Climate change has become a global concern because of the adverse effects that it has brought to the environment and to mankind. The state of the environment has drastically gone down owing to degradation, and this has led to due to climate change. Environmentalists and other concerned groups have been in the fore front to find a lasting solution to the climate change. Despite efforts by various groups, it has proved difficult to find a lasting solution to the issue of climate change. The effects of climate change include; global warming, floods, drought and hurricanes. Studies show that the effects of climate change will be experienced in the next century if drastic measures are not put into place to deal with the issue. If a solution is not found to curb climate change, then both human beings and animals will live in an unconducive environment, which would be at the expense of their wellbeing. The cutting down of trees is one of the major contributing factors that has led to climate change. Cutting down of trees leads to floods, hurricanes and drought which are some of the effects of climate change. Therefore, reforestation, which is the planting of trees where they have been cut down, is the main solution to deal with this problem.
The cutting down of trees commonly known as deforestation, is one of the leading causes of climate change. Human actions are what are deteriorating the climate. Human beings cut down trees for their personal gain without considering what this action is affecting the environment. Trees are cut to be burnt for fuel, some cut trees to free land for farming or settling and others cut trees to get timber for sale and construction. Whether people cut trees for their benefit or not, the environment is negatively affected resulting to climate change. Reforestation is the act of planting trees where they have previously been cut down. Environmentalists should educate the society on the importance of reforestation and how it helps solve the issue of climate change. Because many problems of climate change are caused by the cutting down trees, planting trees where they have been cut down is a good step to deal with the problem.
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Drought is one of the effects of climate change that is brought about by cutting down trees (NASA, 2016). Scientists and environmentalists believe that deforestation is to be blamed for the areas that have been struck by drought. Studies reveal that areas that have been cut down trees have higher chances of getting drought among other climate change effects. There is a huge connection between droughts and cutting trees. This situation can be saved by reforestation to deal with the effects of climate change. As a matter of fact, trees have direct effects on climate change. Trees are what make the clouds rain by transmitting moisture to the clouds. A region with many trees cannot experience drought and this is why all deserts do not have trees. If deserts had trees, then the area would experience rains and it would no longer be a desert. The moisture trapped by the trees is what is later turned to rain. Drought is when a place does not experience long rains over a long period of time.
A drought stricken area is not conducive for human beings and animals to live in. This is because drought dries up farm products that serve as food to human beings, the green plantations that act as food for animals and livestock dry up and the sources of water which is the basic need of living organisms. Cutting down of trees will destroy the food and water resources of all the living things which results to their death. It is possible to reverse this situation by planting the trees where they had previously been cut down. A region that has experienced drought as a result of deforestation can be revived by planting trees which will attract moisture to the clouds, bringing rain. Environmentalists have also discovered that the soil in regions without forest cover store less water than the soil in areas with trees. It has also been noted that the loss of water also known as evaporation happens faster in a land without trees than in a forest. When trees are cut down, the amount of rainfall in a region goes down leading to droughts. It is evident that planting trees in areas where they have previously been cut down will help deal with climate change.
Global warming, which is the other effect of climate change, can be dealt with by reforestation. Trees play a basic role in the ecosystems by absorbing the carbon present in the atmosphere (Climate Council, 2013). When trees are growing, they absorb the carbon in the air which is vital for their growth. When these trees are cut down, burnt to fuel or left to rot, they emit the carbon that was stored in them which chemically combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. When this poisonous gas is emitted to the atmosphere, it depletes the ozone layer which raises the heat in the environment leading to global warming. An area where trees have been cut down has a higher concentration of the carbon dioxide than a forest. Therefore, reforestation would reverse this climate change effect by absorbing the excess carbon in the environment. The results of dealing with global warming through reforestation may not be immediate but the generations to come will have an environment free of global warming. The trees that will be planted will take time to absorb the carbon but in the long run it will be a worthy course.
Floods being one of the effects of global warming can be dealt with by reforestation. Floods are a likelier occurrence in areas that have no trees or in regions that have experienced deforestation. Trees play an integral part in preventing floods because they hold firm the soil to prevent the water from sweeping the soil. Forests help prevent the damage of flooding by reducing excess run- off of the soil and also help retain excess rainwater in the soil (European Environment Agency, 2015). A region that has experienced deforestation will massively be affected by flooding because there are no trees to hold the excess rain water in the soil. When reforestation is done, the trees will help deal with the problem of floods which is one of the effects of climate change. Floods are known to sweep buildings, plantations and other infrastructure leading to damage of property. When the trees are planted in an area where they were cut down, property will be protected in case the rains fall excessively. Therefore, reforestation is a good method for dealing with the issue of climate change.
Hurricanes are also one of the effects of climate change, and they are experienced in regions that have undergone deforestation. Hurricanes are huge storms usually accompanied by strong winds which lead to destruction of property and loss of lives. The strong winds usually accompanied by hurricanes and storms destroy anything that they find. The hurricanes may be more pronounced in the savannahs than in the forests because the trees will protect the ground from being swept away. The hurricanes are mostly experienced near the oceans because there are no trees to protect the area. When deforestation happens, this land where the trees have been cut down will be massively hit in case a hurricane occurs. Strong trees can be able to resist the strong winds in case the storm is not very strong. It should also be noted that there are trees which are hurricane resistant. Reforestation will be able to protect a treeless land from the strong winds and storms.
Climate change being one of the global concerns has degraded the environment and there continues to be a need to address the problem. Deforestation, which is the cutting down of trees by human beings is one of the leading causes of climate change. Human beings cut down trees either to free the land for plantation or for settlement. Trees may also be cut for fuel or used as timber for construction and other purposes. Deforestation has led to climate changes such as; floods, hurricanes, drought and global warming which have deteriorated the environment which has made I not conducive for animals and animals to live in. Reforestation is one of the practical ways which can be applied by everyone to deal with the issue of climate change. When trees are planted in regions that had previously cut down, it will benefit the environment by curbing the issue of climate change. Reforestation helps deal with drought by trees trapping moisture which turns to rain. Trees also hold the excess rain water therefore dealing with the issue of floods. Trees also help deal with the issue of global warming by absorbing the excess carbon in the air which destroys the ozone layer. It is the responsibility of the environmentalists to teach the society on the importance of reforestation as a solution to climate change.
References
NASA. (2016). Climate.nasa.gov . Retrieved 8 December 2016, from http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
Climate Council. (2013). How does deforestation contribute to climate change? . Climate Council . Retrieved 8 December 2016, from https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/deforestation
European Environment Agency. (2015). Forests can help prevent floods and droughts — European Environment Agency . Eea.europa.eu . Retrieved 8 December 2016, from http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/forests-can-help-prevent-floods
