Today we kicked off the class with more of the Planet in Peril video.
The Carteret Islands
- The Carteret islands, located near New Guine are sinking as the water level rises and begins to cover more and more of the land
- Many of the people there die from Malaria which is the number one killer in that area
- Scientists often blame the rising sea levels on the melting of glaciers and huge ice sheets in the artic, creating more water
- Many island natives are forced to relocate to other islands because the shore lines move inward, covering their homeland
- Other scientists say the islands are sinking because they sit on top of a collasping volcano
- Coral reefs seem to be bleached out or dying
- Scientists believe it to be a result of global warming
- The dying reefs can no longer provide protection for islands during storms and there is not enough fish for the people to eat, making life harder for the people living there
- Experts say that in just a few short years, the Carteret Islands will be completely submerged in water
Lake Chad (In Africa)
- Lake Chad used to be one of the largest lakes in the world
- Now the lake has lost 90% of its water
- Where there was once water, there is now sand
- Less water means smaller and fish in both size and numbers as well as smaller people because there is not enough food for the people to eat
- Africa gives out the least amount of CO2 but they are the most effected by climate change because they are the most underdeveloped and the population is growing faster than any other place in the world. Also they do not have enough water or food to sustain all those people
- With no healthy wetlands, there are no healthy fish. No healthy fish means no healthy people and disease
- The Chari river, the source for Lake Chad, is also evaporating
The Amazon Rain Forest
- The Amazon Rain Forest is one of the biggest contributors to climate change
- This is because the carbon naturally found in trees is released when the trees are cut down, emitting CO2 into the air
- The rain forest is just a little smaller then the United States
- Officers known as IBAMA are trying to capture illegal poachers and loggers to try and prevent people from cutting down or capturing the forests trees and animals
- As much as 80% trees cut down in the forest is illegal
- Brazil is the number one producer of soy and beef
- An increasing demand for these products means a need for more farmland
- Famers have to cut down more and more trees to make way for farmland
- They use the slash and burn technique which adds nutrients to the soil but the decreasing number of trees hurts the environment and is a big contributor to deforestation
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