Editing Renewable resource (section)

===Deforestation===
{{main|Deforestation}}
Besides their role as a resource for fuel and building material, trees protect the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide and by creating oxygen.<ref>[http://chemistry.about.com/od/environmentalchemistry/f/oxygen-produced-by-trees.htm How Much Oxygen Does One Tree Produce?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115175416/http://chemistry.about.com/od/environmentalchemistry/f/oxygen-produced-by-trees.htm |date=2012-11-15 }} By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., About.com Guide</ref> The destruction of rain forests is one of the critical causes of [[climate change]]. Deforestation causes carbon dioxide to linger in the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide accrues, it produces a layer in the atmosphere that traps radiation from the sun. The radiation converts to heat which causes [[global warming]], which is better known as the [[greenhouse effect]].<ref>Mumoki, Fiona. "The Effects of Deforestation on our Environment Today." Panorama. TakingITGlobal. 18 July 2006. Web. 24 March 2012.</ref>

Deforestation also affects the [[water cycle]]. It reduces the content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrm.org.uy/deforestation/UNreport.html |title=Underlying Causes of Deforestation |work=UN Secretary-General's Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010411092448/http://wrm.org.uy/deforestation/UNreport.html |archive-date=2001-04-11 }}</ref> Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that [[Soil erosion|erosion]], flooding and [[landslide]]s ensue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uwec.edu/jolhm/EH2/Rogge/index.htm|author=Daniel Rogge|work=University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire|title=Deforestation and Landslides in Southwestern Washington|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805191140/http://www.uwec.edu/jolhm/EH2/Rogge/index.htm|archive-date=2012-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/413717.stm |title=China's floods: Is deforestation to blame? |work=BBC News |date=August 6, 1999 |access-date=2013-01-05}}</ref>

Rain forests house many species and organisms providing people with food and other commodities. In this way biofuels may well be unsustainable if their production contributes to deforestation.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/Publications/AssessingBiofuels/tabid/56055/Default.aspx |title=Assessing biofuels: towards sustainable production and use of resources |year=2009 |publisher=[[International Resource Panel]], [[United Nations Environment Programme]] |access-date=2013-01-05}}</ref>

[[File:Bison skull pile edit.jpg|thumb|Over-hunting of [[American Bison]]]]