is causing this crisis, it is the way that we are handling it. We must be smart not use too much too fast. This is in our hands.