World Cultures 11

Unit Latin America

Name: Casey Marshall

Block:_4______
The Amazon Rainforest Internet Assignment

Purpose: This assignments goal is to expose you to basic facts about the Amazon rainforest as well as
introduce you to some of the wildlife and people that live inside it. You will also understand how the rainforest
affects the nations and people of South America and how it is facing unique challenges in the modern world.
Part I (Overview): Use www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon and follow the directions carefully to
complete this assignment.
1. Review the photograph. Choose one descriptive word (adjective) that comes to mind and explain how it
relates to the image.
I would describe this photo as extraordinary. I would say this because it shows the depth of how large the
rainforest is and how beautiful it truly looks from a far the way the picture makes it look.
2. Click on Overview and review the information, including the visuals. List the 8 nations that the
Amazon rainforest is located in.
- Brazil
- Peru
-

Venezuela

Colombia

Ecuador

- Bolivia
- Argentina
- Guyana Suriname

3. Click on Forest Habitat and review the information there, including the visuals. A forest can vary based
on several factors. What are these four factors?
- Latitude
- Local soil
-

Rainfall

- prevailing temperatures

4. What makes rainforests special?

The rainfall is abundant and temperatures are always warm. The forest soaks up carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases that would be free in other atmospheres.
5. Worldwide, how quickly is deforestation occurring? How quickly is it occurring in the Amazon? Use
statistics from the reading to explain your answer.
a. Worldwide Around 58 million square miles are lost/year.
b. Amazon 17% lost at the least half century from human activity.
6. Scroll down to the Why They Matter section. Scroll through the three images and review the captions.
List and explain why rainforests matter.
a. Many plants, including forest trees are soaking up large amounts of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and store it away from it.
b. Millions of humans rely heavily on the rainforests to hunt, get medicines, and gatherings. They
provide them with food, medicine, wood, air we breathe and fresh water.
c. 80% of the known plants and animals in the world can be found inside the rainforest. They house
more animals than any other kind of habitat, and are the animals reliant home throughout their
lives.
7. Return to the main page (www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon) and scroll down to the Species section.
Choose three animals found in the Amazon and describe them in the chart.

Animal
Tiger

Description
The tiger has the ability to hunt on its own, and is one of the largest big cats,
where the males can weigh generally around 310 to 680 pounds. With habitation
loss occurring, the species is forced into competing with the human race for

Chimpanzee

space.
Chimps are like humans in the way that they are a highly social species, and they
can live longer than many animals, a lot of the times being older than fifty years
old. They spend most of their lives in tree tops, and when they come down to
earth grounds, walk around on all fours, but have the ability to walk on two legs

African Elephant

like humans for about a mile.

This animal is the largest to walk on earth. They are usually noticed for their
unmistakable trunks which they use for communication and handling objects.

They wander in herds in around 37 different countries.

Part II (Native Peoples): Use www.survivalinternational.org/about/amazontribes to learn about the native
peoples of the Amazon rainforest.
8. How many people live in the Amazon rainforest, and how are they organized?
In the Amazon rainforest, there are around 1 million people living in the area, and they are organized into 400
different tribes.
9. To what extent have they had contact with outsiders? Explain your response.
Most of the different tribes have had contact with outsiders for as long as the past five hundred years. The ones
who do not contact with the outside world do not at all and never have.
10. Create a t-chart that compares and contrasts your daily life with that of the people of the Amazon. Include
at least four points of comparison.
Compare
Contrast
Hunting animals and eating them
Use plant based poisons in order to trick the fish
Grow vegetables on their land
Live on land by a river.
Contacted with healthcare and education systems
Rely heavily on hunting and gathering.

11. Why are land rights so important to the Amazon tribes? Read the text and watch the video clip in the Land
= Life section to answer this question.
These land rights are what the people of the area rely on heavily in order to live. The people who dont have any
type of rights have begun to worry due to the fact that they use their land for everything. They would be
stranded, lost, without food, or a place to live without it.
12. Do you think most Americans agree with the viewpoint expressed by the woman in the video clip? Explain.
In my opinion, I would say that most Americans would agree to what is being expressed in the video clip
because its expressing that every group is equal and that its important that people respect the differences in the

ways that people decide to live their lives. I feel as though were very big on this in America and accept the fact
that people are diverse and different and can still get along with one another peacefully.

Part III (Current Challenges): Use www.theguardian.com/environment/amazon-rainforest to research

some of the current challenges facing the Amazon rainforest. Please be mature in handling photographs of
native people, as their dress is quite different from ours!
13. Choose articles that interest you about each of the topics in the chart. Read them and complete the chart.
Challenge
Impact (2 sentences)
Possible Solutions (2 sentences)
Deforestation
The numbers of deforestation are at the
In order for this to be resolved, I believe that
lowest points that they have been in many

we would need to work together to enforce

years, and to be exact they are down around

fines put against deforestation. If people

18%, which is having large impacts on the

came together and noticed this was wrong

Amazon rainforest and how it operates.

and we had to make a change, people would

stop what they were doing and the rainforest

Mining/Drilling

Crime

Illegal mining is frequently occurring in

can go back to its natural being.

I think the police forces need to crack down

Venezuela, and because of this, its having a

more on the illegal laws of the mining, and

horrid impact on the people of the area

put more harsh punishments when it is

because its causing diseases like malaria to

found. Its hard to make a change to

spread at a fast pace. It is a common disease

something that is already illegal and tending

in areas that consist of a lot of gold and

to be a problem, but nothing will change

diamond mining.
Selling timber from the forests that are

unless a crackdown on the law is met.

A crackdown on the law would have to put

already being poorly affected by many

into place as well. I believe if people knew

problems is occurring frequently. People are

the risks of getting caught doing this crime

selling it to wealthy people in the area, and

were larger than they are at the moment,

causing a lot more unnecessary harm to the

they would stop doing it because it isnt

area theyre taking from.

worth the risk.

14. Go to edition.cnn.com/2013/07/25/sport/football/football-brazil-world-cup-manaus/index.html and

review the article there. What challenges did the rainforest pose for Brazil in its efforts to prepare for the
2014 World Cup?
The biggest problem brought was the race to be able to finish the stadium in time, which was unknown
throughout the process of building. The problem that the rainforest brought dealing with the world cup in
Brazil was that the Amazon rainforest brought on a lot of rain in the month of December, which made
construction even more difficult.
15. How did the regions emphasis on environmental protection influence the stadium project?
It impacted the stadium project because they were very sure that some parts throughout the process werent
going to work Not being allowed to destroy land for the stadium in certain areas was hard, and hurt them

because it was evident that they would have wanted to have more land and less weather complications from
the rainforest at this time.