The Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act Prior to the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in 1966, any person seeking non-public information from a U.S. federal  government agency had to first prove they had a legal need to know in order to view related government records. James Madison would not have liked that. A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. James Madison Under the FOIA, the American people are assumed to have a right to know about their government and the government is required to prove a compelling reason in order to keep information secret. In other words, the FOIA establishes the presumption that records of the U.S. Government must be made accessible to the people. Also note that most state and local governments have adopted laws similar in intent and function to the FOIA.As soon as he took office in January 2009, President Obama issued an executive order directing the government agencies to approach FOIA requests with a presumption in favor of disclosure.The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure  because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears, wrote Obama, stating that his administration would be dedicated to an unprecedented level of openness in Government.This guide is a simple explanation of how to use the FOIA to request information from the U.S. government agencies. But, please be aware that the FOIA and litigation involved with it can become extremely complex. Thousands of court decisions have been made regarding the FOIA and anyone requiring more detailed information about the FOIA should contact an attorney with experience in governmental affairs. Before Requesting Information Under the FOIA Look for it on the Internet. An incredible amount of information is now available on thousands of government websites, with volumes more being added every day. So before going to all the trouble of writing and sending an FOIA request, just log on visit the agencys website or run some searches. What Agencies are Covered by the FOIA? The FOIA applies to documents in the possession of executive branch agencies including: Cabinet agenciesMilitary branchesGovernment corporationsIndependent regulatory agenciesOther executive branch offices commissions The FOIA does NOT apply to: Any elected official of the US GovernmentOfficers of the federal Judicial Branch Private citizensPrivate companies or associationsGovernment contractors Government grant holdersState or local governments (most state and local governments have laws similar to the FOIA) While elected officials are exempt all daily actions of the United States Congress are published in the Congressional Record. In addition most state and many local governments have adopted laws similar to the FOIA What May and May Not be Requested Under the FOIA? You may, by mail, request and receive copies of any records in the possession of an agency except those covered by the following nine exemptions: Classified defense and foreign policy informationInformation prohibited from disclosure under other lawsInternal agency rules and practicesTrade secrets and confidential business practicesInter or intra-agency communications protected under lawInformation involving matters of personal privacyCertain information regarding law enforcementInformation on supervision of financial institutionsGeological information on wells In addition, especially sensitive information concerning law enforcement and national security issues may occasionally be withheld.Agencies are free to (and sometimes do) disclose information even though the records are exempted under the provisions above.Agencies may also disclose only parts of information while withholding exempted sections. Withheld sections will be blacked out and are referred to as redacted sections. How to Request FOIA Information FOIA requests must be sent by mail directly to the agency that has the records you want. There is no single government office or agency assigned to handle or route FOIA requests.While a few individual agencies currently provide for online FOIA request submittal, requests to most agencies must still be submitted via standard mail or email. Online FOIA requests to the agencies that currently accept them can be submitted on the FOIAonline.gov website. Addresses for submitting FOIA requests to all federal agencies can be found on the FOIA.gov website.Each agency has one or more official FOIA contact offices to which requests should be addressed. Larger agencies have separate FOIA offices for each bureau and some have FOIA offices in each region of the country.Contact information for the FOIA offices of just about all agencies can now be found on their website.The U.S. Government Manual is also useful for determining which agency has the records you want. It is available at most public an d university libraries and can also be searched online. What Your FOIA Request Letter Should Say FOIA information requests should be made in a letter mailed to the FOIA Officer of the agency. If you cant determine exactly which agency has what you want, send a request to each potential agency.You should also mark both the letter and the outside of the envelope, Freedom of Information Act Request to speed its handling by the agency.It is vital that you identify in the letter the information or records you want as clearly and specifically as possible. Include any facts, names, authors, dates, times, events, locations etc. you think might help the agency find your records. If you know the exact title or name of the records you want, be sure to include it.While it is not required, you can state why you want the records.Even if you think the records you want may be exempted from the FOIA or otherwise classified, you can and should still make the request. Agencies have the authority to disclose any exempted material at their discretion and are encouraged to do so. Sample FOIA Request Letter DateFreedom of Information Act RequestAgency FOIA OfficerAgency or Component NameStreet AddressDear ________:Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552, I am requesting access to [identify the records you want in complete detail].If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me before filling my request. [Or, Please send me the records without informing me of the cost unless the fees exceed $______, which I agree to pay.]If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of appeal procedures available to me under the law.[Optionally: If you have any questions about this request, you may contact me by telephone at ______ (home phone) or _______ (office phone).]Sincerely,NameAddress What Does the FOIA Process Cost? There is no initial fee required to submit an FOIA request, but the law does provide for the charging of certain types of fees in some instances. For a typical requester the agency can charge for the time it takes to search for records and for duplication of those records. There is usually no charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first 100 pages of duplication. You may always include in your request letter a specific statement limiting the amount that you are willing to pay in fees. If an agency estimates that the total fees for processing your request will exceed $25, it will notify you in writing of the estimate and offer you an opportunity to narrow your request in order to reduce the fees. If you agree to pay fees for a records search, you may be required to pay such fees even if the search does not locate any releasable records. You May Request that Fees Be Waived You may request a waiver of fees. Under the FOIA, fee waivers are limited to situations in which a requester can show that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. Requests for fee waivers from individuals who are seeking records on themselves usually do not meet this standard. In addition, a requesters inability to pay fees is not a legal basis for granting a fee waiver. How Long Does the FOIA Process Take? By law, agencies must respond to FOIA requests within 10 working days of receipt. Agencies may extend this time if necessary, but they must send written notice of the extension to the requester. What if Your FOIA Request is Denied? Sometimes, the agency simply does not have or cannot locate the requested records. But if the records are found, only the information or parts of information exempted from disclosure can be withheld. If the agency finds and withholds any or all of the information, the agency must notify the requester of the reason and inform them of the appeals process. Appeals should be sent to the agency in writing within 45 days.The websites of most federal agencies include pages fully explaining the agencys specific FOIA process instructions including contact information, records available, fees, and appeals process.

Spartans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spartans - Essay Example In his career he has published over 65 articles, with 12 forthcoming articles and chapters such as 'Sparta' in The Classical Tradition (Harvard University Press). In 2004, Professor Cartledge was appointed an Honorary Citizen of Sparta. The Spartans is a convincing narrative that explores the culture and civilization of the most famous "warrior people": the Spartans of ancient Greece, by the world's leading specialist in the field. Sparta has often been described as the original Utopia--a remarkably evolved society whose warrior heroes were forbidden any other trade, profession, or business. As a people, the Spartans were the living exemplars of such core values as duty, discipline, the nobility of arms in a cause worth dying for, sacrificing the individual for the greater good of the community (illustrated by their role in the battle of Thermopylae), and the triumph of will over seemingly insuperable obstacles--qualities that today are frequently believed to signify the ultimate heroism. Paul Cartledge is the distinguished scholar and historian who have long been seen as the leading international authority on ancient Sparta. He traces the evolution of Spartan society--the culture and the people, as well as the tre mendous influence they had on their world and even ours. He details throughout the narrative the lives of such illustrious and myth-making figures as Lycurgus, King Leonidas, Helen of Troy (and Sparta), and Lysander, and explains how the Spartans, although they placed a high value on masculine ideals, nevertheless allowed women an unusually dominant and powerful role--unlike Athenian culture with which the Spartans are so often compared. In resurrecting the ancient culture and society of the Spartans, Cartledge delves deep into ancient texts and archeological sources and complements his text with illustrations that depict original Spartan artifacts and drawings, as well as examples of representational paintings from the Renaissance onwards. The Spartans built a warrior culture in ancient Greece unsurpassed for its courage and military prowess. Eminent historian Cartledge (Spartan Reflections) provides a remarkable chronicle of Sparta's rise and fall, from its likely origins around 1100 B.C. to the height of its fame and glory in the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. and its fall in the fourth century B.C. The Spartans built their society through conquest and subjugation, ruling over their subject peoples with an iron hand and putting down revolts with devastating might. Between 490 and 479, Sparta joined Athens in fighting the Persians in three key wars-Thermopylae, Plataea and Mycale-that contributed to the demise of Persian power and the rise of Hellenistic power on the Mediterranean. Cartledge punctuates his absorbing tale with brief, engaging biographies of the city-state's kings from Lycurgus, the earliest Spartan leader, who brought constitutional law to the city, to Leonidas, who led the Spartans at Thermopylae. According to

Friedrich Nietzsche Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Friedrich Nietzsche - Research Paper Example While German Expressionism was expressed in a wide variety of artistic formats, today it is most recognized for its appearance within film. This essay considers the historical background of German Expressionism and also analyzes it for its deeper meaning within German Expressionist films, arguing that German Expression demonstrated a nihilistic concern with industrialization and modernization. Background While Expressionism was an art movement that had become popular in Europe during the early part of the 20th century, in Germany it took on a particularly unique approach. While this is because of a variety of reasons, one of the primary reasons is because the German filmmakers did not have the financial backing Hollywood films had so they began developing their own unique style. In considering German Expressionism, it’s clear there are a number of thematic elements that exist. In these regards, it’s been noted that frequent German Expressionist themes involve insanity, betrayal, and intellectual topics. It is perhaps for this last reason that the art movement remains so prevalent a concern within University environments. While German Expressionism was confined to a set period within German art history, its influence has been extended well beyond this early 20th century period. With Nazi’s taking power in Germany, making German Expressionist filmmakers migrated to the United States and influenced filmmaking. Slowly German Expressionist techniques took hold in American cinema and developed into film noir. Today noir remains a prominent element in Hollywood cinema. In addition, to film, it’s also been argued that German Expressionism emerged in architecture. In these regards, it’s argued that the sharp angles and contrasts of film also articulated into architecture. Indeed, German Expressionism seems to equally represent these concerns. From the opening credits it’s easy to see how American critiques could have confused Th e Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) as cubist. The slanted and oblique patterns with the actors and directors names placed on top of them seem to represent a multitude of perspectives. Analysis While it’s been noted that German Expressionism largely developed as a response to Hollywood films, one must also consider it in relation to the meaning behind the artistic style. In these regards, many researchers argue that parallels between the German Expressionism and deep German nihilistic anxiety with industrialization are evident (Elsasesser, 2004, p. 72). In one of the most famous German Expressionist films, the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari this is highly evident. The film begins with an iris-in of Francis in the asylum. One notes that the concern with insanity is a major theme of German Expressionism. It is also oddly appropriate as with the darkness closing in the iris seems to represent a telescopic view of his troubled soul. In fact, the film makes use of editing to cut to the deep focus set-up that features Jane walking toward the camera and then back to the dark and troubling iris surrounding Francis. We initially find Caligari registering his somnambulist for the carnival. He seems somewhat out-of-place in the well-lit setting and the mise-en-scene. even positions him well-below the registrar, almost as if the registrar represents the established governmental authority that Caligari is attempting to replace. The

The Lesson Essay Example for Free

The Lesson Essay In â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Cade Bambara, the author writes about Sylvia’s childhood experience as a student. She is a young-immature, uneducated, and naive kid who doesn’t know much about life, but her teacher tries to help her by giving her a lesson of reality as well to the rest of her students. She describes her teacher as a lady, Miss Moore, with â€Å"nappy hair,† â€Å"proper speech,† and â€Å"no makeup. † Sylvia explains how she feels when she goes to toy store in Fifth Avenue. For example, she says that she feels confused and shamed of being in the store because the writer notates that the store is made for wealthy people. Sylvia’s vocabulary in the literature is very unusual because she expresses her feelings with streets slang. Furthermore, the author explains Sylvia’s economic situation, and Sylvia’s preferences for playing on the streets with her friends instead of going to school. However, by the end of the story, Sylvia learns the meaning of self-motivation. People, things, and attitudes might help to motivate someone to become something in life, but it is up to that someone to become that something. The main character of the story is Sylvia. She is a kid who considers games the only important thing in her life. Paragraph one emphasizes some of the author’s hobbies and ethnicity. She says that she hates the winos because they cluttered up the parks where her friends and she used to play. She argues that her new teacher is black as well (462). â€Å"As well. † she refers of Sylvia as a black kid too. In paragraph three, Sylvia says that she would rather go to the pool or the show where it is cool instead of listen Miss Moore’s arithmetic lesson (463). Another main characteristic of Sylvia is her poor vocabulary. She uses slang and metaphorical language. For example, in paragraph one, she mentions that her cousin â€Å"who lived on the block cause we all moved North the same time and to the same apartment then spread out gradual to breathe† (462). She uses â€Å"cause† instead of because, and when she uses the expression â€Å"gradual to breathe†, she is referring to the space of the apartment. In other words, she tries to say that there is enough space to fit all of her family in her apartment without having luxury. Also, she uses expressions like â€Å"let up†, â€Å"gofer†, â€Å"shit outta me†, â€Å"nappy-head bitch†, and others. Another main characteristic of Sylvia is that she doesn’t make use of her values properly. For example, when she steals the $4 that her teacher gave her to pay the taxi, values are missing. Sylvia just wants to buy barbeque instead of paying the taxi. In paragraph forty, Sylvia lies about a boarder taking a shower when in reality sugar was tied up in the shower, and her aunt caught her lying. Sylvia is a young kid who only cares for games, but the teacher will show her the real meaning of life later in the literature. The main conflict of the story is when Miss Moore tries to give lessons of how democracy works to her students, but Sylvia refuses to go along with them and makes it more complicated. There are two types of conflicts in the author’s writing. The first one is the internal conflict, and the second one the external conflict. The internal conflict is within Sylvia’s perspective. For example, when Miss Moore tries to explain to her students what money is, Sylvia takes the question as an insult (463). She thinks that the teacher’s purposes of making the question is to treat her students as uneducated kids, but what the teacher really tries to say is what money really is, why it is so important in people’s life, how people expend it, and why. The external conflict is between the author vs. the real world. In paragraph twenty six, Sylvia expresses that the boat price makes her angry, but she doesn’t know why (464). In paragraph 40, she says that she feels funny and shame when she walks in to the toy store (465). At the beginning of the writing, Sylvia doesn’t want to accept the concept of Miss Moore, â€Å"Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough† (465), but by the end of the story she finally gets the lesson. Sylvia says in the last paragraph that she doesn’t care for the $4 that she stole from her teacher, and she wants to think the day through (466). â€Å"The Lesson† is a literature that shows the main character another face of the world. By Sylvia going to the toy store, she realizes that there are people out there who have better economic status than her. She acknowledges the opportunities that her democratic country can offer her such as equal opportunity to get far in life. The settings of the story are very detailed and help the readers understand better that Sylvia is a poor black kid from the North who doesn’t know better about life. For instances, in paragraph 1 the protagonist, Sylvia, describes the park where she and her friends play hide-and-seek. This setting helps the reader to understand that the protagonist of the story is a young teenager kid who rather goes to the park than summer school. The story also makes it clear that Sylvia and her friends are in summer school somewhere in New York close to alley Pond Park or Central Park. With all of settings details that the author tells in the story, readers can interpret that the story probably took place in the 70s or bel because in paragraph 3, the author emphasizes that the taxi ride cost 0. 85 cents. Furthermore, almost by the end of the story, the author describes that the toy store is located on Fifth Avenue which is an avenue in New York City where the most expensive stores are located. Miss Moore takes the kids to the toy store with the purpose of teaching her students that there are people out there in the world who had worked hard enough to reach the type of life style that they ever wanted. Languages devices throughout the story help the readers understand more about the protagonist background and message of the story. For instance, the expensive sailboat in â€Å"The Lesson† symbolizes frivolous uses of money and teaches Sylvia about the economic difference status that exits in her society. It also shows her that everyone is capable of getting anything in life as long one chooses the right path to success. Another language device found in the story is imagery which is emphasized in paragraph one when Sylvia describes Miss Moore’s feet as â€Å"fish-white and spooky† (462). By Sylvia’s slang and words, the readers conclude that Miss Moore’s feet are very white and Sylvia dislike them. Also the audience realize that the protagonist is an immature kid that doesn’t know better about people. Furthermore, Diction is found almost on each paragraph of the story. For instance, when sugar says, â€Å"Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right † (462), it gives the readers an idea of the protagonist’s culture, education, and personality. It seems that Sylvia is a young kid who doesn’t understand the stages of life and the opportunities that she has to become a successful adult until her teacher takes her to the toy story. In conclusion, â€Å"The lesson† seems to be a teaching story to kids who don’t have ambition in their life to explore the word and its opportunities. The author makes it very clear that people are what they want to be and what they work for. For instance, in paragraph forty five Miss Moore emphasizes that â€Å"we are who we are[,] but it don’t necessarily have to be that way† (466).

Nuclear Waste Disposal Essay -- Nuclear Waste Disposal Environmental E

Nuclear Waste Disposal For over the last half century, the production and exploit of nuclear technology has spread into many areas of the current modern society and affects each individual in one way or another. Nuclear technology has become relevant in areas of the advancement of energy production, national defense, and also the medicinal field as well. But, along with the use of nuclear technology comes an added burden: nuclear waste. As defined, â€Å"Nuclear waste is the type of waste that results from the use and production of nuclear materials. As nuclear materials are produced and use up, one by-product of the process is a large amount of dangerous chemical elements.† In short, nuclear wastes are generated from spent nuclear fuel, dismantled weapons, and other products which many include the most dangerous chemical element, plutonium. As nuclear energy is being a more reliable source, we must find a way to properly dispose of it just like any other energy waste. The most important design item that we must consider in storage of nuclear waste lies in the shielding of its radiation. Currently, nuclear waste is stored in specially-designed, water-filled basins or dry casks at commercial power reactor sites or at one away-from-reactor storage facilities in 43 different states.. But as these are only temporary, The Bush Administration and the U.S Department of Energy have proposed a design for a permanent waste disposal which will place steel canisters containing the spent fuel to be stored within other steel canisters and buried horizontally in chambers 300 meters below the earth’s surface. In February of 2002, President Bush chose the site of Yucca Mountain (90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada) as the place to... ...ng methods to solve this problem. Hopefully efforts will be successful and the world will have one less worry in its already huge human waste disposal dilemma. Works Cited 1. Nuclear Issues Briefing Paper 49. â€Å"International Nuclear Waste Disposal Concepts.† http://www.uic.com.au/nip49.htm. 2/3/2005 2. â€Å"Nuclear Waste: Storage and Disposal Methods.† http://www.etsu.edu/writing/3120f99/zctb3/nuclear2.htm 3. Natural Resources Defense Council. â€Å"EPA loses Yucca Mountain court case.† http://www.nrdc.org/bushrecord/articles/br_1688.asp?t=t 4. Environmental Media Services. â€Å"Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Storage and Transport.† http://www.ems.org/nuclear/yucca_mountain.html 5. Brongers, Michiel P.H. â€Å"Nuclear Waste Storage.† Chem.480, April 6, 2002, www.utm.edu/departments/artsci/chemistry/NUwaste.htm

CAPM’s Contribution to the Stock Market

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a mathematical, analytical formula to help investors make the wisest decisions on the stock market. Before purchasing a common stock, an investor may use the CAPM (a mathematical formula) to estimate its expected returns. The Model may be used for all kinds of assets. In brief, the CAPM helps to explain â€Å"the relationship between the risk of a particular asset or stock, its market price, and the expected return to the investor (â€Å"Capital Asset Pricing Model or CAPM,† 2007). By using CAPM as a tool to project expected returns from stocks, investors automatically affect the demand and prices of stocks sold on the market. The CAPM starts out with the assumption that there are two kinds of risks that must be assessed before an investment decision is made. Systematic risk includes risks facing the market as a whole and that cannot be dampened through portfolio diversification. Examples of systematic risks include rates of interest and economic slumps (McClure, 2008). While systematic risks must affect all stocks at the same time, unsystematic risks or specific risks are risks that are â€Å"specific to individual stocks and can be diversified away as the investor increases the number of stocks in his or her portfolio (McClure). † Of course, good investors are well-versed in investment theories such as the modern portfolio theory, which clearly states that diversification cannot resolve the issue of systematic risks, although specific risks may be easily handled by diversifying an investment portfolio. CAPM was developed as a way to address the issues raised by the modern portfolio theory. This Model is a tool to measure systematic risks as well (McClure). The Risk Glossary explains the importance of estimating systematic risk before the formula for measuring such risk is described: According to CAPM, the marketplace compensates investors for taking systematic risk but not for taking specific risk. This is because specific risk can be diversified away. When an nvestor holds the market portfolio, each individual asset in that portfolio entails specific risk, but through diversification, the investor's net exposure is just the systematic risk of the market portfolio. Systematic risk can be measured using beta. According to CAPM, the expected return of a stock equals the risk-free rate plus the portfolio's beta multiplied by the expected excess return of the market portfolio. Specifically, let and be random variables for the simple returns of the stock and the market over some specifi ed period. Let be the known risk-free rate, also expressed as a simple return, and let be the stock's beta. Then where E denotes an expectation (â€Å"Capital Asset Pricing Model,† 1996). The formula of CAPM is considered its conclusion (â€Å"Capital Asset Pricing Model†). To put it simply, the formula states that â€Å"excess expected return† of a stock is dependent on the beta of the stock rather than the stock’s volatility (â€Å"Capital Asset Pricing Model†). The same can be stated for an investment portfolio. Another way to explain the formula is that â€Å"the stock's excess expected return over the risk-free rate equals its beta times the market's expected excess return over the risk free rate (â€Å"Capital Asset Pricing Model†). † Or, excess expected return from a stock is dependent on systematic risk rather than the total of risks (â€Å"Capital Asset Pricing Model†). As suggested previously, by knowing the beta and expected returns for a certain stock or asset, investors are able to bid up or down its price. Expected returns are adjusted so long as the formula has not been satisfied. Thus, the Capital Asset Pricing Model ends up predicting the equilibrium price of a stock or asset. One of the assumptions of the model is that all investors agree on the expected return of certain stock or asset as well as the beta. Although this assumption is unrealistic, the CAPM is believed to affect the stock market by urging investors to raise the demand for particular assets or stocks as compared to others, based on the information they obtain through the use of the Model (â€Å"Capital Asset Pricing Model†). Apart from the unrealistic assumption of CAPM mentioned above, there are other problems with the Model that experts have identified by way of research. As an example, Eugene Fama and Kenneth French, upon considering expected returns on the American Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange for a period of 27 years, found that the differences of beta do not consistently describe the performance of stocks (McClure). McClure reports that the study conducted by Fama and French is not the only one that raised doubts about the validity of the Capital Asset Pricing Model. A major problem with the Model is the fact that beta cannot be used as a sure predictor of the reaction of stocks to various changes. All the same, the CAPM continues to be used by countless investors around the globe (McClure). In other words, beta continues to affect investment decisions that run the stock market day after day. References Capital Asset Pricing Model. (1996). Risk Glossary. Retrieved Nov 4, 2008, from http://www.riskglossary.com/link/capital_asset_pricing_model.htm. Capital Asset Pricing Model or CAPM. (2007). Money Zine. Retrieved Nov 4, 2008, from http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/Capital-Asset-Pricing-Model-or-CAPM/. McClure, B. (2008). The Capital Asset Pricing Model: An Overview. Investopedia. Retrieved Nov 4, 2008, from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/06/CAPM.asp.

Cutting Down Mother Nature Deforestation - 2387 Words

Cutting Down Mother Nature Deforestation has been an ancient process that has been ongoing since at least since the beginnings of human civilization. It was both a method that focused on survival, but now the act of cutting down a wide area of trees has accelerated to massive proportions for mostly economic profit. Deforestation has already impacted the Earth in such a way that its forests and resources are running out at a massive rate. What had used to be a mere tool for survival has now turned into a wound on nature. In 2010, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) had published a global assessment that explained the global rate of deforestation. According to the FAO (2010), in the last 2 decades over 28 million hectares or†¦show more content†¦How Deforestation Can Affect the Environment Forests are a highly important part of Earth’s ecosystems and its animals, but are also a main source of resources much desired by humans. The need for these products has lead to massive amounts of deforestation and to several changes to the environment. Deforestation would affect the environment in a way that leads to the rising of earth’s climate, and deterioration in soil fertility which are important for the survival of plants and humans alike. Plants will need soil and sufficient climate for growth while humans require them for growing food. Deforestation would bring several devastating effects that would affect both local and global environments. Not only can deforestation remove entire forests, but it can also have devastating effects on the soil making sure that forests and other plants cannot regrow in that area. Once the vegetation and plant life is eradicated from the area, soil erosion and a loss in soil fertility will become an accumulating problem. According to the National Department of Agriculture (1999), Soil erosion is the act of soil, or more specifically the nutritious top-soil that plants depend on so much, being washed away by rain, streams, or any other flowing water source (para. 9). Furthermore, according to the article, Effects of Deforestation, written by The Guardian (1999),