| Unfortunately, developing countries in the tropics are trying to improve their economies by utilizing their forests. Brazil has flooded thousands of square kilometers of Amazonian forest for hydro-electric dams, and more are planned. |
|
Large populations of very poor people and tropical forests produce conflicts. A subsistence
farmer can't stop to worry about the environment. But the industrialized nations of the north also destroy large tracts of forest for short-term
economic gain.
A close up aerial view of a recently deforested area in Guatemala. Photo courtesy of Dana Slaymaker |
| Perhaps the greatest potential cause of deforestation lies in the future: climate change. If the greenhouse effect raises the earth's temperature, forests may no longer be able to survive in their present locations. Some may have to migrate up mountain slopes, or to cooler or wetter environments. But unlike conditions following the last Ice Age, global warming will probably happen too quickly for forests to adapt. |
deforestation -- page 5 of 5
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sub-topic
[overcutting]
related topics
[climate change] [tropical forests] [forests through time] [temperate regions through time]
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