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Ajay V

Deforestation in the Amazon - 0 views

shared by Ajay V on 11 Sep 09 - Cached
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    Home What's New About Contribute Submissions Rainforests Mission Introduction Characteristics Biodiversity The Canopy Forest Floor Forest Waters Indigenous People Deforestation Consequences Saving Rainforests Amazon rainforest Borneo rainforest Congo rainforest Country Profiles Statistics Works Cited For Kids For Teachers Photos/Images Expert Interviews Rainforest News XML Feeds Chinese French Japanese Spanish Other Languages Pictures Books Links Newsletter Education Mongabay Sites Kids' site Travel Tips Tropical Fish Madagascar Contact About this site Providing tropical forest news, statistics, photos, and information, rainforests.mongabay.com is the world's most popular rainforest site. [more] Deforestation in the Amazon DEFORESTATION IN BRAZIL: 60-70 percent of deforestation in the Amazon results from cattle ranches while the rest mostly results from small-scale subsistence agriculture. Despite the widespread press attention, large-scale farming (i.e. soybeans) currently contributes relatively little to total deforestation in the Amazon. Most soybean cultivation takes place outside the rainforest in the neighboring cerrado grassland ecosystem and in areas that have already been cleared. Logging results in forest degradation but rarely direct deforestation. However, studies have showed a close correlation between logging and future clearing for settlement and farming. [Português | Español | Français] Deforestation by state Deforestation Figures for Brazil Year Deforestation [sq mi] Deforestation [sq km] Change [%] 1988 8,127 21,050 1989 6,861 17,770 -16% 1990 5,301 13,730 -23% 1991 4,259 11,030 -20% 1992 5,323 13,786 25% 1993 5,751 14,896 8% 1994 5,751 14,896 0% 1995 11,220 29,059 95% 1996 7,012 18,161 -38% 1997 5,107 13,227 -27% 1998 6,712 17,383 31% 1999 6,664 17,259 -1% 2000 7,037 18,226 6% 2001 7,014 18,165 0% 2002 8,260 2
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    TROPICAL RAINFORESTS: Deforestation in Brazil Click Here Home What's New About Contribute Submissions Rainforests Mission Introduction Characteristics Biodiversity The Canopy Forest Floor Forest Waters Indigenous People Deforestation Consequences Saving Rainforests Amazon rainforest Borneo rainforest Congo rainforest Country Profiles Statistics Works Cited For Kids For Teachers Photos/Images Expert Interviews Rainforest News XML Feeds Chinese French Japanese Spanish Other Languages Pictures Books Links Newsletter Education Mongabay Sites Kids' site Travel Tips Tropical Fish Madagascar Contact About this site Providing tropical forest news, statistics, photos, and information, rainforests.mongabay.com is the world's most popular rainforest site. [more] Deforestation in the Amazon DEFORESTATION IN BRAZIL: 60-70 percent of deforestation in the Amazon results from cattle ranches while the rest mostly results from small-scale subsistence agriculture. Despite the widespread press attention, large-scale farming (i.e. soybeans) currently contributes relatively little to total deforestation in the Amazon. Most soybean cultivation takes place outside the rainforest in the neighboring cerrado grassland ecosystem and in areas that have already been cleared. Logging results in forest degradation but rarely direct deforestation. However, studies have showed a close correlation between logging and future clearing for settlement and farming. [Português | Español | Français] Deforestation by state Deforestation Figures for Brazil Year Deforestation [sq mi] Deforestation [sq km] Change [%] 1988 8,127 21,050 1989 6,861 17,770 -16% 1990 5,301 13,730 -23% 1991 4,259 11,030 -20% 1992 5,323 13,786 25% 1993 5,751 14,896 8% 1994 5,751 14,896 0% 1995 11,220 29,059 95% 1996 7,012 18,161 -38% 1997 5,107 13,227 -27% 1998 6,712 17,383 31% 1999 6,664
Billie C

jagua fruit - 0 views

  • 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.
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  • Jagua is a tropical fruit that is used for traditional body art. The unripe jagua fruit juice is painted on the skin making elaborate and striking jagua body art. It's a really great type of body paint because it can last for a few weeks, just like henna body art. So technically jagua is actually a stain and not a paint.
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    they use this to do art in the tropical rain forest.
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    really cool facts
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    interesting
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    What is a jagua furit?
Kengo M

World War II veterans reflect on their service - Bay News 9 - 0 views

  • World War II veterans reflect on their service Wednesday, November 11, 2009  Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print  var addthis_pub="4a00a7c064d7b667"; Today is Veterans Day, which began as Armistice Day, proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson Nov. 11, 1919.In 1938, Armistice Day became a legal holiday and shortly after the name was changed to Veterans Day. Although the date was moved over the years, Nov. 11 became holiday's official date in 1978. Regardless of the date, the holiday remains a time to thank veterans for their service and contributions to America and its ideals. Bay News 9.com writer Rod Gipson recently sat down with two local veterans who spoke about everything from their war days to their feelings on Iraq and Afghanistan.   
  • World War II veterans reflect on their service Wednesday, November 11, 2009  Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print  var addthis_pub="4a00a7c064d7b667"; Today is Veterans Day, which began as Armistice Day, proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson Nov. 11, 1919.In 1938, Armistice Day became a legal holiday and shortly after the name was changed to Veterans Day. Although the date was moved over the years, Nov. 11 became holiday's official date in 1978. Regardless of the date, the holiday remains a time to thank veterans for their service and contributions to America and its ideals. Bay News 9.com writer Rod Gipson recently sat down with two local veterans who spoke about everything from their war days to their feelings on Iraq and Afghanistan.   
  • World War II veterans reflect on their service Wednesday, November 11, 2009  Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print  var addthis_pub="4a00a7c064d7b667"; Today is Veterans Day, which began as Armistice Day, proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson Nov. 11, 1919.In 1938, Armistice Day became a legal holiday and shortly after the name was changed to Veterans Day. Although the date was moved over the years, Nov. 11 became holiday's official date in 1978. Regardless of the date, the holiday remains a time to thank veterans for their service and contributions to America and its ideals. Bay News 9.com writer Rod Gipson recently sat down with two local veterans who spoke about everything from their war days to their feelings on Iraq and Afghanistan. 
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    This is what 3peole who survived from world war 2 learned and their experience.
Gurupranav G

Poverty in Asia - 0 views

  • Poverty in Asia,caste and progress. In this FAO Poverty In Asia map, Darker is Poorer but some light areas are just 'no data' - see our Poor in a Rich World page.A majority of the worlds poorest people today are in Asia - partly because it holds a majority of the world's population. Of course some Asian countries like Japan and South Korea are not as poor as others like India and Cambodia, with Asian poverty being concentrated in South Asia.  Asian poverty1. Poverty in some Asian countries is largely due to the pressure of population growth on scarce resources and inadequate governments allowing strongly negative caste discrimination. 2. Education, medicine, clean water and sanitation are often inadequate also3. In some Asian countries land ownership being problematic also encourages poverty. 4. Asia till recently attracted less foreign investment than Latin America, but more of it has been stable longer-term European investment. Some of Asia has shown good progress on poverty in recent years, like China and South Korea. (in China noteably helped partly by controls on population growth)  But Asia, holding the largest populations, still has many extreme poor. The current world recession is also causing family remittances from overseas workers or migrant workers to fall. As more migrant workers lose jobs in Western Europe and the USA, remittances to their poor families in Central Asia are being hit hard. And the likely prospect for aid in the short term is a sharp fall.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Great piece of info on poverty in asia
  • # The new green selected food crops have been helping in reducing poverty in Asia, but the newer genetically modified food crops and their monopoly providers seem to have been unhelpful to date ? See South Asia Land Management  - SACEP pdf 1.5 mb # For one small charity trying to do some good extreme-poverty work in India today, see SEED at seedkolkata.org or for another similar good small extreme-poverty charity working in Cambodia, see the Sao Sara Foundation at ssfcambodia.org Good small charities like these often lack the money they need to do as much as they would like. # For facts about individual countries, see NationMaster
    • Gurupranav G
       
      An addition to the info you see at the top. Quite valuable maybe you should take a good look at it.
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    Poverty in Asia on Japan, South Korea, China, India and Cambodia, and poverty in South Asia
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    A majority of the worlds poorest people today are in Asia - partly because it holds a majority of the world's population. Of course some Asian countries like Japan and South Korea are not as poor as others like India and Cambodia, with Asian poverty being concentrated in South Asia.
Shaian R

Sierra Leone: Child Soldiers - 0 views

    • Shaian R
       
      this page is like a bibliography
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    "While in Sierra Leone a couple of summers ago, I visited Grafton Camp, a facility for recently demobilized child soldiers operated by UNICEF and local partners. Many of the boys, ranging from nine to 16 years of age, had killed people as they fought in a civil war that paused with a fragile cease-fire in 1995. The camp director said that when the youths had been given drugs-most likely, amphetamines-while soldiering, they "would do just about anything that was ordered." Some, he added, were proud of having been effective killers. These boys, who had shortly before been willing to kill and who had never received an adequate foundation of moral development, danced with enormous energy and played cooperative games under the supervision of the camp's counselors. As I watched, it was sobering to think that under certain conditions, practically any child could be changed into a killer. But today, it is even more sobering to see once again how easily children who have been denied education and trained for fighting are manipulated by local political leaders. Fighting has resumed in Sierra Leone following a May coup, and many of the combatants are under 18. They have become part of a continuing cycle of violence. A soldier at seven The nature of armed conflict has changed greatly in recent years. The end of the Cold War ushered in an era of ethnopolitical conflicts that are seldom fought on well-defined battlefields. Conflicts are increasingly internal, and they are characterized by butchery; violence against women, and atrocities sometimes committed by former neighbors. More than 80 percent of the victims are noncombatants, mostly women and children. Increasingly children serve as combatants or as cooks, informants, porters, bodyguards, sentries, and spies. Many child soldiers belong to organized military units, wear uniforms, and receive explicit training, their lethality enhanced by the widespread availability of lightweight assault weapons. Other children participa
jack parker

Rainforest Destruction - 0 views

  • The immediate causes of rainforest destruction are clear. The main causes of total clearance are agriculture and in drier areas, fuelwood collection. The main cause of forest degradation is logging. Mining, industrial development and large dams also have a serious impact. Tourism is becoming a larger threat to the forests.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      A little useful for my Q4
    • jack parker
       
      useful for my exibition
    • Shaian R
       
      How can we save the rainforest from destrution
  • The creation of national parks has undoubtedly helped to protect rainforests. Yet, as national parks are open to the public, tourism is damaging some of these areas. Often, national parks are advertised to tourists before adequate management plans have been developed and implemented. Inadequate funding is allocated for preservation of forests by government departments. Governments see tourism as an easy way to make money, and therefore tourism is encouraged whilst strict management strategies are given far less government support. Ecotourism, or environmentally friendly tourism, should educate the tourists to be environmentally aware. It should also be of low impact to its environment. Unfortunately, many companies and resorts who advertise themselves as eco-tourist establishments are in fact exploiting the environment for profit. In Cape Tribulation, Australia, for example, the rainforest is being threatened by excessive tourism. Clearing for roads and pollution of waterways are two of the major problems in this area. The Wet Tropics Management Authority which oversees the surrounding World Heritage Area is promoting tourism to the area before any management plans have been formulated, before any effective waste management strategy has been devised and before any ecofriendly power alternatives have been fully explored.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Possibly useful for my Q4
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  • The immediate causes of rainforest destruction are clear. The main causes of total clearance are agriculture and in drier areas, fuelwood collection. The main cause of forest degradation is logging. Mining, industrial development and large dams also have a serious impact. Tourism is becoming a larger threat to the forests.
  • 5 Large Dams In India and South America, hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests have been destroyed by the building of hydro-electric dams. It was the dominant view that new dams had to be built or otherwise these countries would suffer an energy crisis. However, a recent study by the World Bank in Brazil has shown that 'sufficient generating capacity already exists to satisfy the expected rise in demand for power over the medium term, provided that the energy is used more efficiently' (WRM). The construction of dams not only destroys the forest but often uproots tens of thousands of people, destroying both their land and their culture. The rates of waterborne diseases increase rapidly. Downstream ecosystems are damaged by dams which trap silt, holding back valuable nutrients. Reduced silt leads to coastal erosion. The sheer weight of water in dams has in Chile, Zimbabwe, and Greece led to earthquakes. The irrigation and industrial projects powered by dams lead to further environmental damage. Irrigation leads to salination of soils and industry leads to pollution. Solutions: Aid organisations like the World Bank have traditionally favoured spectacular large-scale irrigation and hydro-electric projects. In all cases when such projects are proposed, there has been massive opposition from local people. Reform of the World Bank and other such organisations, and support for campaigns against large-scale dams is needed.
Thomas C

Rainforest Animals - 5 views

  • Scientists believe that there is such a great diversity of animals because rainforests are the oldest ecosystem on earth.
  • Many animals species have developed relationships with each other that benefit both species. Birds and mammal species love to eat the tasty fruits provided by trees. Even fish living in the Amazon River rely on fruits dropped from forest trees. In turn, the fruit trees depend upon these animals to eat their fruit, which helps them to spread their seeds to far-off parts of the forest.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This may help me answer my question on the interdependence of the animals of a rainforest, and it may help you out too, if you are looking at the interdependence of the animals in a rainforest
    • Zina S
       
      Why didthey kill the dodo birds!? It doesnt make any sence!
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  • DOZENS OF ANIMAL SPECIES A DAY BECOME EXTINCT IN TROPICAL RAINFORESTS
    • Thomas C
       
      WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • When rainforests are destroyed, animals living outside the tropics suffer as well. Songbirds, hummingbirds, warblers and thousands of other North American birds spend their winters in rainforests, returning to the same location year after year. Less return north each spring, as few make it through the winter because their habitat has been destroyed. The cutting down of trees is not the only reason for species extinction. Thousands of monkeys and other primates are traded illegally on the international market each year, wanted for their fur, as pets, or for scientific research. Parrots and macaws have also become popular pets; buyers will pay up to $10,000 for one bird. Even the king of the jungle, the jaguar, is in danger of becoming extinct. Its fur is highly valued for use on coats and shoes.
    • Woo Hyun C
       
      With out rainforests the bird can't survive either! If we keep destroying rainforests we are harming the animals outside the rainforet
    • Chloe W
       
      Deforestation in rainforests are not lonly effecting animals that live in it, but also ones that live outside.
    • Thomas C
       
      If this carries on there will be no life left on earth!
  • Scientists estimate that there are more than 50 million different species of invertebrates living in rainforests. One scientist found 50 different species of ants on a single tree in Peru! You would probably only need a few hours of poking around in a rainforest to find an insect unknown to science.
  • In some cases both species are so dependent upon each other that if one becomes extinct, the other will as well. This nearly happened with trees that relied on the now-extinct dodo birds. They once roamed Mauritius, a tropical island located in the Indian Ocean. They became extinct during the late 19th century when humans overhunted them. The calvaria tree stopped sprouting seeds soon after. Scientists finally concluded that, for the seeds of the calvaria tree to sprout, they needed to first be digested by the dodo bird. By force-feeding the seeds to a domestic turkey, who digested the seeds the same way as the dodo birds, the trees were saved. Unfortunately humans will not be able to save each species in this same way.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This may help me answer my question on the interdependence of the animals of a rainforest, and it may help you out too, if you are looking at the interdependence of the animals in a rainforest
  • The constant search for food, water, sunlight and space is a 24-hour pushing and shoving match. With this fierce competition, you may be amazed that so many different species of animals can all live together. But this is actually the cause of the huge number of different species.The main secret lies in the ability of many animals to adapt to eating a specific plant or animal, which few other species are able to eat. Have you ever wondered, for instance, why toucans and parrots have such big beaks? These beaks give them a great advantage over other birds with smaller beaks. The fruits and nuts from many trees have evolved with a tough shell to protect them from predators. In turn toucans and parrots developed large strong beaks, which serves as a nutcracker and provides them with many tasty meals.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This peice of information will be useful if you are looking at the adaptations of different animals in the rainforest. This is useful for me.
  • Each species has evolved with its own set of unique adaptations, ways of helping them to survive. Every animal has the ability to protect itself from being someone's next meal. The following are just a few of these unique and often bizarre adaptations. CAMOUFLAGE The coloring of some animals acts as protection from their predators. Insects play some of the best hide-and-go-seek in the forest. The "walking stick" is one such insect; it blends in so well with the palm tree it calls its home that no one would notice it unless it moved. Some butterflies, when they close their wings, look exactly like leaves. Camouflage also works in reverse, helping predators, such as boa constrictors, sneak up on unsuspecting animals and surprise them. SLOW AS A SNAIL The three-toed sloth is born with brown fur, but you would never know this by looking at it. The green algae that makes its home in the sloth's fur helps it to blend in with the tops of the trees, the canopy, where it makes its home. But green algae isn't the only thing living in a sloth's fur; it is literally "bugged" with a variety of insects. 978 beetles were once found living on one sloth! The sloth has other clever adaptations. Famous for its snail-like pace; it is one of the slowest-moving animals on earth. (It can even take up to a month to digest its food!) Although its tasty meat would make a good meal for jaguars and other predators, most do not notice the sloth as it hangs quietly in the trees, high up in the canopy. DEADLY CREATURES Other animals want to announce their presence to the whole forest. Armed with dangerous poisons used in life-threatening situations, their bright colors warn predators to stay away. The coral snake of the Amazon, with its brilliant red, yellow, and black coloring, is recognized as one of the most beautiful snakes in the world, But don't admire its beauty too long; its deadly poison can kill within seconds The poison arrow frog also stands out with its brightly colored skin. Its skin produces some of the strongest natural poison in the world, which Indigenous people often use for hunting purposes. Another animal with no friends is the hoatzin. Often called the stinkbird, it produces a horrible smell to scare
    • Gurupranav G
       
      This is also useful information if you are looking at the adaptations of the animals of a rainforest.
  • An average of 35 species becomes extinct every day in the world's tropical rainforests.
    • Chloe W
       
      Most of these species, we haven't discovered their uses yet. We don't care that we don't even know what they are and never will
  • Rivers have become both overfished and polluted. Gillnets now allow fishermen to kill huge amounts of fish at a time. They often use only the larger and more profitable fish, dumping the dead smaller fish and other animals such as dolphins back into the rivers.
    • Chloe W
       
      This is terrible. We are losing our air supply, and now our water supply is getting polluted. I hope we can stop it.
  • Tropical rainforests are home to many of the strangest-looking and most beautiful, largest and smallest, most dangerous and least frightening, loudest and quietest animals on earth. You've probably heard of some of them; jaguars, toucans, parrots, gorillas, and tarantulas all make their homes in tropical rainforests. But have you ever heard of the aye-aye? Or the okapi? There are so many fascinating animals in tropical rainforests that millions haven't been named or even identified yet. In fact, about half of all the world's species live in tropical rainforests.
    • Shaian R
       
      How can we save the animals
  • During the Ice Ages, the last of which occurred about 10,000 years ago, the frozen areas of the North and South Poles spread over much of the earth, causing huge numbers of extinctions. But the giant freeze did not reach many tropical rainforests. Therefore, these plants and animals could continue to evolve, developing into the most diverse and complex ecosystems on earth. The nearly perfect conditions for life also help contribute to the great number of species. With temperatures constant at 75 -80 degrees F. the whole year, animals don't have to worry about freezing during cold winters or finding shade in the hot summers. They rarely have to search for water, as rain falls almost every day in tropical rainforests. Some rainforest species have populations that number in the millions. Other species consist of only a few dozen individuals. Living in limited areas, most of these species are endemic, or found nowhere else on earth. The maues marmoset, a species of monkey, wasn't discovered until recently. Its entire tiny population lives within a few square miles in the Amazon rainforest. It is so small, it could sit in a person's hand!
    • Thomas C
       
      A rainforest history lesson.
    • Avinash X
       
      this might help me in my research as i am researching on insects and the interesting ways of decieving their predators
  • Leaf-cutter, or parasol ants, can rightfully be called the world's first farmers. They climb trees up to 100-feet tall and cut out small pieces of leaves. They then carry these fragments, weighing as much as 50 times their body weight, back to their homes. Sometimes they must travel 200 feet, equal to an average human walking about 6 miles with 5,000 lbs. on his/her back! The forest floor is converted to a maze of busy highways full of these moving leaf fragments. These ants don't eat the leaves they have collected, but instead bury them underground. The combination of leaves and substances that the ants produce such as saliva allows a type of fungus to grow. This fungus is the only food that the ants need to eat. Azteca ants live on the swollen thorn acacia tree, which offers the ants everything needed for survival - lodging, water, and food for themselves and their young. In return, the ants protect the trees from predators. Whenever the ants feel something brush against the tree, they rush to fiercely fight the intruder. They also protect it from vines and other competing plants that would otherwise strangle it. As a result, nothing can grow near these trees. They are the only trees with a built-in alarm system!
    • Thomas C
       
      farming ants!
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    how some animals become extinct
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    good for animals survival. Chloe: This website has great information on animals of the rainforest.
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    This talks about animals and the ways they escape from predators.
Thomas C

Borneo - 0 views

  • Hornbills are important to the tropical rainforest of Borneo. Their bills help them eat large fruits and carry seeds to new areas of the forest
    • Thomas C
       
      Look at the size of that things nose
  • The island of Borneo started as a single volcano beneath the sea. Millions of years ago, it erupted. Over time, smaller eruptions and earthquakes joined land together to form an island. Today, Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It is twice the size of Japan. Three countries share the island: Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.
    • Thomas C
       
      A volcanic island? Intresting.
  • Over 16 million people live on Borneo. Borneo’s landscape and wildlife are diverse and include high mountains and rugged coastlines. Most of the island is covered with dense, ancient tropical rainforest. Borneo’s rare and endangered wildlife includes the orangutan, Asian elephant, proboscis monkey, flying frog, and many species of rare plants.
    • Thomas C
       
      With so many rare species, Borneo shoud be saved!
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  • Borneo’s rainforests are home to thousands of endemic species of animal, reptile, and insect. These include rhinos, hornbills, macaques, gibbons, tarsiers, and slow lorises. It also has some of the world’s strangest creatures, like flying lizards and frogs (they actually glide using webs of skin). New creatures are still being discovered. In 2005, for example, scientists discovered a large cat-fox mammal in Borneo’s rainforest. Orangutans: Borneo’s Most Famous Animal
  • Borneo’s hilly terrain, rivers, and thick forests have made it difficult to develop until recently. But in the late 1940’s, machines, trucks, and chainsaws were brought to Borneo. These made it possible for settlers from the coastal areas to cut their way into the interior of the island.
    • Thomas C
       
      Boo! no more deforestation
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    more new species? Borneo must be pretty big.
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    Brill website! come here!
Shaian R

Rain Forest Destruction, Shameful Result of Our Spiritual Crisis - 0 views

  • Indeed, tropical forest is a victim of a spiritual crisis in humanity. The destruction of tropical forest reflects an all too-widespread willingness to submit to an economic determinism every bit as rigid as that of Marx. Egbert Giles Leigh Jr. (1) Rain Forest Destruction, Madagascar Photo: Jonathan TalbotWorld Resources Institute, 2003 We learn from Columbia Encyclopedia that in very early times forests covered virtually the whole land surface of the Earth, apart from the areas of perpetual snow (such as the north pole). (2) And as recently as 19 th century, tropical rain forests in their own right covered around 20% of all the dry land area of the Earth, but this figure was only 7% by the end of the 20 th century. (3) Probably the main fundamental factor that has been invariably pushing rain forest destruction more and more over the decades and indeed centuries, is the demand for the rain forest as a enormous economic and social resource. First of all, tropical rain forests are “treasure troves of nature” – they contain endless supplies of resources widely used in human societies, such as food, timber, raw materials etc. Second, rain forests cover huge swathes of land. And the land has always been a limited resource required for accommodation of ever growing human populations.
    • Shaian R
       
      But how is destrution taking bover the rainforest
Kengo M

HowStuffWorks "How Rainforests Work" - 0 views

  • 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
    • Kengo M
       
      sO THE RAINFOREST IS THE EARTHS LUNGS.
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    SO the rainforest makes oxygen
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    Good website for anything, mostly about extinction rate.
Morgan V

Jaguar Animal, One Of The Largest Cats In The World - 0 views

  • The jaguar lives in biodiversity-rich regions of Central and South America. It prefers forest habitats and areas close to water sources (such as wetlands, rivers, lakes etc) as it loves water and is a great swimmer. For example, the Amazon River Basin and the wetland area of Pantanal in Brazil are home to important populations of jaguars (1).
    • Morgan V
       
      they like to be close to water?
  • The jaguar is a nocturnal animal – it hunts for prey mostly during the dark hours of the day. (3) Though we have heard of some recent evidence of the jaguar’s daytime hunting as well. (4) The jaguar is a very adaptable animal.
  • jaguars … hunt by stealth, ambushing their prey from dense cover. Long canine teeth and powerful jaw muscles enable them to kill large animals swiftly, often with a single bite to the nape.
    • Morgan V
       
      how they hunt
Katie Day

Film footage of Anne Frank posted on YouTube | World news | guardian.co.uk - 2 views

  • The only existing film images of Anne Frank have been loaded on to YouTube by Amsterdam museum the Anne Frank House.The footage, from 1941, is the only time Anne has been captured on film. The 20-second footage uploaded to the museum's recently launched Anne Frank Channel shows Anne's neighbour on her wedding day. A 13-year-old Anne is seen nine seconds into the video, leaning out of a second-floor window to get a better look at the bride and groom.
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    Published 2 Oct 2009
Katherine G

History of Afghanistan - Wikipedia - 1 views

  • the Afghans in the 1729 Battle of Damghan. Ashraf was killed the next year trying to flee back to Afghanistan. In 1739, Nadir Shah conquered K
  • ndahar, and occupied Ghazni, Kabul and Lahore. After his death in 1747, the Durrani Pashtuns became the principal Afghan rulers. [12]
  • the Afghans in the 1729 Battle of Damghan. Ashraf was killed the next year trying to flee back to Afghanistan. In 1739, Nadir Shah conquered K
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    This web page tell you all about the history of Afghanistan from the prehistoric times all the way to 2009. 
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