"That's right, a chainsaw goes RRRRRRRRR."

A simple cartoon in a magazine, that's all people see it as. There is constantly talk about the environment being destroyed and we've become immune to the topic. It just washes over us, without the idea actually sinking in. Everything that is being done on this planet somehow affects someone, something. The state of our planet is becoming severely degraded without people realizing the brutal truth. "Oh, it's down south, we don't live there, it doesn't affect us." It's with this mentality that the state of the planet is going to continue to decline. Throughout the third world the land is being severely degraded due to the deforestation of rainforests, the side effects that go along with the destruction of forests, and the role multinational corporation's play.

Deforestation has been a hot topic throughout the first world now for some years and it's commonly stated that this is one of the worst environmental problems on the planet, yet we aren't even there experiencing the problem, or doing a lot to help rectify it. Rainforests are being destroyed at a

During the early seventies markets throughout the world were doing great, so banks and nations went on a loaning spree. At the time interest rates were relativity low, so developing nations took advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, later in the seventies an economic crisis hit-the price of oil doubled. To try and combat inflation the United States raised their interest rates by twenty percent, leaving all those countries who had taken out loans with a big problem on heir hands. The interest rates were sky high and developing nations weren't making any money because of the economic crisis. Mexico came forward and announced they couldn't pay the interest back and were soon followed by many developing countries complaining of the same problem. To try and control this problem the IMF and World Bank stepped in to enforce the money owed. Desperate began destroying the environment at an outrageous pace, trying to come up with some source of income. Large corporations took advantage of this situation, moving their business into the developing countries where they could access cheap, raw materials and pay workers next to nothing without anyone caring.

Soil erosion is known as the quiet crisis; because compares to a natural disaster that's results are instantaneous, erosion is a serious problem, but takes years to be noticed. It can take up to 1,000 years for one inch of topsoil to form, yet 20 billion tons of topsoil is washed away each year.(See Figure 5) Rain is probably the biggest cause of soil erosion (after the land has been deforested). Water is approximately 800 times heavier than air, one third to one half the weight of rock, and about equal the weight of topsoil; which means if rain comes down and there's no plants, the soil is in trouble. (See Figure 6) Plants are very important in the prevention of erosion; they slow down water as it flows over land and let it soak in, the roots help keep the soil in position, and the leaves break the impact of the raindrops. Deforestation has a big impact upon upper watersheds. When it rains in forested areas, water soaks into the ground into groundwater and shows up again in rivers. With the disappearance of trees raindrops beat right onto the ground creating gullies and reeking havoc throughout the environment. (See Figure 7)

Mangroves are a very intricate part of the oceans ecosystem, although many people have no idea what they are. Mangroves are groups of small, salt tolerant trees and bushes located along 70 percent of all tropical coastlines, near the outlet of rivers. (See Figure 2) These areas are home to a diverse number of plants and fish, over 2,000 species. They stabilize and protect the coastline against erosion, they trap silt from washing off the land, and they filter out pollution. Around two thirds of all fish caught around the world were hatched in mangroves, and ironically mangroves are being destroyed to create fisheries. The downside to this is man-made fisheries aren't sustainable for nearly as long, because there's just fish, not the entire eco-system. Sadly, since they don't last long, the process just keeps continuing, as more and more mangroves are being destroyed, and as they disappear so do the number of fish caught per year. Malaysia had one of the worst destruction rates for mangroves; over 12,000 acres are lost each year due to fisheries; agriculture and urban expansion; and the production of matches, newspapers, oil, medicines, sugar, and construction materials.

Cash crops are a big contributor to the problem of deforestation. During colonial times, Europeans came into Africa and with them new crops for farmers to plant. These crops were not suited for the arid land of Africa, compared to the traditional crops that had been frown for hundred of years, this was the start of the monoculture of crops. Since then, the probl

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Approximate Word count = 2600
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)