Deforestation

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Currently, forests cover about 30 percent of the world's land area.

illustration of the areas of forest in the world (2000)

But we are losing more than 46,000 square miles of forest (~22 million football fields) every year due to:

illustration of the causes of deforestation

Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But when trees are cut down, their stored carbon is released back into the air.

illustration of how trees play an active role in the carbon cycle

[sources: National Geographic, World Wildlife Fund, BBC News]