When trees die.

The picture displayed above represents the ever famous Amazon rain forest. Well, part of it.

Its really shocking to me though that people can be really ignorant of what they're doing to the environment. By cutting down trees, we're creating global problems.

One of them is climatic changes. The forest acts as a carbon sink. Photosynthetic trees absorb carbon dioxide and emits oxygen as a byproduct. This process is one that is efficient in sustaining the temperature of an ecosystem. The concentration and amount of these gases are regulated in moderation.

However, this mechanism is no longer efficient in controlling the temperature of the ecosystem as there are less trees doing it. More carbon dioxide is stuck hanging in the air and less oxygen is produce.

And I'm sure you do know that carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases, right?? Greenhouse gases are not bad. They function to absorb the warmth from the sun and this helps maintain the constant temperature of the earth. Well now, since there are too much of these gas molecules in the air, more warmth and heat is being absorbed. In fact, it is too much that the earth we are living in now is facing a major rise in global temperature! Hence, the term global warming.

So, what can we do to resolve this? Can the earth be saved from turning into a globe of heat that would eventually wipe humankind?

You think about it.

By Inez Low.