Defeating Deforestation

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Defeating Deforestation 

 
Could your weekly shopping trip to the store be contributing to massive deforestation throughout the world? The answer may be yes! Each year 66 million tons of palm oil are harvested and sold on a global scale. Commonly used in vegetable oil, biofuel, and even your shampoo “Oil palm plantations currently cover more than 27 million hectares of the Earth’s surface” (“Palm Oil – Everyday Products”). Palm oil has been a main ingredient in the creation of biofuels and, since 2009, have been required to be mixed with vehicle fuel. Emitting high levels of both carbon dioxide and methane gas, these biofuels are impacting our climate three times as much as before. Sadly, if our planet’s climate change crisis was not enough, the deforestation in pursuit of palm oil has led to massive habitat destruction. When the forests have been cleared and a new plantation is created, they can only sustain highly low levels of biodiversity. The plants and animals that once called the area home simply cannot survive in such an environment. Some of the endangered species that are being affected are: orangutan, the Sumatran rhino, the pygmy elephant of Borneo, and the Sumatran tiger (Butler, 2020).

                                             

            Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. In that case, a video must be worth significantly more. When first deciding to cover this topic, I felt people must see the damage being done to fully understand the magnitude of the issue. Opening on an everyday girl looking through the shampoo aisle, I wanted to make sure the video started by connecting the audience to the film. This connection has been made through using such a mundane activity like everyday shopping. From there, we move to footage of deforestation, news clips covering the crisis, and heartfelt shots of the species (such as the orangutan) that have been drastically affected. After thinking about the effects such a purchase could have, she chooses to buy from a palm oil free company.

                                        
        
            Taking what I have learned throughout my time studying environmental communication, I felt a video would be the best way to both alert the masses of this issue as well as amplifying the coverage. Before starting my research on this topic, I had no idea how deeply engraved palm oil was in our society. While reading through a list I had found on products that use palm oil, I was shocked by the number of products I would have never guessed before. Palm oil was used in makeup and other beauty products all the way to the instant noodles I had in just steps away in my pantry. Interestingly enough, “palm oil is up to 20% of the weight of a pack of instant noodles. It's used to pre-cook the noodles so that all you have to do is add hot water.” (“Which Everyday Products”). Alerting society about how widespread this issue is will help lead to more conscientious purchasing by consumers and amplifying the crisis. In researching this topic, I found countless websites covering the massive deforestation. What I did not find, however, was other outlets besides scientific writings and websites that are more accessible to those trying to learn the basics. By increasing how we cover deforestation to better connect to those who may avoid science in turn will spread awareness. 






------------------------------------------- Defeating Deforestation Video -------------------------------------------

 

 

 




Work Cited

Butler, Rhett A. “Why Is Palm Oil Bad for Rainforests?” Mongabay, Mongabay, 16 July 2020, rainforests.mongabay.com/kids/elementary/palm_oil.html.

“Palm Oil – Deforestation for Everyday Products.” Palm Oil – Deforestation for Everyday Products - Rainforest Rescue, www.rainforest-rescue.org/topics/palm-oil.

“Which Everyday Products Contain Palm Oil?” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil.

Video credits

Bbc News, director. Amazon Deforestation - BBC News. YouTube, YouTube, 1 July 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlnoxgqEWo&t=206s.

Itnnews, director. Newly Released Footage Shows Heart-Breaking Impact of Deforestation on Orangutans. YouTube, YouTube, 6 June 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz7Nt_LnWhE.

Takepart, director. The Problem With Palm Oil | Fight for the Forests | TakePart. YouTube, YouTube, 21 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSumTLrJzdU.

WWE United Kingdom, director. Using Drones to Tackle Deforestation | WWF. YouTube, YouTube, 25 June 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG8ixzoIOMg.



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