The selected picture (figure 1) shows a green forest, which is represented in the form of human lungs. You can notice that one part of the forest has been cut down, which is why there is only empty brown earth in this place of the forest in the form of lungs. This painting uses symbolism to convey the relationship between forests and the health of human lungs. The authors of the image want to convey the basic idea that the problem of deforestation is relevant today. The main idea is that the more forests are cut down, the less oxygen is left for people. Thus, the picture evokes emotions and empathy in the audience. It shows that with the felling of trees, not only the forests themselves suffer, but also your lungs.
If to pay attention to the details, as already mentioned above, there is a black area on the site of the felled trees, where the black stones lying on the ground could be noticed. When there is a lung disease in humans, black areas on the lungs appear; further, this leads to serious diseases such as cancer. This parallelism makes the image realistic, evoking associations among the audience. In fact, the picture very realistically shows the real lungs of a person by imitating the structure of the lungs using lightpaths between trees. It is worthy of paying attention to the colors used in the image. Green is a symbol of life, and the dominance of the green color in the picture demonstrates the importance of forests in human life.
Contrarily, the brown color is a symbol of death, and the brown stands for the adverse consequences of deforestation for the whole of humankind and the environment. The color of the sky is not bright, it is gray, and there is an abundance of clouds. These clouds block sunshine, symbolizing the disappearance of hope. However, there is no total darkness; there is still some sunlight going through the clouds and falling into the forest. It means that there is still hope to save forests. I think the image is trying to convey the message that the more trees cut down, the less sunshine or less hope for life will remain.
The space taken by the sky in the image is not so big, and a clear sky is covered by clouds. The clear sky here is a symbol of a sustainable future. It could be noticed that in the area where trees were cut down, there is still some instrument for further work. That could mean that people are going to continue destroying forests and are careless about the problem. At the same time, they are careless about their health and future. Next, it is seen that there are several trees apart from the main forest. This means that people are thinking about plants as an endless resource, assuming that there are still many trees remaining. However, it is not true, and in the image itself, the number of trees standing behind the forest is small.
The image primarily introduces the cultural issue of deforestation. Deforestation is a global issue that causes many environmental problems and health-related issues among citizens. The commercial is called “Before it’s too late,” (WWF), which has its particular role and message. The image says, stop deforestation before it is too late. It might be too late for the environment since the whole forest has disappeared. In another way, it may be too late for humans since their lungs, and overall health is under threat. The audience might interpret the phrase in both ways; however, it is still understandable that it might be too late for both the environment and your health. Thus, the connection between these two terms is strongly presented by the commercial.
The commercial campaign seeks to address the idea that because the forests are being damaged for industrial and agricultural purposes, people are losing the essential thing in their lives, which is air. Today, when the air is extremely polluted, especially in regions with a high concentration of carbon dioxide and methane, green trees are essential. Texts cannot exist on their own since they are affected by outside topics and cultural trends (Bullock & Goggin 114). Thus, in order to understand a given text, it is required to look for a larger context. The term deforestation is related to the impact of human activity impact on the environment’s state and all the alive organisms on the planet.
Human activity influences and enhances climate change, which leads to global warming (Viana 177). This creates a risk of various diseases and other problems related to heat extremes, floods, and changing sea levels. Because of the economic activities, human actions are contributing to such environmental issues as air pollution, deforestation, and land degradation. Such changes, in turn, increase many diseases, such as respiratory diseases and cancer (Viana 178). Forests are a major oxygen source for humans; thus, destroying them will bring oxygen depletion, which will lead to the death of alive organisms.
The next aspect of the text that I would like to emphasize is that the size of the disappeared forest is quite impressive. It can be seen that a big part of the forest was simply cut down. Because if this were not the case, then the forest could become rarer evenly throughout the site. This shows that human influence is the cause of the situation depicted. Thus, the campaign emphasizes the threat of human manipulation of nature, in particular forests. A big ethical controversy may occur at this point. If humans are those who destroy forests, it would mean that people are damaging their own health.
Deforestation is a major concern, especially for developing countries. Many studies assume that because of the actions being held in the developing countries, there is a risk for them to become vast deserts and watersheds. The term deforestation describes different changes in various ecosystems; however, it influences a specific geographical area. Hence, deforestation causes severe problems in the affected regions. The disappearance of forests could negatively affect the wood fuel supply for household energy, water resources, and, consequently, the quality of life. In fact, deforestation can lead to global repercussions since the global carbon cycles will be changed.
The main message of the text is that by cutting trees and destroying forests, humans are pushing themselves to death. The campaign stands against cutting forests and addresses the issue of deforestation as a severe global problem. The author is conveying the idea that the trees are doing functions of the lungs for the whole planet and all the global citizens.
Works cited
Bullock, Richard Harvey, and Maureen Daly Goggin. The Norton Field Guide to Writing, with Readings. WW Norton, 2019.
Viana, Virgilio. “Health Climate Justice and Deforestation in the Amazon.” Health of People, Health of Planet and Our Responsibility. Springer, Cham, 2020. 165-174.
WWF. Before It’s Too Late. 2008.
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