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=Deforestation Questions=

Fertile Question: What will our forests be like in 2050? According to Britaldo Soares-Filho and a group of other scientists 40% of the Amazon will be grassland by 2050. Others say that nearly all of the Amazon will be grassland by 2050. Scientists estimate that 30% of the world's species are found in the Amazon and lots of animal's habitat will be destroyed. As well as that there would be water pollution, soil erosion and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Thus breaking the food chain and ending the lives of animals and fish. Fewer trees would also mean more carbon dioxide and less oxygen for us to breathe which is adding to the threat of global warming. But who is to be blamed? Americans have converted lots of their forests into furniture, firewood, paper etc. Other countries are no better than them. A lot of countries are labelled environmental villains because of their mass destruction to their forests.

Key Questions: 1. How much trees are getting cut down every year? Approximately 30% of the global land area is covered by forests. This is just under 4,000,000km^2. About 60,000km^2 are lost per year. This is causing maps to be redrawn.

2. What can we do to stop deforestation? Most companies reforests after they cut down the timber in large amounts to recover the trees. But the growing takes a while, and the reforestation is not sufficient. So the deforestation is more than the reforestation. If we all work together we might have a chance to recover those forests. If we all use less wood and less paper it might just save the Amazon Forest.

3. Is deforestation really necessary? Can we do without the factories and farms that we build on deforested land? There are two sides about this question. Some say that we need the lumber and turn a blind eye against the forest and some say we should preserve the forests but the lack of lumber will be an issue. Man is dependent on the forests because we need the lumber to produce furniture and things that we use in everyday life. Also, as brands get bigger they will be required to have more and more factories. These factories will most likely be built on the deforested land of the Amazon.

Supporting Questions: 1. At this rate how long do we have until the forests disappear? Scientists estimate that the whole Amazon could be gone by 2050 at this rate. Others think the Amazon would last a lot more than that about a decade more or so. Mainly because we are just pushing the limit. Even the early American settlers were armed with axes and other tools to take down the Amazon.

2. Is there a reason why we deforest more than we reforest? The money seems to be a problem. Also large amounts of reforestation requires a lot of seeds and trees don't grow that fast.

3. How much animals are dying from deforestation? A report said that Amazon deforestation had resulted in 26 animal and plant extinction. 644 other species will have the same fate if we don't act soon. Because man and animals depend on the forest animals simply can't live if we deforest the forest. They will either have to migrate a long long way to another habitat or just die there.

4. Can we stop deforestation for a while and wait for the reforestation to take place until enough reforested land is recovered and then we start using more timber? If so then how? Again the lack of lumber problem comes in. If we don't deforest, the things we make will be from other material. Since wood is one of our main materials in furniture making we might have lots of trouble.

5. What will happen to the world if all the forests were gone and we don't have the seeds to plant any more? If this happens then all our paper will most likely be recycled not new ones. Our once so called "forests" will be just grassland and swamps.

6. Is deforestation harmful to our atmosphere? Yes it is. Less trees mean more less oxygen and more carbon dixode because trees breathe in carbon dixode and release oxygen.