Why knock down the forest?

Question

Why do we knock down the forests to build neighborhoods....why not just build them in the desert where there is nothing there anyway...wouldnt it be cheaper..just a bunch of open land..you'de save money not having to cut down the trees and you'de be saving he world also.

Answer 1

Wood is still the main building material for houses in America, so trees are being cut down for that, and also for making paper.  The desert wouldn't really work as a place of residence because, unless we tapped into underground aquifers (not all are potable), where would the water for our homes be supplied from?  Not to mention the (environmental) cost of electrically cooling houses in the desert.  

To the person who said all countries in the world are cutting down their own trees: 75% of Japan's land mass is covered in protected forests.  The Japanese import most of their timber from other countries.

Answer 2

I think you are right but I don't want to live in the desert and there is the water problem to consider.  I think we should build houses around tress.

Answer 3

my notes on deforestation,and desertification which tends to be the end result

CAN DEFORESTATION BE STOPPED

Almost impossible

the Indians or local people would cut everything down and burn the forrest to replace it with harmfull short term farming killing the soil in no time

expanding populations and expanding farming ,that has to keep pace with the expanding populations are very strong forces that encroach upon the rainforest's

clearing them for farming and settlement areas .

that and the giant networks of roads that have exchanged forests for asphalt all over the planet

In Mexico is a famous jungle that the Media has been trying to save for years

the Naturists ,and the government ,keep watch .laws are made for protection the wild and to forbid logging.

TV put out a series of documentaries

there are campaigns in the News papers

and all of this has not made the slightest difference

Rainforest's always are in third world countries and always in third world countries corruption and the need for money s highest

the jungle gets smaller by the day

more and more farmers move in .and burn the trees

it is an impossible situation

as long as there is poverty and an increasing birth rate in these regions the destruction will continue

they are too easily tempted to sell of exotic animals to the unscroupelous people who buy them.for the market that exists in the USA.

we must look for ways to improve economic situations on the edges of Nature .

the only way to preserve the forrest is to devellop eco tourism under strict control that has limited acces ,and use the local people in the concept as guides ,hotel staff and get them to start home industries of artifacts .

eco tourism is the only concept that profits by a healthy back ground with out harming it

THE FUNCTION OF FORESTS

the forrests make most of the water that we can drink or use for plant growth(sweet water)

some is condensed from the sea but that reaches only the coastel aereas .

the bulk ,comes from the forests ,and the rivers come from the rainfall which comes from the trees ,

and the trees with precipitation,feed the rivers when it is not raining and keep them running all year round.

If we kill all the trees,we kill the rivers .we kill the rain. we kill us.

the trees also absorb the heat in the day and heat up the place in the night ,so they keep the temperature confertable to live in.

in the autemn there is an excess of carbon released because of the dead organic material ,the seas and waters when cool absorb this,in the spring when the new growth requires carbo the warmer waters release it ,so in con junction with the seas and rivers the bio mass on this planet maintains a balanced atmosphere for us to breathe.

POLUTION

now with the mass deforrestation(decrease in bio mass)coupled to the increase in carbon emissions,industrial chimneys,aerosol cans,motor cars,burning of plastics and tires to name but a few ,the carbon production by far exeeds what the bio-mass and the waters can handle,and so effect into global warming and the destruction of the ozone layers,

REFORRESTATION

so to counter act these fatal processes we must reforrest and at the same time reduce our carbon emissions.

most governments are aware of these and many first world countries now include programs to reduce their carbon emissions.

the world bank pays large subsidies for farmers to plant trees especially a tree called Paulownia elongate carolinia,because it is one of the better ones that capture carbon.

DESERTIFICATION

desertification is also a result of bad agricultural methods and deforrestation

in the dessert the nights are freezing cold and during the days you burn up

the sahara is growing by 7 kilometres every day.

two major desserts in northern china are growing together making one giant dessert and,causing dust storms so making thousands of people refugeese

IN THE PAST

in the days of the dinosaurs this planet was under an aquiferus manta ,a mist that covered the entire earth ,and there were very few desserts .

Count how many there are today,and most of them are as a result of mans actions.

the sahara used to be forrests

arabia ,irak ,iran used to be fertile lands in biblical times

Ghengas Kahn burned all the forrests here and filled the well with water and so turning vast lands into dessert.

the Spanish Armada deforested Spain

.the Phoenician fleet deforested Lebanon

some more places are everywhere where there are or where forrests and wild life

Madagascar a botanic paradise is now destroyed

the exotic animals sold or killed ,the forest slash and burned for agriculture ,the coastal water poluted by topsoils washed fronm the denuded moutains by the rains.

many many countries in Africa (because of poverty and war as well as greedy farming )

Borneo because of the expensive timber

india ,China ,Mexico ,South Americas Amazonia,

Europe because of civilization,USA,Japan because of overpopulation,

you name it if they had lots of it ,they also lost a lot ,some places lost ALL.

read a planet under stress ,plan B --by Lester E Brown.

it is in an Adobe print out as well on the net.

http://byderule.spaces.live.com...