tropical forest deforestation

Deforestation
Human activities have had tremendous impact on modern forests. Since agriculture began about 11,000 years ago, large areas of forest have been cleared for farms and cities. During the 1800's and 1900's, great expanses of forests have been eliminated because of logging activities and industrial pollution. The destruction of forests is called deforestation.


History
Most people think that deforestation is a recent occurrence, gaining momentum in the tropical regions of the world since about 1950. But it started a long time ago when humans first occupied the earth and began to use fire deliberately around half a million years ago. All that has changed since the mid-twentieth century is that an ancient process has accelerated, and that, compared to previous ages, environments more sensitive and irreversibly damaged have been affected. Possibly as much as nine-tenths of all deforestation occurred before 1950. Chopping d...