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Mojave National PreserveWorld Deserts World Deserts North American Deserts Protecting Deserts Home Desert lands cover incredible distances. Many who have driven through deserts in the United States may think they are enormous, but they are only the fifth largest in the world covering about 500,000 square miles. By contrast the great Sahara Desert covers almost 3.5 million square miles, the Australian deserts 1.3 million square miles, the Arabian deserts 1 million square miles, while the deserts of Turkestan have 750,000 square miles. Numerous smaller deserts are also scattered across the globe. All are unique, and have adapted to their own particular environments. Global Weather PatternsDeserts tend to occur in two belts that circle the globe. Both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere have this belt located between 15 and 35 degrees latitude, roughly centered over the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This is no accident. The sun is more directly overhead the equatorial region so it receives the most intense sunlight, and this solar energy heats the air. Hot air has two important qualities: it can hold enormous quantities of moisture, and it rises up into the atmosphere. So hot tropical air tends to be moist and rise into the atmosphere. As this air rises it cools, condensing the moisture and converting it to water where it falls as rain. This is why rain forests tend to occur near the equator. What goes up must come down, and gravity pulls this mass of rising air back to the ground. Tropical air typically falls at about 30 degrees latitude on either side of the equator and along the desert belt, but robbed of its moisture it is now hot and dry. The result are often persistent high pressure systems that tend to block incoming storms, or push them into other regions. These patterns make deserts possible, but typically other factor must also intrude to make deserts a reality.

What We Can Do To Save Them Learn and Share Information The first step toward saving the rainforests is to learn about them. Through reading we can explore the wonders of the rainforests without ever visiting them. Once we learn about them we need to share our knowledge with others. Letters to our congressional representatives can influence those in power and encourage discussion on the rainforest. And by talking to friends about the rainforests another person can become active in saving the them. Join Groups We can join a conservation group. The group can tell us what needs to be done to save the rainforests and how we can help. Or we can volunteer with the local zoo, nature center, botanical garden, or museum. We can learn a lot from the professionals that work there. Begin at Home Our own homes provide many chances to help save the rainforests. We can recycle all reusable materials. We can learn to use products made from rainforests in a thoughtful way. And we can protect living things in our own backyard. The plants and animals there also need protection. Ask Questions We can protect illegal trade of animals and plants from the wild by asking questions. We need to ask store owners if the plants and animals they sell were taken from the wild. Unless we ask questions, illegal trade will continue. Illegal trade leads to endangered species and extinction. Think Globally And we can encourage our local or national conservation organizations to help save the rainforests. It is necessary for all of us to be aware of and help with saving the rainforests. Although the rainforests cover on ly a small area of the world, far away from many of our homes, they have an effect on all of us.

The rainforest provides habitat for various species of animals. The canopy, trunk, root system, and even the fallen leaves provide a place for these creatures to live and thrive. What happens when rainforests are destroyed? First, all of the trees, underbrush and the animals not able to escape are killed. Many animals that escape migrate to an area already populated. Since the land will only support a limited number of any species, only a few will survive. At the best we will only have lost those individuals without a habitat. It is possibly, however, that the entire population will uses up all available resources and spirals into extinction

The rainforest provides habitat for various species of animals. The canopy, trunk, root system, and even the fallen leaves provide a place for these creatures to live and thrive. What happens when rainforests are destroyed? First, all of the trees, underbrush and the animals not able to escape are killed. Many animals that escape migrate to an area already populated. Since the land will only support a limited number of any species, only a few will survive. At the best we will only have lost those individuals without a habitat. It is possibly, however, that the entire population will uses up all available resources and spirals into extinction.

It is actually a member of the rodent family that belongs in the same species as the guinea pig, agouti, coyphillas and chinchillas and is considered the largest type of rodent throughout the world.

The Capybara are a very heavy set animal with a short head and sports a coat of reddish colored fur with lighter coloring underneath.

The World's Lungs? In the past, scientists often referred to tropical rainforests as the "lungs of the world" because of the large amount of oxygen they produce. More recent evidence shows that rainforests don't have much of an effect on the world's oxygen supply. The decomposition of dead plant matter consumes roughly the same amount of oxygen that the living plants produce. But rainforests do play a key role in the global ecosystem. Some experts are now calling them the "air conditioners to the world," because their dark depths absorb heat from the sun. Without the forest cover, these regions would reflect more heat into the atmosphere, warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also have a profound effect on global wind and rainfall patterns, potentially causing droughts throughout the United States and other areas

All Grown Up Male orangutans are large apes. They are generally more than twice the size of females. Males may weigh around 90 kg. Females rarely reach 40 kg. ©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Around the age of

A good definition of the arts is given by the Free Dictionary as "imaginative, creative, and nonscientific branches of knowledge considered collectively, esp. as studied academically."[3] The singular term art is defined by the Irish Art Encyclopedia as follows: "Art is created when an artist creates a beautiful object, or produces a stimulating experience that is considered by his audience to have artistic merit."[4] So, one could conclude that art is the process that leads to a product (the artwork or piece of art), which is then examined and analyzed by experts in the field of the arts or simply enjoyed by those who appreciate the arts. The same source states:

"Gastronomy" is the study of the relationship between culture and food. It is often thought erroneously that the term gastronomy refers exclusively to the art of cooking (see Culinary Arts), but this is only a small part of this discipline; it cannot always be said that a cook is also a gourmet.

The arts encompasses visual arts, literature and the performing arts - music, drama, dance and film, among others.

The typical fantasy Dwarf is, like the original Dwarves, short in stature, long-bearded and skilled at mining and metallurgy. They are often depicted as having a low affinity for most magical abilities and/or a resistance to magic.

The typical fantasy Dwarf is, like the original Dwarves, short in stature, long-bearded and skilled at mining and metallurgy. They are often depicted as having a low affinity for most magical abilities and/or a resistance to magic

The typical fantasy Dwarf is, like the original Dwarves, short in stature, long-bearded and skilled at mining and metallurgy. They are often depicted as having a low affinity for most magical abilities and/or a resistance to magic.

Yes, if only people would be really and truly aware of what the UN's achievements are, some of the reactions of this blog would be completely different. Just read the annex of the report below where some of the results of the UN and its different agencies are clearly shown and then you will realize that given the very little money we give them, they are doing a whole lot.

Yes, if only people would be really and truly aware of what the UN's achievements are, some of the reactions of this blog would be completely different. Just read the annex of the report below where some of the results of the UN and its different agencies are clearly shown and then you will realize that given the very little money we give them, they are doing a whole lot.

Yes, if only people would be really and truly aware of what the UN's achievements are, some of the reactions of this blog would be completely different. Just read the annex of the report below where some of the results of the UN and its different agencies are clearly shown and then you will realize that given the very little money we give them, they are doing a whole lot.

The key species that supports almost all other ocean life is the Phaeton, a tiny, shrimp-like androgyne that is barely visible to the naked eye. Many species of fish and marine mammals eat primarily phaeton which float freely in the ocean's currents. Those species are, in turn, food for carnivorous predators, such as sharks, orcas, devil rays, and electric eels. When predators like these maul their prey, bits fall to the sea floor and decompose, providing a rich fertilizer for the "templa" or sea floor, one of the Ocean Biomes five layers. The second layer is the "firdga," (pronounced frid-ja) a very cool and dark band of stagnant water that supports moistly lampfish--species that use special lights on their bodies to navigate and find food. The third layer, the "fluvia," channels the strongest currents, but is too turbulent for most animal species. Most marine animals prefer to occupy the "luffa," the second layer from the surface wherein phaeton are abundant and light is able to penetrate and support plant life. The "nomar," the topmost ocean layer, which includes the surface of the ocean biome, also supports a few species, mostly flying-fish and damselflies, which use the surface to mate and hatch their young.

Major Plant and Animal Life Supported by the ocean Biome Plant Life Animal Life SeaweedAlgaeDark StarSea-CactusFungal BloomsOcean LillyCimarronYorma BulbRed Tide PhaetonPin-fishFlying-FishNurse SharksMako SharkNorwhalSting-RayWhalesTarponTunaSardinesJellyfish  

The men decorate their bodies with colored clay and wear elaborate headdresses for ceremonies. 

Mbuti and Baka Pygmies live in the rainforests of Central Africa. 

AMAZON QUICK FACTS obtained from a variety of sources, simply organized, none verified and not meant to be the definitive guide to Amazon facts. The Amazon is the largest and densest rainforest on earth The Amazon covers 2.5 million miles, about the size of the USA west of the Mississippi If Amazonas were a country, it would be the 9th largest on earth Each minute the Amazon River discharges 3.4 million gallons of water into the Atlantic, 14 times the discharge of the Mississippi The Amazon runs 4007 miles from its origin in the Andes to the Atlantic, making it the second longest river on earth During its journey it touches and-or travels through 8 countries There are 200 major tributaries of which 17 are more than 1000 miles long and 10 of which discharge more water than the Mississippi Its vegetation represents about 1/3 of the remaining forest on earth and provides about 15% of the world's new oxygen Scientists have catalogued: 2500 species of fish 1500 species of birds 1800 species of butterflys 4 types of big cats 200 species of mosquitos 50,000 species of higher plants

The smallest rhinos are found in the tropical rainforests on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.  These two species are very rare and extremely difficult to find.  Only a few photographs of them in the wild have been taken.

Sumatran and Javan rhinos—use their speed to disappear to safety in the thick grass or jungle.

For the rarest rhinos, the Sumatran and Javan rhinos, their survival may depend on how well we learn to breed them in captivity while we work to protect their wild tropical rainforest home from destruction.

Desert biomes can be classified according to several characteristics. There are four major types of deserts: Hot and dry Semiarid Coastal Cold

Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface and occur where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year.

The animals include small nocturnal (active at night) carnivores. The dominant animals are burrowers and kangaroo rats. There are also insects, arachnids, reptiles and birds. The animals stay inactive in protected hideaways during the hot day and come out to forage at dusk, dawn or at night, when the desert is cooler.

Author: barry a bieda How does the cutting of the rainforest affect Earth? Response #: 1 of 1 Author: mortis Well, we have been cutting rainforests for thousands of years with no permanent damage to the earth at all. Forest people who cut small patches for growing gardens do not hurt the forest because the small plots recover their original growth very quickly: think of the pictures of Mayan ruins in Mexico that are completely covered by forest - these used to be open, active cities! So on a small scale, slash and burn agriculture has no effect whatever on the rain-forest- it is a sustainable use of the forest. However, on a large commercial scale, where bulldozers and flame-throwers are use to convert huge tracts of land into pasture for cattle, the ability of the forest to recover is seriously impaired, destroying the forest for a very long time, if not forever. This kind of unsustainable destructive use affects the earth by taking a large portion of the biosphere out of production - which interrupts the carbon and oxygen cycles, affects local water and soil quality, and causes a decline in the global gene pool by making many species extinct.

If It's Been Around So Long, Why Have I never Heard Of It Before Now? I guess there are still a lot of secrets in the South American Rainforests. The recent explosion in the popularity of Jagua body art just goes to show that there are many possibilities still out there that the outside world has not even noticed. More importantly it goes to show that local traditional knowledge is incredibly important to the whole world, not just the local people of the Rainforest. So every effort should be made to help preserve it.

If It's Been Around So Long, Why Have I never Heard Of It Before Now? I guess there are still a lot of secrets in the South American Rainforests. The recent explosion in the popularity of Jagua body art just goes to show that there are many possibilities still out there that the outside world has not even noticed. More importantly it goes to show that local traditional knowledge is incredibly important to the whole world, not just the local people of the Rainforest. So every effort should be made to help preserve it.

Where Can I Get Hold Of Some Jagua Then? Well you could take a trip out to the rainforests and search it out yourself. But if your going to paint from an unripe fruit, you only have a short time to do it, before the stain stops working. But recently Jagua Body Art products like Jagua Paint and Jagua Gel have been made readily available to you so you can create your own jagua tattoos whenever you like.

The "Football" War (La guerra del fútbol, in Spanish), also known as the Soccer War or 100-hours War, was a four-day war fought by El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. It was caused by political conflicts between Hondurans and Salvadorans, namely issues concerning immigration from El Salvador to Honduras. These existing tensions between the two countries coincided with the inflamed rioting during the second North American qualifying round for the 1970 FIFA World Cup. On 14 July 1969, the Salvadoran army launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire which took effect on 20 July, with the Salvadoran troops withdrawn in early August.

The "Football" War (La guerra del fútbol, in Spanish), also known as the Soccer War or 100-hours War, was a four-day war fought by El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. It was caused by political conflicts between Hondurans and Salvadorans, namely issues concerning immigration from El Salvador to Honduras. These existing tensions between the two countries coincided with the inflamed rioting during the second North American qualifying round for the 1970 FIFA World Cup. On 14 July 1969, the Salvadoran army launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire which took effect on 20 July, with the Salvadoran troops withdrawn in early August.