Dear future President,

I am sure you are aware of the problems with deforestation. With deforestation, we are continuously removing trees for our own benefit and putting the land to other use. Deforestation majorly impacts people as well as thousands of plant and animal species. The World Wildlife Foundation says, “Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, and 1.6 billion people rely on benefits forests offer, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter.” Protecting the forest, and the ecosystem services it provides, is essential to the reduction of carbon in the atmosphere.

Deforestation also affects the ecosystem and the way it runs. The unused portion of a tree may return carbon back into the atmosphere, enhancing changes to the environment with additional greenhouse gas emissions. Trees also help balance the hydrologic cycle which affects atmospheric conditions. The rates of precipitation and water flow then become an economical issue. Per the Food and Agriculture Organization, around 18 million acres of forests are lost each year due to deforestation.

Humans are cutting down trees but not realizing what it will do to the world overall. I think you, as our future president, should consider the idea of promoting reforestation in places where deforestation has already occurred or is necessary in other countries as well as the United States. I understand that deforestation can also be caused by natural causes. Efforts to control the removal of forests and reforestation where natural and other causes of deforestation have occurred, will reduce the impact to earth.

"Deforestation." WWF. World Wildlife Fund, 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.`

"Deforestation." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Bradford, Alina. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. N.p., 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.