weekly response 12

It is very clear that humans have had many negative effects on the natural environment, and therefore have contributed to the decline of many societies in the past. Diamond discusses that many factors have become reasons as to why so many societies in the past have failed, but after reading this book, I find deforestation to be one of the biggest contributors to the problem at hand. (Diamond feels this to be one of the major problems as well.) I feel that this is the only aspect of destruction I can most understand and see the effects of most directly. When you drive through most areas these days, we are overwhelmed with the many shopping malls, and houses that seem to be popping up on every inch of land possible. It’s this aspect alone that is causing so many problems in our natural environment. Even though malls and homes are very pleasurable and even necessary, it’s the creation of them that destructs even more valuable resources.
Diamond states that just the cutting down of trees is destroying many natural habitats. Forests provide us with many valuable resources, such as timber and other raw materials, and by cutting down all the trees, we are directly hurting ourselves. Forests are also responsible for many other aspects, like protecting our watersheds, and preventing soil erosion. Forests are also a valued aspect of our environment seeing as how they help the air we breath, become filtered, removing carbon monoxide and other pollutants. Deforestation is also causing more desertification, also creating the potential for more landslides, erosion and the admission of sediments into our streams to occur. It is also responsible for crucial steps in the water cycle, as well as provides a habitat for many plant and animal species. By clearing out forests we are leaving vast areas of land infertile.
By eliminating our forests, we are destroying many other aspects of the environment as well, and may cause other plant and animal species to become extinct as well, forcing them out of their “homelands” and giving them no other alternatives. We forget how valuable our forests really are, and take for granted all the items made from timber, the main natural resource being destroyed. Another main example of how deforestation is affecting us currently is the idea of global warming, due to the fact that we are decreasing the “carbon sink”. It is clear to see that one thing leads to another in this situation, and if we continue to destroy forests like societies in the past, we are just going to hurt ourselves even more, and most likely contribute to the downfall of our own present society.

Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.