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.
Big, the Amazon Rainforest looks really big in size since it has 1.4 billion acres of
forest. It covers almost half of Latin America and thats pretty impressive.
2.
Click on Overview and review the information, including the
visuals. List the 8 nations that the Amazon rainforest is located in.
Brazil
- Colombia
Bolivia
- Venezuela
Peru
- Guyana
Ecuador - Suriname and French Guiana
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
- Rainfall
Local Soil - Prevailing temperatures
4.
What makes rainforests special?
They supply the oxygen we need to survive and they provide timber that we use
every day for products.
5.
Worldwide, how quickly is deforestation occurring? How quickly is it
occurring in the Amazon? Use statistics from the reading to explain your answer.
1. Worldwide Very quickly, 46-58 million square miles of forest are lost
each year. (36 football fields every minute)
2. Amazon 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of the
occurrence of deforestation

6.
Scroll down to the Why They Matter section. Scroll through the three
images and review the captions. List and explain why rainforests matter.
1. Since the population of the world is growing, people need more food
so they cut down the rainforest for more space for crops
2. They are cutting down trees to be able to harvest the timber and be
able to sell them
3. Fires help to be able to clear the rainforests and be able to have room
to plant crops
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

Description

Chimpanzee They are a social animal that can be able to live over 50 years and
they are about 98% of our genes.

Giant Panda They live mainly in bamboo forest high in the mountains of Western
China and eat 26 to 84 pounds of bamboo a day.
Macaw

They can live up to 60 years and their vibrant color and patterns on
their feathers make them a popular specie.

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?
There are 1 million Indians that live in the Amazon rainforest and they are organized
by dividing into about 400 tribes, that all speak different languages, culture, and
territory.
9.
To what extent have they had contact with outsiders? Explain your response.
They have had contact with outsiders for almost 500 years but uncontacted tribes
have had no contact at all.
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.
My Daily Life
-I live in a two story house while also being
able to go to the grocery store to buy me food
and I have a garden in my backyard to be able
to plant crops.
-I have a different variety of problems that
occur but it doesnt have to do anything with
land or where I live or crop.
-We also have healthcare in America along
with great education that is 5 days a week.
-We can also hunt but mainly people just shop
for food since our state isnt a state where we
usually go hunting.

Amazon
-Most of the people that live in settled
villages by the river and grow
vegetables, fruits, and hunt/fish
-They mostly only have problems about
land and not really anything else
-Indians in Amazon have access
Western healthcare and education
-They hunt for food using shotguns,
bows/arrows/spears, and blowguns with
darts.

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.
Because if they dont have land then the people in the area wont be able to live.
About 19,000 people need this land and they also get their food from here such as
crops. They live in that area and they will be able to pass the land down to their
children so that they will be able to live there too.
12. Do you think most Americans agree with the viewpoint expressed by the woman
in the video clip? Explain.
Yes, because every country has a different lifestyle on the way they live and survive.
People should have respect for other countries since we are all different and thats
the way their culture lives.
Part III (Current Challenges): Use www.theguardian.com/environment/amazonrainforest 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

There is a lot of deforestation that

is going on throughout the years
and from the years of 2004-2011
there has been a 77% fall in
deforestation. Deforestation keeps
on increasing and there is nothing
that they can really do about it
since it keeps on spreading.

There is nothing that they can

do about it since they cant
really control it or stop it. It
keeps on spreading and there
is nothing really the
government can do about it.

Mining/Drilling The President of Ecuador has

abandoned a plan to be able to
persuade rich countries to pay his
country not to drill for oil since its a
impact. They had raised $13
million in donations and $116
million in pledges to stop the
drilling.

If Ecuador gives money to

other countries then that
country would not come over
and start drilling in Ecuador.
This is sad to think about since
Ecuador is giving money to
other countries so they wont
drill in their area.

Crime

There has been discussions

between Chevron and Ecuador
saying that Chevron is not
responsible for any of the
pollution. They should be able
to stop the pollution and make
it a safer and better place to
live since people are dying.

There has been many death

threats for people because there
has been pollution in the Amazon
Rainforest. There has been two
anonymous death threats from
phone and that is sad to here.

14. Go to edition.cnn.com/2013/07/25/sport/football/football-brazil-world-cupmanaus/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?
It was in the middle of the rainforest which made it challenging for them because
instead of having a year to prepare, they ended up having a couple of months until
the rainy season hits. The construction will end up being more difficult since they are
building different parts of the stadium in different locations and the pieces are
assembled in Manaus. They need everything to be done on time so that they will be
able to pay $225 million for the whole stadium.
15. How did the regions emphasis on environmental protection influence the
stadium project?
They were worried about the environment so they ended up saving the rain water,
being able to use sunlight, and be able to use the wind.