The term deforestation is fairly self-explanatory. A forest is a large area of land covered with trees and plants, along with other living creatures, therefore, it is fair to assume that deforestation is what happens when the forest disappears. It has been estimated that Europe has less than half of their original forests, British Columbia has about 40 percent (40%) and the United States has approximately 1-2 percent (1%-2%) of its original forests still in tact. The World Resources Institute believes that 80 percent (80%) of the planet's natural forests have already been destroyed.

Deforestation is the result of human and natural causes. We (humans) have cut down most of the earth's natural forests, and thus, we must live day to day with the consequences. There are a dozen studies telling us that the greenhouse gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels, mainly coal, oil and gas, are slowly, but surely, increasing global warming. We know that trees and plants ingest these greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide)- they need carbon dioxide like humans need oxygen. We know that by cutting down the forests there are fewer trees to ingest the carbon dioxide. But how do we stop it from getting worse? There are dozens of theories on this as well.

Most of us think the solution is easy. Plant the trees we destroyed, and the environment will get back on track. We have dug through and logged dozens of forests, forests that had been in existence for hundreds of years. Now we are planting new trees, and expecting the planet's ecosystem to right itself straight away. We can't just plant new trees and expect everything to be all right, it will take several years to see any significant progress. Can we count on our future generations to continue with our work? Will they be properly educated? Will they have learned from our mistakes and thus, prevent themselves and future generations from repeating them? This is what we must hope for and show by example.

One third of the world's population relies on wood as a fuel and energy source. Deforestation has occurred, because timber is in high demand, and anything in high demand means money, therefore, the logging industry has become a very lucrative business. Business and the bottom line is the reason why the environment is suffering. The earth has provided humans with abundant resources, enough to use and survive for centuries, but also an enormous opportunity to make money. By pillaging the earth's natural resources, fortunes are made, and business is not prepared to slow down for issues such as global warming and deforestation. Instead, big business gives money for more research, some feel they are essentially buying themselves more time. But time is running out.

In 1995 one acre of Canadian forest was logged every 12.9 seconds. How many years will it take before there will no longer be Canadian forests to log? We need to unify our efforts and save our planet, because if we don't, then life as we know it will no longer exist. A shift of as little as three degrees Fahrenheit can destroy the crops that we grow today. It took only a shift of nine degrees Fahrenheit to end the last ice age, and scientists are predicting a rise of anywhere between 2.5 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. Deforestation is just one of our planet's problems, and if everyone contributes a little time or a little money, we can start to reverse the damage we've done. So plant a tree, and help to reduce the greenhouse effect for our future generations.