- Deforestation
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Losing Our Forests
Deforestation is not a modern problem. Human beings have been tearing down trees for almost as long as they've been around. What initially began as a necessity for warmth and shelter has become a worldwide epidemic : we're currently losing forests the size of a football field every second. And according to the World Resources Institute, as much as 80% of the world's forests have already been destroyed.
The implications are dire. Forests stabilize our climate by acting as a thermostat; they remove heat-trapping greenhouse gases (including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone) from the air and holding them in their leaves, roots, wood and soil. They are also home to much of the planet's biodiversity; more than half the world's species live in rainforests and the Amazon basin alone contains 20% of the world's freshwater.
Not convinced? Check out the above video to get an idea of the havoc we're wreaking on one of our planet's most valuable resources.
