THE DESTRUCTION OF MAN KIND Essay, Research Paper

& # 8220 ; We know there will be jobs in environmental footings, many

serious jobs, but it is a affair of economic sciences. There won & # 8217 ; t be any

complete catastrophe, and what we can non work out, well, that & # 8217 ; s the monetary value we have

to pay. & # 8221 ;

– Eduardo Albuquerque Barbosa

There is a changeless war that is being fought in the rain forests of

South America. The decease toll is one that far surpasses any other war in

history. Vietnam and World War II had minimum loss of life compared to this

ne’er stoping conflict. It is predicted that by the twelvemonth 2020, the casualties will

range 150 per twenty-four hours. This sum does non even include the loss of human life

due to the deficiency of O and the unsuitable life conditions. This

atrocious scenario would be the consequence of world & # 8217 ; s failure to collaborate and

unrecorded in harmoniousness with the environment, particularly the rain forest of South

America. In the terminal, the devastation of the rain forests will intend the

devastation of world.

The desolation of the rain forest may be compared to playing a

game of Russian Roulette. One-forth of bing medical specialties are derived

from tropical workss whose places are in the rain forests of South America.

For every acre that is lost in the combustion season, there is one acre less that

we have for possible life salvaging medical specialties. About 70 per centum of workss

used in anti-cancer drugs come from the rain forest. We are easy

destructing ourselves and the environment. Whether we realize it or non,

the universe could rapidly come to an ecological arrest. Every twenty-four hours 144,000

estates of the rain forests are cut down, slashed and/or put up in fires.

In 1974, Brazil started a wood fire of 20.6 million square pess ( 3,900 square

stat mis ) . The fire ragged out of control and was subsequently marked the largest

forest fire in Brazilian history. This 1974 fire is now considered little to

others in the past recent old ages. On mean the combustion season lasts up to

four months out of the whole twelvemonth. During this period of clip, it is non

uncommon for the bulk of South America to be covered in a midst

cover of fume. The majority of these fires, when combined, are tantamount

to the great hell of 1988 at Yellow Stone National Park. Emitted from

these lay waste toing fires every twelvemonth are one million millions of carcinogens and

toxicant gases that end up in the ambiance. The gases and pollution

have been constructing for many old ages, and scientists believe that the

ambiance is due to make its impregnation point really shortly.

The greed for money and lecherousness for land are merely two fires at the bosom

of the fire. At the disbursal of guiltless lives of rain forest home animate beings

and local conservationists, big corporations can some how justify at that place

homicidal agencies. Rain forests cover merely a mere seven per centum of the

Earth & # 8217 ; s set down surface, yet they contain 50 per centum of the universe & # 8217 ; s species.

Along with the 1000s of animate beings in these century old woods, there are

many folks of Indians who are subjected to torture and normally decease

from the big companies. Hardhearted Corporations such as Endesa,

Arboriente and PICOP ignore the encirclements of the FPA, & # 8220 ; Forest Peoples & # 8217 ;

Alliance & # 8221 ; , and the ageless supplication of the Scientist & # 8217 ; s who predict, & # 8220 ; tropical

species are vanishing at a rate that could conceivably make every bit high as

150 species a twenty-four hours by the twelvemonth 2020 & # 8243 ; Landry, ( 5 ) . Unfortunately this conflict

comes down to economics versus environment, and so far the environment

is losing the war.

Chico Mendes & # 8217 ; decease eventually brought the much needed universe broad

attending to the rain forests. Until 1988 the amazing figures produced by

conservationist and scientists ne’er had much weight on the scruples

of states outside of the Amazon Rain Forest. The decease of Mendes was

the 2nd decease of a NCRT, National Council of Rubber Tappers, member

in recent times. The battle, & # 8221 ; at first, was merely about ecology, and supporting

the fishes, the animate beings, the wood, and the river. They didn & # 8217 ; t recognize that

worlds were besides in the forest & # 8221 ; Rodrigues, Revkin ( 1 ) . Though Chico was

a gum elastic tapster in the town of Xapuri, he spent most of the twelvemonth going

around the universe seeking to derive support in his battle against the devastation

of the rain forest. Chico & # 8217 ; s non-violent attack won him much favour from

the United States and all of the other gum elastic tapsters. Chico Mendes one time

said, & # 8220 ; If a courier came down from heaven and guaranteed that my

decease would beef up our battle, it would even be worth it. But

experience Teachs us the opposite. Public mass meetings and tonss of funerals

won & # 8217 ; t salvage the Amazon & # 8221 ; Revkin ( 1 ) . Mendes had late returned place

from a six hebdomad long visit and mass meeting in the United States. Three yearss before

Christmas he was shot dead in the room access of his house. Hundreds

attended Chico & # 8217 ; s funeral, and despite his inquiring for no flowers, since he

knew T

hey were traveling to be picked from the wood, person left one

corsage on his casket. Mendes gave his life for the rain forest. In kernel,

he was the first & # 8220 ; Green Martyr & # 8221 ; of the Amazon, and hopefully non the last.

It is the ruthless logging companies along with the complete

ignorance of the local provincials and authoritiess that aid in the annual loss

of the 100s of 1000s of estates of indispensable rain forest. In Latin

America cowss ranching for export trade is the main perpetrator in rain wood

devastation.

The bullet-headed ranchers fail to see the effects of their firing the land.

After land is burned and raped of the minerals the land becomes dead.

These are some of the jobs but, & # 8221 ; Land debasement caused by

graze is by far the greatest challenge in Latin America & # 8221 ; Caufield, ( 113 ) .

There is a false semblance of an eternal rain forest, so every twosome of old ages,

the ranchers move on an either attempt and sell the land or fire more of the

rain forest and change over it to grazing lands. The U.S. does non offer much aid,

the devastation of the rain woods takes five cents off the monetary value of an

American beefburger. The United States buys up three quarters off all

Cardinal American beef exports. Possibly after all there are more felons

than we think, the US is besides straight responsible for the desolation of

world. Possibly the South Americans merely back up our hoggishness and

& # 8220 ; necessity & # 8221 ; for nutrient, which the bulk of goes to blow. Possibly non, but

we are to immersed in our ain ardor to recognize that we are delving our

ain grave. Despite all of the onslaughts on the ranchers in the past decennary,

& # 8220 ; it is still good concern to unclutter virgin forest in order to flesh out cowss for

state five to eight old ages and so abandon it & # 8221 ; Caufield, ( 112 ) . The reply to

our job is already known, but we merely do non desire to listen. Science

does non lie hence sooner or later world will get down to experience the major

effects of rainforest desolation

The long term effects from the deforestation of the Amazon are

already demoing worldwide. The one major consequence is the Earth & # 8217 ; s clime.

The & # 8220 ; nursery consequence & # 8221 ; is caused by the rise in the degree of CO2 in the

atmosphere. Finally this could do the temperature rise five grades

every twosome of old ages, and in theory cause London and New York to be

under 16 pess of H2O.

The scientists of the universe are non wholly in understanding on every issue but, & # 8220 ; in

some manner form or signifier there will be drastic alterations in the clime as a

direct consequence of rain forest devastation & # 8221 ; Shiguango, ( 7 ) . The devastation of

40 million estates of rain- wood a twelvemonth causes a major dent on the species

life in these parts. Magnificent and beautiful animals of God are

being innocently killed by the devastation of their places. In the last 20

old ages, four major darns have been built in Latin and South America. The

most recent, The Tucurui Dam, is 12 stat mis long and when filled, the

reservoir will destruct 800 square stat mis of virgin wood and put an terminal to

over 10,000 different species, non including the 9,000 Indians who one time

lived at the underside of the basin. What seems to be a little facet in our

life now will hold a profound consequence in the hereafter. Simple points that we take

for granted now, such as tropical forests, bananas, nuts and other

stuffs such as Calamus rotang will shortly be available in much smaller measures.

The effects of deforestation possibly still invisible to many, but shortly it

will get down to consequence us all in one manner or another.

Through our ain imprudence and default we have let the inexperienced person

lives of one million millions of people and animate beings, around the universe, autumn into the custodies

of cattle ranchers, provincials and authorities functionaries. We have yet to larn

that the environment will ever assure us life and a hereafter, and

economic sciences will merely maintain us happy for a piece before it destroys us. Thus

the war between the two has been traveling on for about 200 old ages, and it is

non near to being over. The distant visible radiation at the terminal of the tunnel is weak.

The spreading of cognition is a slow procedure that takes many old ages.

Hopefully, if we work together to salvage the rainforest we can do up for

our ain carelessness and win the war against ourselves.

1. Andrew Revkin, The Burning Season ( Boston: Houghton Mifflin,

1990 )

2. Robert M. McClung, Vanishing Wildlife of Latin America ( New

York: William Morrow, 1981 )

3. Catherine Caufield, In the Rainforest ( New York: Random House,

1984 )

4. Jamie Shiguango, & # 8220 ; An Experiment in Rainforest Conservation & # 8221 ;

Cultral Survival Quarterly Spring 1988: 56-59

5. Alexander Shankland, & # 8220 ; Brazil & # 8217 ; s BR-364 Highway: A Road To

Nowhere & # 8221 ; Ecologist July/Aug. 1993: 141-147

6. Sue Landry, & # 8221 ; Salvaging the Rain Forest: A Spot of Hope & # 8221 ; St.

Petersburg Times 27 Feb. 1994, 1f+ ( 1-14 )

The Destruction

of

Mankind & # 8230 ;