Exemplar, "Lessons from a Walk in the Rainforest" by David Suzuki
In the essay “Lessons from a Walk in a Rainforest,” David Suzuki presents the
argument that destruction of the rainforests in South America will have an
extremely significant impact on the environment in the future because
environmentalists today, see the rainforest as “the lungs of the planet” and the “wellsprings of biodiversity.” Suzuki states that we as a species cannot let the rainforests, this one or any one, fail because it will inevitably lead to our destruction. The essay suggests that the rainforest is almost like
the human skin, in that a small nick or cut can be healed while still allowing life to flourish; however, the removal of a large section creates a “mortal wound,” where the forest cannot repair itself and life in the area is lost. Aboriginals, who have lived in and off of the rainforest for hundreds of years, have experienced substantial losses in their culture due to such developments as highways and dams that have been created in order to try to connect and provide power to isolated villages. Colombia’s
forests have the most known bird species in the world, containing 19.4 percent of the worlds known species, as well as the most orchid species and the second most amphibians. This rich tapestry of living things is beyond any scientific comprehension and, if destroyed, will never be duplicated or recreated. Indigenous people living in Colombia suggest that Afro‐Colombian populations that were brought to the area
over 400 years ago during the slave trade lack the knowledge base built around the forest. They feel like the black people of Colombia see the forest as a resource that can be converted into money and other material benefits.
As long as the rainforest is intact, people can cut into it, just as the indigenous people have for thousands of years, and the cut will heal. Practices such as agroforestry have also been explored in order to try to sustain the forest and communities that rely on it. This practice has been used in other tropical areas like
Africa and Southeast Asia, and requires a profound knowledge of plants that can be
used for a variety of needs. In the process of agroforestry, useful plants are
deliberately collected from the forest environment and planted in another area so
that a community can use the resources that the new growth will provide without
damaging the actual rainforest. Agroforestry rests on the fundamental capital of
nature, which, if protected can sustain communities and ecosystems indefinitely. Using
this particular method, we have the capability to sustain the rainforests and gain
monetary value from them.
argument that destruction of the rainforests in South America will have an
extremely significant impact on the environment in the future because
environmentalists today, see the rainforest as “the lungs of the planet” and the “wellsprings of biodiversity.” Suzuki states that we as a species cannot let the rainforests, this one or any one, fail because it will inevitably lead to our destruction. The essay suggests that the rainforest is almost like
the human skin, in that a small nick or cut can be healed while still allowing life to flourish; however, the removal of a large section creates a “mortal wound,” where the forest cannot repair itself and life in the area is lost. Aboriginals, who have lived in and off of the rainforest for hundreds of years, have experienced substantial losses in their culture due to such developments as highways and dams that have been created in order to try to connect and provide power to isolated villages. Colombia’s
forests have the most known bird species in the world, containing 19.4 percent of the worlds known species, as well as the most orchid species and the second most amphibians. This rich tapestry of living things is beyond any scientific comprehension and, if destroyed, will never be duplicated or recreated. Indigenous people living in Colombia suggest that Afro‐Colombian populations that were brought to the area
over 400 years ago during the slave trade lack the knowledge base built around the forest. They feel like the black people of Colombia see the forest as a resource that can be converted into money and other material benefits.
As long as the rainforest is intact, people can cut into it, just as the indigenous people have for thousands of years, and the cut will heal. Practices such as agroforestry have also been explored in order to try to sustain the forest and communities that rely on it. This practice has been used in other tropical areas like
Africa and Southeast Asia, and requires a profound knowledge of plants that can be
used for a variety of needs. In the process of agroforestry, useful plants are
deliberately collected from the forest environment and planted in another area so
that a community can use the resources that the new growth will provide without
damaging the actual rainforest. Agroforestry rests on the fundamental capital of
nature, which, if protected can sustain communities and ecosystems indefinitely. Using
this particular method, we have the capability to sustain the rainforests and gain
monetary value from them.