Going, Going, Gone

Most of you have probably heard about the crisis of deforestation. This is a problem that's been in the public eye for years and years, yet through all the effort, little change has actually taken place. Because of the rising demand recently for palm oil, the forests of Sumatra are being slashed and burned at an alarming rate. The loss of the forest is having detrimental consequences on a certain species that resides here. Orangutans have been engangered for a while, but this new demand in palm oil is bring the issue into notice again, as shown through this article. Companies are illegaly and swiftly cutting down this forest to make room for palm oil producing factories. In 2008, a survey showed that there were less than 7,000 orangutans left in the wild. With this renewed need for large amounts of space and nowhere to build factories, this number is going down. Indonesia is the world's biggest palm oil supplier, and factories needed to product this resource take up a lot of room. The reason palm oil is in such high demand at the moment is because it is edible, and is included in countless foods you can find at a supermarket here, as well as an important source of fat for people in other countries. Also, it is technically a renewable, clean resource (although it takes a pretty long time to renew), so it is being turned towards as an alternative to burning fossil fuels. It seems ironic because while using palm oil for energy won't directly pollute the air as much as fossil fuels, it's just as damaging to the environment and the animals that depend on that environment. The laws against deforestation are there, but they aren't being enforced. Indonesia isn't the only place this is happening. Forests all over the world are being chopped down at an alarming rate to make way for factories and agriculture. This damages the lives of all animals that depend on that habitat. You can google something like "organizations to stop deforestation" and I'm sure a huge number of different organization in support of forest and animal preservation will come up. All of these are for a great cause and are doing what they can, but they can't solve the problem. With the amount of energy and emphasis placed on environmental conservation today, you'd think there would be more progress. The problem is just that not enough people care. These companies have to earn money and take care of their buisiness, and they just don't care enough to make a change. Most people know that when these resources and habitats die out, it will cause a huge number of problems. Why is it, then, that the progress towards saving these environments has been so small? Do people just take these resources for granted? What are they expecting to do when it all runs out?