TheAmazonRainforestInternetAssignment

Purpose:
ThisassignmentsgoalistoexposeyoutobasicfactsabouttheAmazonrainforest
aswellasintroduceyoutosomeofthewildlifeandpeoplethatliveinsideit.Youwillalso
understandhowtherainforestaffectsthenationsandpeopleofSouthAmericaandhowitis
facinguniquechallengesinthemodernworld.

PartI(Overview):
Usewww.worldwildlife.org/places/amazonandfollowthedirections
carefullytocompletethisassignment.

1.
Reviewthephotograph.Chooseonedescriptiveword(adjective)thatcomestomind
andexplainhowitrelatestotheimage.Onedescriptivewordthatcomestomindwhen
lookingatthispictureisbeautiful.Allofthegreentreesandplantsmaketheamazon
rainforestbreathtaking.Thewaythatthewaterflowsandturnsmakethetreesstandout.I
thinkthisisabeautifulpicturebecauseeverythingfitstogetherveryperfectlyandshowthe
realbeautyofnature.

2.
ClickonOverviewandreviewtheinformation,includingthevisuals.Listthe8
nationsthattheAmazonrainforestislocatedin.
BrazilColombia
BoliviaVenezuela
Peru

Guyana

EcuadorSuriname

3.
ClickonForestHabitatandreviewtheinformationthere,includingthevisuals.A
forestcanvarybasedonseveralfactors.Whatarethese
four
factors?
Latitude
Rainfall
Soil
Temperatures

4.
Whatmakesrainforestsspecial?Theysupplytheoxygenweneedtosurviveandthey
providewoodthatweuseeverydayforproducts.

5.
Worldwide,howquicklyisdeforestationoccurring?Howquicklyisitoccurringinthe
Amazon?Usestatisticsfromthereadingtoexplainyouranswer.
1. WorldwideVeryquickly.4658millionsquaremilesofforestarelosteach
year.
2. Amazon15%ofallgreenhousegasemissionsiswhydeforestationis
occurring.

6.

ScrolldowntotheWhyTheyMattersection.Scrollthroughthethreeimages

andreviewthecaptions.Listandexplainwhyrainforestsmatter.
1. Sincethepopulationoftheworldisgrowing,peopleneedmorefoodsothey
cutdowntherainforestformorespaceforcrops.
2. Theyarecuttingdowntreestobeabletoharvestthetimberandbeabletosell
them.
3. Fireshelptobeabletocleartherainforestsandbeabletohaveroomtoplant
crops.
7.
Returntothemainpage(
www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon
)andscrolldowntothe
Speciessection.Choose
three
animalsfoundintheAmazonanddescribetheminthe
chart.
Animal

Description

Chimpanzee

Theycanliveover50yearsandareasocialanimal.

GiantPanda

Theyeat26to84poundsofbambooeachday.

Macaw

Theycanliveupto60yearsandhavevibrantcolors.

PartII(NativePeoples)
:Usewww.survivalinternational.org/about/amazontribestolearn
aboutthenativepeoplesoftheAmazonrainforest.
8.
HowmanypeopleliveintheAmazonrainforest,andhowaretheyorganized?There
are1millionIndiansthatliveintheAmazonrainforest.Theyareorganizedbydividinginto
about400tribes,thatallspeakdifferentlanguages,havedifferentculture,andowndifferent
territory.

9.
Towhatextenthavetheyhadcontactwithoutsiders?Explainyourresponse.They
havehadcontactwithoutsidersforalmost500yearsbutuncontactedtribeshavehadno
contactatall.

10.Createa
tchart
thatcomparesandcontrastsyourdailylifewiththatofthepeopleofthe
Amazon.Includeatleast
four
pointsofcomparison.

ME:
1. Iliveinatwostoryhouseandigot
outthestoretobuyfoodandother
goods.
2. Iencounterproblemsinmylifethat
havetodowithworkorschoolor
bills.
3. Wehaveeducationandgettogoto
school.
4. Weshopforourfoodandclothes.

AMAZON:
1. Theyliveinvillagesbythewaterin
ordertogrowfoodandmakegoods.
2. Theyencounterproblemsthathave
todowithfoodorcropsorland.
3. Theymaketheirschoolsandlearn
abouttheirtribes.
4. Theyhuntforfoodandmaketheir
clothes.

11.WhyarelandrightssoimportanttotheAmazontribes?Readthetextandwatchthe
videoclipintheLand=Lifesectiontoanswerthisquestion.Iftheydonthavelandthenthe
peopleintheareawontbeabletolive.About19,000peopleneedthislandandtheyalsoget
theirfoodfromheresuchascrops.Theyliveinthatareaandtheywillbeabletopassthe
landdowntotheirchildrensothattheywillbeabletolivetheretoo.

12.DoyouthinkmostAmericansagreewiththeviewpointexpressedbythewomaninthe
videoclip?Explain.Yes,becauseeverycountryhasadifferentlifestyleonthewaytheylive
andsurvive.Peopleshouldhaverespectforothercountriessincewearealldifferentand
thatsthewaytheirculturelives.

PartIII(CurrentChallenges)
:Use
ww.theguardian.com/environment/amazonrainforest
to
researchsomeofthecurrentchallengesfacingtheAmazonrainforest.Pleasebematurein
handlingphotographsofnativepeople,astheirdressisquitedifferentfromours!

13.Choosearticlesthatinterestyouabouteachofthetopicsinthechart.Readthemand
completethechart.
Challenge

Impact(2sentences)

PossibleSolutions(2
sentences)

Deforestation

Thereisalotofdeforestation
thatisgoingonthroughoutthe
yearsandfromtheyearsof
20042011therehasbeena
77%fallindeforestation.
Deforestationkeepson
increasingandthereisnothing
thattheycanreallydoaboutit
sinceitkeepsonspreading.

Thereisnothingthattheycan
doaboutitsincetheycant
reallycontrolitorstopit.It
keepsonspreadingandthereis
nothingthegovernmentcando.

Mining/Drilling

Crime

ThePresidentofEcuadorhas
abandonedaplantobeableto
persuaderichcountriestopay
hiscountrynottodrillforoil
sinceit'saimpact.Theyhad
raised$13millionindonations
and$116millioninpledgesto
stopthedrilling.

IfEcuadorgivesmoneytoother
countriesthenthatcountry
wouldnotcomeoverandstart
drillinginEcuador.Thisissadto
thinkaboutsinceEcuadoris
givingmoneytoothercountries
sotheywontdrillintheirarea.

Therehasbeenmanydeath
threatsforpeoplebecause
therehasbeenpollutioninthe
AmazonRainforest.Therehas
beentwoanonymousdeath
threatsfromphoneandthatis
sadtohear.

Therehasbeendiscussions
betweenChevronandEcuador
sayingthatChevronisnot
responsibleforanyofthe
pollution.Theyshouldbeable
tostopthepollutionandmakeit
asaferandbetterplacetolive
sincepeoplearedying.

14.Goto
edition.cnn.com/2013/07/25/sport/football/footballbrazilworldcupmanaus/index.htmland
reviewthearticlethere.WhatchallengesdidtherainforestposeforBrazilinitseffortsto
prepareforthe2014WorldCup?Itwasinthemiddleoftherainforestwhichmadeit
challengingforthembecauseinsteadofhavingayeartoprepare,theyendeduphavinga
coupleofmonthsuntiltherainyseasonhits.Theconstructionwillendupbeingmoredifficult
becausetheyarebuildingdifferentpartsofthestadiumindifferentlocationsandthepieces
areassembledinManaus.Theyneedeverythingtobedoneontimesothattheywillbeable
topay$225millionforthewholestadium.

15.Howdidtheregionsemphasisonenvironmentalprotectioninfluencethestadium
project?Theywereworriedabouttheenvironmentsothey
endedupsavingtherainwater,beingabletousesunlight,and
beabletousethewind.