Author Britt Nichols

The Dangers of Deforestation

Brittany Nichols

     We as humans have a terrible habit of living life with tunnel vision. Most of us go about our daily routines unaware of the world going on around us. It seems that we have adapted the “out of sight, out of mind” motto. This lifestyle, covenant as it may be, has had consequences that a lot of people are not aware of. Of course the obvious consequence is climate change, but another major issue our way of living has caused is the rapid decline of our fellow earth species. 

    With large amounts of human populations all around the world the need for resources are in high demand, but at what cost? Many large corporations have tried to find cheaper ways to accommodate those demands. One of those shortcuts is: palm oil. If you take a look at the ingredients in the food you are purchasing you are almost guaranteed to find palm oil listed. You may be wondering, how does palm oil affect our wildlife populations? The answer is: deforestation.

     Deforestation is happening at alarming rates to make room for palm oil plantations and human habitats. Cutting down our rainforests for profit has proven itself to be selfish and very dangerous for our planet. Our rainforests are a vital part of our earth’s ecosystem. Aside from providing much needed habitat for wildlife rainforests are the earth’s natural way of dealing with CO2 in our atmosphere. The rainforests that we are destroying also happen to be the home of many endangered species. Some, but not all, of the animals who are on the decline are:

 Sumatran Tiger– “The last of Indonesia’s tigers—now fewer than 400—are holding on for survival in the remaining patches of forests on the island of Sumatra.” (WWF, n.d.)

 Sumatran Rhino– “the closest living relatives to the now-extinct woolly rhinos. Their population is unstable, threatened by poaching as well as the destruction of their habitat by unsustainable palm oil production” (WWF, n.d.)

 Bornean Pygmy Elephant– “The smallest in size of Asian elephant subspecies, only 1,500 or so of these pachyderms live on Borneo” (WWF, n.d.)

Sumatran Elephant– “The elephant population across the island is crashing, with far fewer than 3,000 surviving, as herds are left homeless, harassed and killed due to intense conflict with people over shrinking habitat.” (WWF, n.d.)

Orangutan– “Indonesia and Malaysia produce more than 85% of the world’s palm oil and are the only remaining home to orangutans. Fewer than 80,000 of these animals survive today, their habitats under constant threat of deforestation.” (WWF, n.d.)

    How do we solve this issue? It is very important that we continue to spread awareness to everyone. I can not express this enough, knowledge is key! Making our voices heard and speaking against greedy corporations is where we start. Along with spreading awareness we need to take action as well. Avoid giving your money to businesses who are not eco-friendly, sign petitions to end deforestation, vote out politicians who do not support fixing the climate crisis, volunteer your time to help clean up your local areas, and if possible donate to larger non-profits who are on the same mission as you are. Some of these things will be challenging, I know because I too am trying to take these actions, but the end game is worth the change of lifestyle. The bottom line is no matter how challenging we must stop living such destructive lives, blindly, if we want to continue to live on this earth. 

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