Deforestation: A Global Crisis Members: - Josh Currier - Jimmy Chupp - Amilcar Coloncolon - Patrick Reed

1. Deforestation:
A Global Crisis
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2. AWater Cycle Case
Study:
Rivers in the Sky
by: Josh Currier

3. Defining theWater Cycle
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The water cycle is a naturally occurring,
iterating process in which water is
transported between different mediums
in a biosphere, while undergoing state
changes fueled by energy.
It exists as a means of distributing water
evenly across all topologies of the
biosphere.

4. Rivers in the Sky: How Deforestation is Affecting
LocalWater Cycles
• “A growing body of evidence indicates that the destruction of tropical forests is
disrupting the movement of water in the atmosphere, causing major shifts in
precipitation that could lead to drought in key agricultural areas in China, India,
and the U.S. Midwest.”
• According to Michael Woloson of the US think tank: Forest Climate Analytics,
large-scale deforestation in any of these main tropical forests could throw off
the water cycle so much that it could pose a significant risk to agriculture:
• African Congo Basin
• Southeast Asia
• Amazon
Why?
• Asia and the Pacific region account for 18.8% of global forests.The
larger the concentration, the greater the potential for adverse effects.
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5. How do we Interact with theWater Cycle?
• According to NASA GISS, human regulation
of river flow and vegetation clearing has
reduced river runoff by around 324 cubic
kilometers per year.
• This equates to 1% of the total annual
streamflow (41,022 cubic km), and around
10% of the annual volume of freshwater
used by people (3240 cubic km).
• It’s effects on rainfall are most evident in the
Midwest, too little leading to overexposure
and undernourishment.
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• Next, let’s acknowledge our human
intervention:
1.Temperature regulation.
2. Energy/physical transfer.
3. It’s all about motion.
• First, we must recognize its dynamic
nature:
1.We’ve “replumbed” our waterways to suit
our personal amenities.
2. Fertilizer is implemented to optimize
nutrient content on farms.This is
counterproductive for natural ecosystems.
3. Greenhouse gas emissions trap heat,
arbitrarily altering precipitation.

6. So, in conclusion…
• Forests are carbon sinks. We lose these, then excess carbon dioxide will only
make global warming worse.
• Immediate solution: Plant more trees.
• YouTuber: Mr. Beast, raised more than $8.2 million for theTeamTrees campaign within a few days,
with the help of Elon Musk and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, among others. He plans to increase that
number to $20 million.
• Long-term solution:
• Implement more sustainable methods for agriculture such as:
• Crop rotation
• Urban agriculture
• Hydroponics
• Many more…
• When forests are lost, agriculture takes their place, which produces more
emissions.This is an anthropogenically driven, negative feedback loop.
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7. Habitat loss

8. Loss of Habitat
• 70 percent of the world’s plants and animals
live in forests.
• They are losing their habitat at an
alarming rate.
• Specifically, according to theWorldWildlife
Fund (WWF), the Earth loses around 18.7
million acres of forest per year!
Logically, this leads to endangerment of
these species. Potential endangerment of 70
percent of the world’s species is no joke.
Interactive map of deforestation
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9. Some examples:
- Due to hunting and deforestation, a
sub-species of the tiger located on the
Indonesian island of Java called the
JavanTiger, went extinct in the early
1980’s.
- Sumatran orangutans are endangered
to the point where there is an
estimated 6000 individuals remaining
in the wild. Additionally, there are only
about 210 individuals left of the
Sumatran elephant.
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10. DeforestationAffects Medicinal Research
• Almost 90 percent of human diseases are treatable with prescription drugs
that were derived from nature. Examples include:
• Snake venom
• Molds
• Periwinkle plant
All of these originated from the Amazon Rainforest
BBC News reports that “Over 50% of prescription drugs are derived from chemicals first
identified in plants.”
• Quite frankly, we literally wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for plants, which are particularly
vulnerable to climate change and deforestation.
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11. Quality of Life

12. Deforestation: Quality of Life
• Trees function to retain water and topsoil, which provides the rich nutrients to
sustain additional forest life. Without them, the soil erodes and washes away,
causing farmers to move on and perpetuate the cycle.
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13. Deforestation  flooding ↑ food ↓ health ↓
• With nothing to contain or consume rainwater, flooding would become more
prevalent, especially in coastal regions.
• Less water can make its way to freshwater stores underground, because it’s
being blocked by high density, compacted soil.
• To water crops, especially in drier regions, farmers need freshwater.
Saltwater intrusion can happen if flooded seawater diffuses in freshwater
bodies.
• Food/water insecurity leads to malnutrition and social conflict.
• Subsequently, the ultimate end-result will always be poor health for any
species affected.
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14. Forests are unmatched carbon sinks
• We pollute the atmosphere with a large amount of carbon dioxide
• One of the inputs of photosynthesis is carbon dioxide.
• Forests are composed of plants. Less forest means a smaller carbon sink.
• All that CO2 must go somewhere
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Soil Erosion

16. Defining Soil Erosion:
• Soil Erosion is a naturally occurring process that affects all landforms.
• It can be a slow gradual process that has the potential to go unnoticed,
causing loss of topsoil.
• Soil erosion is a natural process but it is accelerated with deforestation.The
trees and plants act as a natural barrier to slow water as it runs off the land.
The roots bind the soil and prevent it from washing away.The absence of the
vegetation due to deforestation causes the topsoil to erode more quickly.
(Source)
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17. What are the Causes?
1. Running water and wind.
2. Farming, agriculture, logging, and
mining.
3. Loss of trees.
4. Accelerated by deforestation.
5. The need for food, fuel, shelter,
and foreign exchange. (Economic
factors)
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18. The Effects of Deforestation on Indigenous People
• Millions of indigenous people live in tropical forests which cover 3.6 million
square miles in 70 countries. More than 80 percent of these forests are found
in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru,Venezuela, and
Zaire.
• The need for economic amenities such as these in developed nations are the
driving force of deforestation in tropical regions.
• Food
• Fuel
• Shelter
• Foreign Exchange
Only about five percent of the world’s population remains indigenous, and untouched by
our selfish culture.
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19. Threats to theYanomamiTribe
• A threat for theYanomamiTribe is deforestation. More than half the world’s
rainforests have already been lost forever due to human intervention.Almost 14% of
the earth used to be covered by rainforests. Now because of deforestation, only 6% of
the earth is covered. Experts predict that if deforestation continues, we may not have
any rainforests left in 100 years time. Deforestation is causing the people of the
YanomamiTribe and other tribes to lose their homes. (PachamamaAlliance)
• Other threats include, but are not limited to:
• Power plants using wood as a source of energy.
• Paper mills use trees for pulp.
• Government projects in favor of transportation.
• Mining companies clearing out sections to make room for excavation of land.
• Miners can also provide a means for spreading bacteria and diseases.
• Mining can directly pollute the waters around it.
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20. Thank you.

21. Sources:
• “Rivers in the Sky” https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-deforestation-affecting-global-water-cycles-climate-
change
• Deforestation:The Causes and Its Impact on Humans -The
... https://www.thelondonorchardproject.org/deforestation-causes-impact-humans/.
• “Effects of Deforestation”, The Pachamama Alliance Pachamama Alliance,
https://www.pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation
• Interactive map of deforestation,
https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map?map=eyJjZW50ZXIiOnsibGF0IjoyNywibG5nIjoxMn0sImJlYXJpbm
ciOjAsInBpdGNoIjowLCJ6b29tIjoyfQ%3D%3D
• “Medicinal Plants “facing threat””, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7196702.stm
• “How Deforestation Works”, https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-
science/deforestation2.htm
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