As a child, I loved to see nature and experience what its full potential beauty is. My family and I watched documentaries from “Our Planet With David Attenborough” on the couch in my living room. Attenborough always talks about deforestation in different parts of the world and how climate change affects the way we live on the Earth. I started to wonder if these problems existed in the United States. With me looking up if these problems did exist in the U.S., I had sadly come to the realization that these problems indeed impacted the United States. 

People Like David Attenbourough inspired me to go outside and look at trees and animals that were right in my backyard. I looked at how the trees would be able to point their leaves down to protect their seedlings when a storm was coming, I learned that trees were responsible for all the air we breathe. I then saw that the neighborhood next to me had a forest and was slowly being cut down to build more houses. Every day on my way to school, I would realize that tree stumps and the trees that were connected to the trees would be left there to rot, and no one would care about them.

But realizing today that there is more pollution in the atmosphere and that there are less trees than ten years ago is astonishing to me. What makes me the most furious is that people don’t think that deforestation in the places we live in isn’t an issue and that it hasn’t taken a toll at all yet, but some people know that's a lie. This issue could either resolve itself with the help from people, or let itself rage on with all of the other problems in the United States. 

Letting forest fires continue along with the large amount of trees the United States is losing as a country and leaving the trees to rot is infuriating. This wasn’t the place I was dreaming of living in, with the amount of trees being cut down, large amounts of pollution in the atmosphere, and seeing forest fires happening on the news in California. This is the future we are going to continue to see if we relentlessly let this issue continue. If we don’t allow people to replant trees or stand up for what they believe in, the United States will have many more problems with deforestation in front of it. 

Deforestation has been a big problem for the United States for quite some time now. This issue affects everybody as a citizen of the United States. This country is meant to be one of the most beautiful places to  visit or live in, but with deforestation and climate change still having an effect on the United States, people are starting to think that the United States isn’t the beautiful place they were promised. With the help from Rainforest Alliance, people are learning how to help and support the United States and its natural beauty. Rainforest Alliance states that “What the deforesters do with the felled trees either leaving them to rot on the forest floor or burning them, creates further emissions. All told, deforestation on its own causes about 10 percent of worldwide emissions.” (Rainforest Alliance 2). What this means is that people deforesting the trees from forests aren’t even doing anything with them, they  either leave them to rot or burn them so they can put up architecture like houses or buildings. Rainforest Alliance also states that “Deforestation robs us of a crucial weapon in the battle against climate change and creates further emissions. The world's large population has made it profitable for big businesses to raze forests so people can plant crops like soy and oil palm.” (Rainforest Alliance 3). Most of the time people cut down trees, bushes, and other things like to get to feed people food that isn’t all that healthy for them. Finally, Rainforest Alliance uses evidence to convey that “Our accounting of the ugly impacts of deforestation only considers emissions and doesn’t even touched on how the lives and traditions of forest communities are ruined when forests are razed, or how many species of plants and animals are lost, upsetting the delicate balance of ecosystems.” (Rainforest Alliance 7). Using up the trees that cover most of the United States, people use these trees for paper, fast food, and for agricultural advancements. The United States government should not allow the access to the United States forests and use them for fast food, a large amount of paper, or large amounts of energy used from them, because the country would be able to protect its natural resources like forests.

Furthermore, deforestation has spread rapidly throughout the United States and it has caused many different problems for its ecosystems. People cut trees down and leave them to rot to build houses to “satisfy” the United States rapidly growing population. More plants like palm oil isn’t helping recover the problem with deforestation but instead is taking up more space for the lost trees that had been cut down. “Without sufficient finance, it can be difficult to protect forests, as alternative land uses (such as for palm oil) can offer more immediate and guaranteed cash returns.” (Grantham Research Institute 8).  With the problem of more people cutting down more and more trees for little cash rewards is not going to make the loss of trees improve. People are going to destroy more forests in the United States than ever before. “Scientists have recognised the value of protecting forests in tackling climate change. Policymakers have developed a family of policies, collectively known as reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation to provide a financial incentive to communities.” (Grantham Research Institute 4). With the amazing amount of people protecting the forests of the United States could improve the amount of forests regaining its original stance from about 100 years ago. “While experts have demonstrated how REDD has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions, it has its own problems. For example, people are starting to focus on reducing emissions caused by some of the world’s poorest people while emissions continue to rise in richer places.” (Grantham Research Institute 6). People focusing on the problems from the REDD+ problems can make it important for people to regenerate the United States’s natural forests.

Also, people in the United States Government and people in the public would start to witness a large depleting percentage of the United States forests due to deforestation. Julia Rosen from “The New York Times,” implies that “temperature measurements taken at weather stations and on ships starting in the mid-1800s. Later, scientists began tracking surface temperatures with satellites.” (Rosen 5). Rosen means that with the loss of trees is warming the United States because of the trees not taking in the sunlight and instead forcing scorching temperatures onto everyone. Rosen also analyzes that “average global temperatures have increased by 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.2 degrees Celsius, since 1880, with the greatest changes happening in the late 20th century.” (Rosen 6). Again, Rosen conveys that without trees and other plants soaking up the sunlight and gaining the energy they need to thrive, global warming takes place because of the loss of forests in the United States. Rosen finally leaves us with, “Land areas have warmed more than the sea surface and the Arctic has warmed the most by more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit just since the 1960s.” (Rosen 6). The loss of forests plays a big role in global warming affecting the United States. These great amounts of tree loss affects many people and will one day possibly wipe us all out if we don’t put this problem to an end.

Further explained, despite what most people think, deforestation in natural forests of the United States forces us to focus on the resources we have as a country. The majority of deforestation in the United States and using fossil fuels to be used for gas and other things causes loss of ecosystems in the United States. According to Jeff Turrentine, “The burning of coal, oil, and natural gas in our buildings, industrial processes, and transportation is responsible for the vast majority of emissions that are warming the planet more than 75 percent.” (Turrentine 4). Burning coal and fossil fuels forces smoke to be put into the atmosphere which would cause forests to be destroyed by climate change. People believe that climate change hasn’t created much of a problem for the United States, but most research shows otherwise. Turrentine explains that “modeling by NRDC has found that wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear could account for as much as 80 percent of U.S. electricity by the end of this decade.” (Turrentine 6). Switching from burning coal and fossil fuels to solar, hydro, or wind based energy uses could turn the United States into a new direction and prevent heat induced products into the United States’ atmosphere. Turrentine also expresses that “Some of these climate-friendly strategies can be enormously complex, such as helping utility companies adopt performance-based regulation systems which would improve the base of their business.” (Turrentine 8). With the “climate-friendly” improvements, deforestation prevention would be made because of the less amount of fossil fuels and coal fumes in the atmosphere.

Also, Using the energy from other resources could supply us with a new way of giving us a better reputation for restoring our forests. Resources like solar panels and electric sources that don’t include coal or fossil fuels would benefit the United States because of the less amount of fumes in the atmosphere. Jeff Turrentine further explains that “Solar energy currently accounts for just under 3 percent of the electricity generated in the United States, enough to power 18 million homes but is growing at a faster rate than any other source.” (Turrentine 10). With 18 million homes with Solar Energy set into their homes, which can help protect the ecosystems around the United States. With the help of wind turbines, many other places to supply energy other than Solar Panels. Jeff Turrentine also analyzes that “States with plenty of wide-open space, including Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have huge capacity when it comes to wind power, but many analysts believe that some of the greatest potential for wind energy exists just off our coasts.” (Turrentine 12). Wind turbines in certain states with larger land areas would be able to benefit from this because solar energy can reach farther places than just one house with Solar Panels. Water can also help supply energy because places with rivers, lakes, and streams would be able to benefit from this because of water passing through a generator. Jeff Turrentine further explains that “Water under certain conditions can also be a source of renewable energy. Geothermal energy works by drilling deep underground and pumping extremely hot water up to the earth’s surface, where it is then converted to steam that, once pressurized, spins a generator to create electricity.” (Turrentine 13). All of these energy sources have a huge impact on putting an end to deforestation in the United States. With the help of different energy sources could prevent trees from being cut down and used for energy sources.

Finally, using things used from the world's natural resources could create problems with deforestation like using oils and trees for being in charge of transportation. Using oils and plants may be beneficial for the planet but with the amount of trees being cut down that’s starting to turn on us in a drastic way. According to David Biello of Scientific American, states that “Buildings worldwide contribute around one third of all greenhouse gas emissions (43 percent in the U.S. alone), even though investing in cost-effective, could save money in the long run.” (Biello 5).  With the emissions from what seem like helpful situations could destroy more forests from the emissions from greenhouses. Cement production pollutes the United States because of the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Biello also explains that “The U.S. alone contributed 50.7 million  tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2005 from cement production, which requires heating limestone and other ingredients to 1,450 degrees Celsius.” (Biello 6). Carbon dioxide has a long term effect of heating the planet by some few degrees. If this issue continues, the planet would suffer from the mistakes from the human population destroying the planet by destroying trees and using resources for danger. Biello explains that “Jets rely on kerosene, because it packs the most energy per pound, allowing them to travel far and fast, yet it takes roughly 10 gallons of oil to make one gallon of JetA fuel.” (Biello 10). With jets and other airlines releasing large amounts of oil into the atmosphere makes the planet warm up even more. With oils and other things used for transportation creates problems for the United States problems with emissions, gas released into the atmosphere, and oils put into the air causing the planet to heat up creates a problem for everybody living in the United States and people everywhere on the planet.

In conclusion, many things can be done to resolve deforestation in the United States. The United States has seen many problems with deforestation in the past decade and the United States has been struggling to regain its tree population due to human actions. With the help from people around the United States, people could replant more trees, cut down less trees, and prevent planting things like oil palm in places where trees were originally planted. With less manufacturing in the United States, people from around the U.S. would see drastic changes in how the country has restored its natural beauty from replanting trees. Also, with the help from solar, wind, and geothermal energies, less pollution would be released into the atmosphere. This means that people would still be able to get the energy they need for where they live in a much safer way than burning fossil fuels to create energy. With the help from preventing more airplane flights, this would lead to less pollution from burnt oil into the atmosphere of the Earth and can affect the amount of ecosystems being repopulated. The United States government should not allow the access to the United States forests and use them for fast food, a large amount of paper, or large amounts of energy used from them, because the country would be able to protect its natural resources like forests.

Works Cited

Biello, David. “10 Solutions for Climate Change.” Scientific American, 26 Nov. 2007, www.scientificamerican.com/article/10-solutions-for-climate-change/.

Nerger, Matt. “What Is the Relationship between Deforestation and Climate Change?” Rainforest Alliance, 25 Oct. 2022, www.rainforest-alliance.org/insights/what-is-the-relationship-between-deforestation-and-climate-change/.

Rosen, Julia. “The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof.” The New York Times, 19 Apr. 2021, www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare.

Turrentine, Jeff. “What Are the Solutions to Climate Change?” Be a Force for the Future, 13 Dec. 2022, www.nrdc.org/stories/what-are-solutions-climate-change#fossil-fuels.

“What Is the Role of Deforestation in Climate Change and How Can ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation’ (REDD+) Help?” Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, 10 Feb. 2023, www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/whats-redd-and-will-it-help-tackle-climate-change/.