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Kyle Gatlin
Professor Amy Ludwig
Eng 101
31 May 2016
Cutting Deforestation Down
I was in sixth grade when I first started to appreciate the forest. I can remember the exact
day when I was on a sixth grade field trip to the Los Angeles National Forest for a 3 day science
camp with all of my classmates. The school bus took us from our school campus and onward on
the curvy roads in the mountainous terrain through the tall evergreens. We kept driving as the
large pine trees became more dense. I remember being mesmerized by how strong, beautiful,
and majestic these trees were, like nothing I had experienced before. While making our way to
the top of the mountain I could catch a glimpse of the view looking down on the San Bernardino
Valley and the heavy thick smog that lingers over it. But when I looked up at the sky above me I
couldnt see a haze or thick cloud of poisonous gases, just clear blue skies. I attributed this to all
the hard working plants and trees filtering the carbon out of the air and allowing me to breathe
fresh, pine-scented air. I clearly remember arriving and taking a look around and absorbing the
beauty the forest had to offer. The sounds of birds chirping filled the forest floor. It sounded like
hundreds, maybe even thousands, of birds trying to get their song heard over the next bird. The
ground was covered with pine needles from the tall tree limbs above. The trees stood tall, at
attention, like soldiers there to protect me. What I didn't know then but came to find out, those
same trees that I felt protection from, were actually the ones in need of protection. I won't accept,
nor can I imagine a world where this type of environment ceases to exist, yet that may be the
future if change does not occur. "In the Pacific Northwest about 80% of this forestland is slated

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for logging" ("Global Deforestation"). So many products we use and rely on daily came from
trees that once stood tall and majestic. Deforestation in North America needs to become a topic
of concern for everyone, so that we educate society on the importance of minimizing the
negative environmental impacts deforestation has on climate change and loss of habitats, the
need for simple methods of proper recycling and purchasing recycled products or going
paperless, and most importantly, the need to pay nature back by replanting trees.
The forest is a giving place. The forest provides us oxygen by filtering the carbon we put
into the air from all the car pollutants; it provides shade when it's too hot. The forest provides
small animals refuge to grow their young, and fertilization to the smaller plants below the tall
limbs as the trees shed their leaves. And sadly, the forest gives up its life giving the ultimate
sacrifice, so we can have the convenience of paper products. It's about time we give back and do
a better job of protecting the forest and mother nature. We live in a world of convenience, but by
performing rather simple and easy tasks to recycle the products made from trees, will we protect
the forests? The paper we use and rely upon on a daily basis, that we print on, eat on, and read
from, has caused our problem of deforestation; but is recycling and eliminating parts of our paper
use enough to correct the problem, gain back the trees we have lost over a long period of time,
and ultimately become sustainable? By employing simple methods of recycling by the masses,
or by going 'paperless', it is predicted we can cut our deforestation rate significantly. But is that
solution going to stand the test of time and truly accomplish the goal? Michael Darby provides a
counter argument to that proposed solution: "At first when significant recycling is introduced,
price (of trees) will decline...and the quantity of tree cut will fall" (Darby). Fewer trees falling is
good, right? The answer is yes and no. It may not be the sustainable solution we are looking for,
to protect the forest, continue to preserve as well as increase the number of trees on our planet,

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and prevent deforestation. Darby argues that when the demand for trees lessens due to the
increase in recycling, the less need there will be to replant trees in tree plantations because of
cost versus profit. This could mean an unintended result that is the opposite of our goal for more
trees and protected forest (Darby).
How do we educate society on what they can do to help slow down or prevent
deforestation when there is not one simple right answers or consensus on how to accomplish that
goal? Recycling is easy, convenient, and is an attainable goal to get the masses to participate in.
And it is agreed that by increasing recycling, we will decrease the number of trees that fall. But
that can't be the only or final step. The education needs to run much deeper and wide spread
with legislation requiring tree planting, or taxes imposed on recycling. Society as a whole must
take the responsibility and ownership that our species' reliance on paper products has already
caused the deforestation problem that exists; therefore it is now times we pay back our debt to
the forest and plant trees. "Trees are grown over perhaps the longest period of any agricultural
crop"(Darby). We cannot expect the tree plantations to voluntarily replant trees when their profit
margins are declining based on the reduction from the reduced demand for trees, a product of an
increase in recycling and paperless technology. Education needs to occur at every level, from
the individual who thinks he or she is just one person and that he or she can't make much of a
difference, to the country's leaders and decision makers who must understand the need to address
the problem of deforestation and understand the depth of what it will take to fix it. Society is not
thinking about these complex issues like they should, but we need to.
Educating society is a key component to making deforestation a priority so that
significant action will be taken. Individuals and leaders need to learn, understand, and appreciate
what nature has to offer us, and therefore why we must protect it. Nature helps us heal.

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Research done under the supervision of Environmental Psychologist Roger Ulrich concluded that
people recovering from the same surgery healed a day faster and with less medicine when
looking at nature which was leafy trees out a window, than people looking only at brick walls
(Peterson). Ulrich concluded in his research that nature evokes a calming atmosphere in people
which is good for their psychological health. Many studies focusing on the value of nature in the
lives of everyday people showed quantifiable boosts in the quality and health of their immune
system by destressing and relaxing them. "Just three to five minutes looking at views dominated
by trees, flowers, or water can begin to reduce anger, anxiety, and pain and induces
relaxation"(Peterson). "Clare Cooper Marcus, an emeritus professor in landscape architecture at
the University of California, Berkley says of the effect, "Let's be clear. Spending time
interacting with nature in a well designed garden won't cure your cancer or heal a badly burned
leg. But there is good evidence it can reduce your levels of pain and stress --and, by doing that,
boost your immune system in ways that allow your own body and other treatments to help you
heal" (Peterson).
Not only is it important to educate society on why they should care about trees based on
the positive effects nature provides us based on an individual's personal well being, but we also
should educate on the serious negative impacts of deforestation that have adverse impacts on the
wilderness, and consequently all of us. "Each time we breathe air or drink water, we benefit
from our wild places" ("Why Wilderness?"). The wilderness must be protected but a major
contributor to the long list of the negative impacts from deforestation is climate change. "Our
vast unspoiled stretches of national forests can act as a buffer against climate change, slowing
warming trends by absorbing harmful greenhouse gases. But climate change also has real,
observable effects threats like catastrophic wildfire, invasive species and an increase risk of

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disease" ("Why Wilderness?"). Eliminating and shrinking our forests removes a piece of nature
that we know has positive effects, but it also eliminates the buffer that protects our planet from
climate change and the real threats climate change imposes. "The USA has already experienced
its wave of deforestation, with the exception of small areas in the west and Alaska. Our old
growth forests were mostly harvested by 1920, particularly in the East. Pacific Northwest forests
and UP Michigan forests were heavily cut after 1920 until quite recently, and harvest of old
growth continues today in Southeast Alaska" ("Global Deforestation"). We have close to 100
years of deforestation to counteract in North America, that means we have a long way to go to
repair that damage as well as stop further damage based on the understanding of what nature has
to offer us in a positive way and the threats and negative impacts we can predict will occur if we
don't combat this issue by making it a top priority.
Simple methods of recycling and making smart environmental conscious decisions can be
an individual household's way of combating deforestation, reducing climate change, and
protecting the wilderness. By not recycling, the demand for virgin fibers increases to make
papers, which in turn increases the cutting of trees. When the trees are cut, the carbon the tree
absorbed and stored throughout its life is released back into the air. This gas is known as
greenhouse gas which is a large contributor to global warming and climate change. A brochure
titled, "Q&A on the Environmental Benefits of Recycled Paper", produced by Environmental
Defense and the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, answers common questions regarding
recycling and the benefits to the environment. The brochure had this to say about growing tree
plantations: "Growing demand for paper has fueled the rapid conversion of natural forests to tree
plantations" ("Q&A"). The natural forests in North America in 1953 were close to 72 million
acres by 1999 that acreage had decreased to 33 million due to the demand for paper, even with

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tree plantations that were replanting. Simple recycling methods not only help reduce the demand
thus minimizing deforestation, but it lessens the amount of discarded paper in landfills. The
brochure mentions, "In the landfill where 80% of discarded paper ends up, the decomposition of
paper produces methane, a greenhouse gas with 21 times the heat trapping power of carbon
dioxide"("Q&A"). So we know that recycling is not the only fix needed to stop deforestation
and repair the forests, however there are many benefits of recycling that do help the continuing
problem.
Thinking back to the moment when I first saw the vast beauty of the forest and nature
during my 6th grade science trip to today, knowing the enormity of how much wilderness has
been eliminated from the logging industry and deforestation, it seems so clear that this problem
will not work itself out there must be action taken by our society and we must do it. An
educational campaign must be enacted, getting the information to the masses about the positive
benefits nature offers us on personally beneficial levels such as the increase in healing, but also
on larger scales such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the need to
simultaneously and conjointly combat climate change which has been found to be directly linked
to deforestation. We need our forests and nature, and right now our forests and nature needs us.
The forests and nature need us to fix and stop the damage we have caused and continue to cause.
Our reliance on paper for convenience and the lack of preforming simple recycling tasks cannot
be tolerated any longer. The risk and threats have become too great. Once we conquer the
hurdle of educating and getting our society and leaders on board with prioritizing the issue of
deforestation, we must work together to repair and rebuild our forests. We must plant trees and
let them take shape and form new habitats. We may never be able to fully repair the damage
caused by deforestation, but we must try.

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Works Cited
Darby, Michael R.. "Paper Recycling and the Stock of Trees". Journal of Political Economy
81.5 (1973): 1253-1255. Web
"Global Deforestation". University of Michigan. 4 January 2010. web lecture. 12 May 2016.
www.globalchange.umich.edu
Peterson, Nicole. "3 Ways the Urban Forest Impacts Your City". Green Infrastructure. web
Blog Post. 26 October 2015. Web 16 May 2016.
"Q&A on the Environmental Benefits of Recycled Paper". Environmental Defense and the
Alliance for Environmental Innovation. Print.
"Why Wilderness?". Wilderness.org. The Wilderness Society, N.D. web. 12 May 2016
www.wilderness.org/why. web