Kierstin Lilly
11/19/10
3:45 PM
The costs of deforestation in terms of climate, biodiversity and economics are well known, but rainforests are also habitats for many drugs that have not been explored yet. Continued logging could unleash a devastating new pandemic and cause fatal diseases to spread into the human population. Scientists have said that if we keep destroying remaining forests then there is a danger that some of the planet’s most threatening diseases, or even new viruses, could spread on a overwhelming and unmanageable scale. Ravinder Sehgal, associate professor of biology at San Francisco State University, has been studying the effects of deforestation on African rainforest birds and how their diseases and blood parasites could potentially put human health at risk with habitats being destroyed.
Deforestation has had problems for quite some time now but most humans, if not directly affected, do not realize how severe of an issue this has become. The severity of deforestation does not affect most of the population in terms of climate and biodiversity. People go on with their normal lives not knowing about the problems at hand. If disease were to break out due to deforestation and the continuation of degrading forests, the human race could face a huge population crisis. In any epidemic the overall emotional state of people would be panic. Society would fall apart with confusion, fear, and death if a pandemic were to occur.
1 comment:
I don't think people will take it seriously until they see it for themselves or the woods in their neighborhood turn into a parking lot. People are so far removed from it. A lot more attention needs to be focused on it.
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