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Destruction of forests – effect on climate |
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[Humboldt first explains how it is possible to determine water levels, for example of Lake Valencia in Valenzuela, from times before human presence or record. Then he turns to the effects of human occupation.]The destruction of the forests, the clearing of the plains, and the cultivation of indigo over half a century has affected the amount of water flowing in as well as the evaporation of the soil and the dryness of the air, which forcefully explains why the present Lake Valencia is decreasing. By felling trees that cover the tops and sides of mountains men everywhere have ensured two calamities at the same time for the future: lack of fuel, and scarcity of water. Trees, by the nature of their perspiration, and the radiation [of sunlight?] from their leaves in a cloudless sky, surround themselves with an atmosphere that is constantly cool and misty. They affect the amount of springs by sheltering the soil from the sun's direct actions and reducing the rainwater's evaporation. |
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from Alexander von Humboldt, Jaguars & Electric Eels, translated by Jason Wilson. |
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Humboldt's travel through the Americas began in 1799 and ended in 1804. The "Personal Narrative" comprises the final three volumes of his "Voyage aux régions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent", which comprises thirty-five volumes, and was written betweeen 1805 and 1834. Thus Humboldt is recollecting events and emotions that span not only the years of his travel, but those well before it; and he wrote his narration after the travel (sometimes many years after its end). The title "Jaguars & Electric Eels" was supplied for this translation and edition, and is not by Humboldt. |