During the summer break, I visited my family who lives in Colombia, South America. While I was there, I was lucky enough to witness the vast biodiversity that Colombia has. However, I was later informed that a highway was being built in order to connect Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador so goods can be transported much easier. This highway is threatening the animal and plant life of Colombia. After reading The Story of Stuff, I had more knowledge of problems similar to this and knew it was perfect to talk about this issue for the project. As Leonard says The highway is being built through the foothills of the Andes that pass through Colombia, specifically near two national parks. This caused deforestation to become more common in the area which …show more content…
According to Volckhausen, a reporter who researched more about this highway and what it affects, one national park is "housing 41 species of reptiles, 49 amphibians, 145 birds and at least 13 threatened mammals, as well as four indigenous groups" which shows how much is in danger. I began to think of how much would be lost and what would be the long term effects of the deforestation. That is how I came up with my art piece. I think of deforestation as part of a domino effect. Once the process begins to cut down the trees, many other things down the line will get damaged. Before the deforestation, the forest/area is alive and healthy. It has wildlife and plants all around thriving. The air is fresh and clean as well as the rivers and water sources. After the deforestation, things change. I imagine that the grass will dry up, the plant life/flora will die, and building of the highway will cause erosion, pollution, or something of the sort. More man-made structures will also appear, such as stores, factories, or rest areas, which will contribute to the pollution. Finally, I thought about the wildlife and how they may become extinct or be put in a zoo for economic purposes. I also imagine the air to be heavy and for more CO2 pollution from the thousands of cars that will pass by. Many of these details are seen in my art
There is more to know about a person besides the single story that most people believe is true. A single story is something we hear about another person, culture, or where they are from. This can lead to critical misunderstanding of how their lives actually are. In the book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. His writing makes sure that most of his characters don't fit into the group of having one single story this is how.
The effects of deforestation around my home and throughout my state are becoming more evident every day. When a deer or other wild game loses its home, they move into cities, urban areas, and parks; thus causing issues with the human population. Most people living in Illinois have hit or nearly killed a deer driving on Southern Illinois roadways. This common occurrence could be kept at bay or maybe even avoided if the deer and wild game had more space to reside. There are many points that coincide with this reality but the main issues are the small subtle ones that affect everyday life and are often overlooked. Picture the Illinois we will leave for our children. Do you see a lush green forest or miles and miles of concrete and steel?
The Grande Carajas mining project, Brazil as well as other individual projects have created a series of problems for the rainforests. The Grande Carajas project in particular is a large complex of open pit mines, which takes up more than 6miles of rainforest. Along with many other schemes of this nature, the Grande Carajas is contributing to the continued deforestation of the Amazon. In addition large areas were deforested to make way for the construction of The Trans-Amazonian Highway, which was meant to allow access in and out of several project schemes. After the highway was built evidence of soil erosion could be seen as the ground was left exposed due to the lack of vegetation. Access roads like this have been known to encourage settlements for the transport links they offer, and people will often settle close to the road, which leads to deforestation in order to create space. The HEP Project; the Tucurui dam also had similar
the author argues that allowing the road to be built will degrade the healthy environment and decline the regions biodiversity in the sanctuary.
In Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” a whirlwind of events occur in a short amount of time. The story begins with the protagonist, Louise Mallard, being told that her husband has died from a railroad disaster. She grieves for a while and then goes upstairs to her room. She stares out an open window for a while until she realizes that she is finally free. She is liberated by her newfound freedom, but unfortunately, Mrs. Mallard’s freedom is snatched away from her in the matter of moments because, surprise, Mr. Mallard was nowhere near the railroad disaster. Once Mrs. Mallard discovers that Mr. Mallard is alive, she dies from a heart attack. This dynamic short story takes place in only an hour. One may ask how could this short of a story can have such an expansive array of events occur, but the answer is simple. The plot of “The Story of an Hour” is able to unfold quickly due to Chopin’s use of irony, her heavy use of symbolism, and the time period in which she wrote.
Deforestation poses an alarming threat to Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and it has been a serious concern for over 40 years. For thousands of years, the abundant, valuable resources in the Amazon were familiar only to the indigenous people of the region. In the 1500’s, before European colonization of Brazil, there were an estimated six to nine million individuals part of different cultures that made up a rich Amazonian society (“History”). Surrounded by the luxuriant rainforest and its natural resources, these indigenous tribes were able to thrive by utilizing the resources without destroying their habitat. After European emigration, the government of Brazil exploited the value of the Amazon’s resources in the twentieth century. In the 1970’s, the Brazilian government discovered the “untapped source of boundless potential” hiding in the Amazon and began using incentives to persuade settlers to develop its resources (Casey). Once economists realized the importance of the resources found within the rainforest, European pioneers set out to transform the Amazon into their home. By endorsing colonization, the government could not only boost the country’s economy, but also gain control over Brazil’s vast territory. The government supported migration to the rainforest and campaigned for the construction of infrastructure (“History”). In concurrence, the development of roads such as the Trans-Amazonian Highway, a 2,000 mile road built in 1972, granted people and machinery entrance to
In Middle and South America, it is evident that human interactions affect the physical features. The human interaction that affects Middle and South America is deforestation. In 1970’s a period of deforestation began in Brazil with the construction of the Trans-Amazon Highway; the road allowed migrant farmers to grow crops (Pulsipher & Pulsipher 2012). Deforestation continued throughout Middle and South America. The use lodging of hardwoods, extracting minerals, oil, gas, stones and clearing off land for raising cattle, and growing crops has impacted most of the land in Middle and South America (Pulsipher & Pulsipher 2012). The human interaction of deforestation has led to many environmental issues, changes in physical features. There are loss
There are many landforms in Colombia, each fitting into ecosystems that are intricately unique. The Amazon river is a habitat for animals (black caimans, piranhas, giant river otters, and pink dolphins) that are part of the surrounding Amazon rainforest ecosystem. The Colombian landscape is admittedly in many ways like other South American countries, but is nevertheless astonishing. There are the Andes mountains, the Amazon rainforest, the grassland plains, and a small area of desert. Some interesting landforms include the Andean Highlands, the Middle Magdalena Basin, Mt. Ritacuba Blanco, the Cumbal volcano.
The Amazon Rainforest is a mighty jungle filled with an array of exotic species of wood, like mahogany, and rich natural resources such as gold, copper, tin, and nickel. Naturally, people want to make a profit, but the rainforest’s trees stand in the way. Logging is the main source of deforestation. Every year, millions of trees are cut down to be made into timber. Many times, these logging operations are illegal. These operations will keep exploiting the Amazon for its exotic timber, not caring that many of these species of plants are either rare, or help support rare species and ecosystems. Mining also creates deforestation, but not as severely as logging. Trees are cut down to make way for mining operations that dig for non renewable resources like copper and gold. Trees are also used as charcoal to help produce pig iron. A third cause of deforestation is agriculture. Cattle ranches and soy plantations are created where the Amazon Rainforest once stood. As people expand their farms, they must cut down the areas they now use for farming. Trees are also cut to make space for animal pens. Governments also contribute to the deforestation problem by building roads and creating infrastructure. Although these roads help with communication and navigation, they cut through the rainforest, and often help illegal loggers create new roads from their operations in the jungle to these roads that connect with civilization. All of these factors have helped cut down the Amazon Rainforest. In the past
Colombia’s wildlife animals are being endangered due to loss of habitat which is stolen by drug crops. Colombia, “has more bird species than any other country… but rare endemic birds - such as the gorgeted puffleg, a hummingbird discovered just three years ago in southwest Colombia - are losing habitat within their limited ranges to coca cultivation.” (Carpenter). The gorgeted puffleg isn’t the only endangered species, nor is it a coincidence that it’s habitat is in known drug regions of Colombia. Other wildlife, which are native to the south of Colombia, have had their homes exploited and used for cultivation; this is true for four magnolia species who are facing inevitable extinction. The demand for land by the cocaine industry is driving drug farmers to participate in the destruction of ecosystems through the means of illegal agriculture
Deforestation is defined as: “the clearing of virgin forests, or intentional destruction or removal of trees and other vegetation for agricultural, commercial, housing, or firewood use without replanting and without allowing time for the forest to regenerate itself” (SCRIBD). Deforestation has been a problem in Latin America since the early 1900s and the severity of the dilemma is increasing rapidly. Deforestation not only has consequences for the environment, but also, the indigenous people and the national economy. The logging industry in Latin America is often exploited by multinational companies that are not properly regulated. The land that has provided a home and cultivated indigenous development for centuries is being dissipated rapidly. Due to an exponentially growing global population, there is an increased demand for low priced goods--like timber, crops, and meat. Many Latin American countries value revenue from selling these goods over the health of their local ecosystems. The crisis of deforestation and habitat loss is shifting from a local to global problem. As deforestation continues, global warming escalates worldwide, impacting every country and person. About 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from tropical deforestation, which is more than from all the world’s cars, trucks and buses combined (Schwartzman). Puerto Rico and Brazil provide contrasting examples of the impact of deforestation. Puerto Rico had an economic and environmental shift
Imagine taking a look outside and not see anymore trees. The once thick and abundant forests completely gone. The beauty of nature completely wiped out. Imagine all the animals we know today not being around anymore. The animals that we take for granted and don't think twice about.This is all because of deforestation. Deforestation is the the act of clearing a wide area of trees. Deforestation comes in many forms, including fires, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber, and degradation due to climate change.(----) At the rate at which deforestation is occurring the later generations might never get to experience and see these luxuries. Some 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year—equivalent to 48 football fields every minute.(---) Deforestation also has many other effects on the planet. things The environmental costs of deforestation can include species extinction, erosion, flooding, reduced land productivity, desertification, and climate change and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. As more habitat is destroyed, more species face extinctions.(“Deforestation” 3) In today’s world, deforestation is a problem and should be put to an end.
Short stories can share themes, motifs, symbols, consequences, and plot lines, even if there is never any intention to share a common element between the stories. The stories can be written close together or in different decades and still be linked to the one another. They can also be worlds apart with different meanings in the end, but that does not stop them from having similar ideas expressed within them. The following three stories, “Lagoon” by Joseph Conrad, “The Rocking Horse Winner” by DH Lawrence, and “The Lady in the Looking Glass” by Virginia Woolf, are three totally different stories that share common threads that make them the stories that they are.
Land is greatly affected by the meat industry. The percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce meat is 56%. The strains on land include topsoil erosion and depletion of forested areas. The percentage of U.S topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising is 85%. In Mexico 37 million acres of forest have been destroyed since 1987 to provide additional grazing land for cattle. The cattle industry is a driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rainforests. Until 1994, in the Amazon the total deforested area was of 450, 000 square Km. The current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforest amounts to one thousand per year. Various species of plants live in the tropical rainforest, which can be used for their medicinal properties. These plants need yet to be discovered. We can not afford to risk their extinction.
The rate of deforestation is increasing and the tropical forests are falling at approximately 140,000 acres per day (Miller & Tangley 1991: xvi). The forests are crucial to the environment. They are important in minimizing erosion, providing a stable habitat for many animals, and helping to keep the environment clean. Deforestation has devastating effects, not only on the biological dependents within the depleted forests, but also on the surrounding human-populated communities.