Why Are The Forests Disappearing?

The scale of deforestation in this world over the last few decades dwarfs that which took place in thousands of years prior to any of us being born. That this has happened during the period of time in which the environmental movement has been a going concern should be a worry to us all. Why are so many trees being cut down, even as we become more and more aware of the important part that they play in sustaining our lives?

The fact is that, as much as we rely on trees for environmental reasons, they are also pretty useful to people who have another priority. Cutting down trees is a major part of the paper-making industry, for one thing. It is considered by many that freshly-made paper, made from wood pulp, is of a better quality than more environmentally beneficial recycled paper – so the chopping down of trees continues.

There are more reasons than that, though. Industries like fast food rely to some extent on deforestation – by cutting down lots of trees they create more wide open spaces for cattle to graze, allowing them to have a greater profit margin. This is not to mention the widespread use of wood in other forms of manufacturing. Some of this is through necessity, but as often as not it is purely down to expediency. It is important to make a distinction between necessary logging and commercially-driven deforestation – trees are important resources, not to be wasted for easy gain.