Happy Rainy Wednesday!

1. Happy Rainy Wednesday! • Warm-up • CNN/STUDENT News • http://edition.cnn.com/studentnews/index.html

2. Tropical Rainforests: The Amazon, Zaire Rainforest (Africa), and Asian Rainforests Press Conference Debate Project Today: Directions and insight Thursday: media center research Friday: media center research

3. Objective for Press Conference Debate Assignment: ELA/ 3.01 Explore and analyze argumentative works that are read, heard and/or viewed by: ·identifying the arguments and positions stated or implied and the evidence used to support them. · recognizing bias, emotional factors, and/or semantic slanting. · examining the effectiveness of style, tone, and use of language. SS/ 5.01 Describe the relationship between the location of natural resources, and economic development, and analyze the impact on selected cultures, countries, and regions in Africa, Asia, and Australia.5.02 Examine the different economic systems, (traditional, command, and market), developed in selected societies in Africa, Asia, and Australia, and assess their effectiveness in meeting basic needs.

4. Good websites to use for research: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20zaire.htm http://data.iucn.org/dbtw- wpd/html/African%20primates/Chapter3.html http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/se_asian_rnfrst.htm (Facts about Southeast Asian) http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm (facts about the Amazon)

5. Zaire Rainforest

6. Cause of Problem: The future of Zaire's forests is threatened due to a population increase exceeding 3%. There is a high demand for fuel wood and demand will exceed availability. The growing population is expected to accelerate slash-and-burn agriculture. Plantation agriculture and commercial mining threats Zaire's extensive forests.

7. Other Environmental Issues: "poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage" - CIA

8. More on Zaire: Although the African rain forest (made up of moist and wet lowland forest ecosystems) occupies a smaller area than the South American or Asian rain forests, and has a lower overall tree species richness than those areas, it supports a very diverse mammal community, including about 50 primate species. As in other parts of the tropics, the rain-forest zone is under intense pressure as a result of high rates of human population growth, and agricultural and economic development. The annual rate of human population growth in Africa for 1980–85 was estimated at 2.91%, greater than in South America (2.15%) or Asia (1.91%); disturbingly, the future growth rate is predicted to remain high (2.70% annually in 2000–2005, for instance) while rates decline further elsewhere (to 1.35% in South America and 1.39% in Asia, for the same period) (World Resources Institute 1994). At the same time, environmental conditions, inefficient techniques and a lack of capital resources are causing rates of food production in Africa to lag behind those in other tropical areas. The resulting food shortages have led to an increase in subsistence farming in many forest areas. Rates of logging are also increasing, with many new companies operating (some from parts of the world not traditionally involved in tropical Africa) and logging spreading to ever more remote areas with devastating effects for primates not only from habitat disturbance but also from hunting and other factors (Wilkie et al. 1992). In most parts of the African rain-forest zone primates are heavily hunted. Even where pressures on forest land are not yet great, primates are often hunted for food and some populations are probably being driven to extinction while their habitat is more-or-less intact. Thus, if the diversity of the African primate fauna is to be maintained, major conservation efforts must be made in the rain-forest zone. Since flourishing primate populations are usually good indicators of the general health of a rain-forest ecosystem, successful efforts to conserve these primates will usually involve conservation of the system as a whole. In relatively undisturbed African forests where there is low hunting pressure, it is not uncommon to find 6–10 sympatric monkey species, together with 1–2 apes and 2–6 prosimians. Such species assemblages are typical of the forests along the Guinea Coast of West Africa between Sierra Leone and Nigeria, of the Cameroon and Western Equatorial regions stretching from eastern Nigeria to the Oubangui River, and of the forests of the Congo Basin1 and eastern Zaire.

9. Amazon Rainforest (South America)

10. Southeast Asian Rainforest

11. Asian Rainforest The Southeast Asian rainforests are the oldest, consistent rainforests on Earth, dating back to the Pleistocene Epoch 70 million years ago. It has a biological richness and diversity unequaled by that of the Amazon or African rainforests. Yet Southeast Asia is losing its rainforests faster than any equatorial region, and has the fewest remaining primary rainforests. It is projected that most of the primary rainforests of Southeast Asia will be destroyed in the next 10 years.

12. Jobs for the Press Conference Project • Reporters- Look up logical and thought provoking questions to ask the developers, scientists, and activists Reporters on rainforest development- Students work in their group to find out why the Amazon Rainforest is disappearing. The report should cover development of the rainforest, and effects of loggers and builders. The reporters should also explain the disappearance of rain forest plants and animals affects the earth. (The will speak first during the press conference). • Audience: Look up research on why the rainforest should be preserved and take one whole page of notes on this. Be an attentive and respectful audience. Activists- Be ready to peacefully protest by making posters and other things. • Scientists Saving the Amazon Rainforest- This team will act as scientists who are actively trying to save the Amazon rainforest. They will research plant life, animal life, and present a fact based and science based argument petitioning for the preservation of the rainforest. (this team should use library and classroom materials to create a list of plants and animals unique to the rainforest; some of the listed plants and animals should include species that can be used as medicine. • Builders Against Preservation of the Amazon Rain forest- This group will research as much information about the reasons for the destruction of the rainforest. They will be acting as builders who hope to turn forest land into housing developments. This team will research the pros of cutting down the rainforest, logging, and building; they will be lobbying for the acceptance of rainforest demolition.

13. Expectations: • Respectful arguments • Fact based arguments • Good behavior in media center • Participation • Professional dress on the day of the press conference

14. Get your Job • Now Mrs. Caldwell will assign you a job and team! 