Clear cutting

This paper is about clear cutting, which is a form of logging that is devastating to the environment. The idea of clear cutting is to cut down a lot of trees in mass production, and then move on to another spot. There are pros and cons to this practice. From what I have researched my opinion on clear cutting is it’s horrible for the environment.

Clear cutting helps replenish the environment. By planting sun loving trees on one’s property and cutting most of them down so new trees can grow starts the process over again, plus it provides jobs for our country, and we could use that about now. Clear cutting provides jobs for people in our country and other countries. Clear cutting requires jobs such as, loggers, truck drivers, and the people who handle the lumber after the clear cutting is done. We are using more wood than ever, but we are cutting down fewer trees than before. The process turns the bark of the log into mulch, and the round part of the log is cut off and goes to the paper mill. Processors leave a rectangle that gets cut into different sized planks. By cutting down many trees in a forest it opens up space for other trees to grow. In a forest trees compete for sunlight, so if you cut down a tree something will grow in its place. Those are facts from the pro-side of the argument. Others disagree that clear cutting replenishes anything.

Clear cutting is devastating to the environment. Cutting down a lot of trees in one place weakens the soil from lack of roots. By cutting down a tree its roots die. The roots hold the ground together and absorb the water. If there are less trees to hold the ground together, then there will be mass flooding and erosion. Erosion destroys the land the trees once lived on. Every day we destroy natural history by cutting down trees over 100 years old. Rainforests once covered 7 million square miles, now there’s less than half because of clear cutting and other logging practices.

As the human population grows, so does the use of trees. My opinion on clear cutting is that it puts a little money in our pockets, but it destroys the environment. Clear cutting may provide money, but by cutting down most of the strong trees it leaves the weaker trees and thus destroys a forest. Companies that clear cut destroy animals’ homes. Clear cutting causes the soil to become unstable from lack of tree roots and results in flooding. There are pros and cons. Clear cutting exists because it gives money, but if there were another way that could give more money, we would be doing that.

1.  If we share more, we will use less resources and not impact the environment so much

2.  We need to cut down on using so many resources in general.

3.  We need to live sustainably.  We need to think about the way we impact the environment and each other.

4.  One thing we need to start is to change oneself.  As Ghandi said, “Be the change you wish to see.”