Deforestation Isn’t Totally Destructive: Opinion Statement

Wood is one of the longest standing building materials in existence… homes built over 10,000 years ago used timber as a primary source for construction materials it is also used as a dominant form of fuel for heat, additionally 25% of the world's lumber harvest now goes towards paper production. “Deforestation is the process of clearing or thinning forests by humans to make the land available for other uses.” The WWF made reports that “half of the trees that legally removed from forests are due to overpopulation, expansion, urbanization, for commercial use like furniture and to create ingredients that are highly prized consumer items such as the oil from palm trees.” Deforestation has become a global concern and my opinion essay will show different angle of this problem as deforestation reflects how far science and technology have come to benefit a society.

There are multiple misconceptions about deforestation, for example a common myth is “the transformation of forests to non-forest is the greatest threat of deforestation.” When really no profitable market for timber products exist, forest land is much more likely to be converted to uses with economic/ capital values like using the land for agricultural or construction purposes. In the 2010 Global Forest Resources Assessment reported that “the United States gains between 600,000 and 1,200,000 acres of forest annually”. Many people would say that forest in the united states are being diminished- deforestation is occurring worldwide, but the United States continues to replace and reclaim acres harvested and lost to forest fires, insects, disease and development.

Where would humans be without deforestation? Right now humans depend on the removal of trees for capital and technological use rather than for sustenance use like they used it for before the industrialization. Without the commercial use of trees people would not be where they are today. According to a study conducted at Stanford University “given our burgeoning population growth, additional living areas made on cleared forest land is another benefit of deforestation. These places can be converted into more than just housing areas. Buildings which can house offices for work, or factories to produce clothing and other essential items” or even research facilities for things like new medical or technological advances. Urbanization is a major cause of deforestation with an estimated gain of 3.3 million hectares of land per year. This land which is used to create many jobs, homes and businesses.

Thanks to deforestation overpopulated cities are easier to fix, jobs are created and homes/ schools can be established. Just as Victor Frankenstein pushed the boundaries of science to create ‘the creature’ and make new discoveries, we’ve pushed the boundaries of science with the removal of trees for multi beneficial purposes to give us the modern technology we have today.