No Trees No Life

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Claim of Fact Cutting down trees, also known as deforestation will bring about destruction and complete ecological disaster. Different species will no longer have homes and without sufficient shelter will die. Even human beings will be greatly affected. Carbon dioxide is one of the major concerns with deforestation. Since trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, less trees means more carbon dioxide and less oxygen. The carbon footprint created by four years of deforestation is equal to the carbon footprint of every single air flight in the history of aviation up to the year 2025 (Kristof 2008). That is the amount of carbon dioxide our trees absorb just so we can breathe. If you think about it, the more carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere, the higher the greenhouse effect rises, which will lead to an increase in global warming. Trees also help to make it rain. They release water vapor into the air, so less trees means less rain. A lower water table can be devastating for farmers who can’t keep crops alive in dry soil (Deforestation Exacerbates Haiti Floods 2004). Trees act like a barrier around our coasts to slow waves and high winds form storms. Without the aids of these trees, flooding will increase. Scientists believe that the removal of mangrove forests over the past decade caused the cyclone that hit Myanmarin in 2008, to hit with much more force (Intact Mangroves could have Reduced Nargis Damage 2008). Trees force water to move around them as the water runs off the land. The roots from the trees bind the soil under the ground which prevents it from being washed away. When trees are no longer in the picture, the soil gets washed away as the water runs off causing soil erosion. According to Rebecca Lindsey, rainforest cover only about seven percent of the world’s surface. However, within this seven percent live almost

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