All over the Alps in Central Europe, steel and concrete barriers have been erected to do the work that trees once did by binding the soil and preventing avalanches. And many climatologists now agree that the obliteration of tropical forests will change the weather. When the forests are felled or burned they release carbon dioxide which traps heat. This results in a warming of the earth s surface called the greenhouse effect which on a large scale could be sufficiently powerful to bring drought to much of the Northern Hemisphere. The cutting down of forests increases the earth s shininess too.
Deforested lands reflect greater solar heat than before.
This albedo effect would also contribute to drought. All of us add to the onslaught against trees. These countries use endless amounts of hardwood for doors, window frames, coffins and knick-knacks, whilst in Japan it is even used for packaging. The developed world s imports of hardwood have swelled 16 times since 1950 whilst the amount of wood used by tropical regions has increased just thrice. In the West we regularly consume items produced at the expense of tropical forests.