To the Editor:
Have you ever imagined losing your home because someone wanted to build their house there? What about waking up one day to see that your entire world has been destroyed? Maybe one of your loved ones is missing? That is what deforestation is to animals all over the world. Every year, we lose forests equivalent to the size of Panama to deforestation. Thousands of square miles lost. This means every single day, land approximately the size of a large U.S. city such as Cleveland, is lost to unnecessary destruction of habitats, nature, and beauty due to needless deforestation. In the U.S., we have the fourth most forests in the world, so we have an extra responsibility to help stop deforestation and its harmful side effects.
Deforestation has many negative effects on the animals, people, and the environment. It unnecessarily destroys homes of animals all over the world, which harms the ecosystem by killing off entire species. While there is some natural deforestation due to natural disasters such as fires and floods, the amount caused by man here in the 21st century is so unnatural it changes the world permanently for the worse. Perhaps the most alarming effect of deforestation is that it is a huge contributor to global warming, climate change, and extreme erosion. Furthermore, deforestation pollutes the air which harms all living things, no matter their shape or size. However, if we all work together, we can stop this.
There are many things you can do to help fight this. Bike to work for a change, which will lower the demand for fossil fuels. You can always plant trees, that directly reverses deforestation, with new reforestation. However, there is one thing that can make a huge difference, education. Simply learning about the problem and educating others may change lives for the better. To become better informed, here are some helpful sites to start: 350.org and worldwildlife.org. For those individuals who want to get involved locally, I suggest they become a member of The Virginia Forest Watch at virginiaforestwatch.org.
Thank you in advance for making a difference.
Nick Sansone
8th Grader
Burgundy Farm Country Day School
Alexandria