Deforestation facts

• 7 countries of the world amount to around 60% of the total deforestation on the planet: Brazil, Canada, China, United States, Indonesia, Russia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• The net loss of the world’s forests is estimated at 7.3 million hectares per year.
• Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to agriculture or urban use.
• More than half of the world's timber and 72 percent of paper is consumed by 22 percent of the world's population.
• The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity.
• The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world's population yet consumes more than 30 percent of the world's paper.
• 60-70% of deforestation in the Brasilian Amazon results from cattle ranches while the rest mostly results from small-scale subsistence agriculture.
• The overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. 
• Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions.
• Subsistence farming is responsible for 48 percent of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32 percent of deforestation; logging is responsible for 14 percent of deforestation and fuel wood removals make up 5 percent of deforestation.
• The Amazon rainforest has lost fifteen percent of its forest cover since 1970 alone.

What is Smog?

city smog

The brownish haze seen mostly in the summer and especially around big cities is smog. The main ingredient in smog is ozone. When ozone is high up in the atmosphere, it helps protects us from the Sun’s stronger rays. But near the ground, ozone forms smog when sunlight and heat interact with oxygen and particles produced by the burning of fossil fuels. Smog makes it hard for some people to breathe, especially those with asthma. "Ozone alerts" are not just for Los Angeles (famous for its smog). Many cities in the U.S. issue them through newspapers, TV, and radio stations to let people know when the air can be unhealthy for outdoor activities.

What is the Ozone layer?

Our atmosphere is made up of different layers, One layer, between 6 and 30 miles above the Earth, is made up of ozone gas. This ozone layer protects us from the Sun’s harshest rays can, called ultraviolet or UV rays. These rays can cause sunburn and skin cancer.

When old refrigerators, air conditioners, and similar items are thrown away, gases from them called chloroflourocarbons, or CFCs rise into the air and destroy some of the ozone in this layer. Most countries no longer produce CFC's, but the gas can stay in the atmosphere for years - destroying ozone and adding to the greenhouse effect.

Each August, a hole in the ozone layer forms over Antarctica (it usually closes by December). Since it was discovered in the 1980s, it has doubled to about the size of North America. It sometimes extends over souther Chile and Argentina. On some days, people in Punta Arenas, Chile (the world's southernmost city), may limiy their sun exposure to no more than 20 minutes between noon and 3 P.M. Other days, they don't go out at all!

What is acid rain?

Acid rain is a kind of air pollution caused by chemicals in the air. Eventually these chemicals can make rain, snow, or fog more acidic than normal. The main source of these chemicals is exhaust from cars, trucks, buses, waste incinerators, factories, and some electric power plants, especially those that burn fossil fuels, such as coal.

When these chemicals mix with moisture and other particles, they create sulfuric acid and nitric acid. The wind often carries these acids many miles before they fall to the ground in rain, snow, and fog, or even as dry particles.

Acid rain can harm people, animals, and plants. It is especially harmful to lakes. Thousands of lakes in Canada, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have been declared "dead." Not even algae can live in them.

Birds and other species that depend on the lakes for food are also affected. Acid rain can also affect crops and trees. Buildings, statues, and cars are also damaged when acid rain destroys metal, stone, and paint.