Thursday, February 26, 2015

Deforestation

Critics can't agree on how quickly rainforests are disappearing but they do agree that the rainforests are disappearing.  One researcher said “Our estimates indicate a 62% acceleration in net deforestation in the humid tropics from the 1990s to the 2000s,” write the authors.  These researchers used satellite imagery to examine the tropical rainforests of 34 countries including Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand.


  

Why the increase?  Is technology allowing the people to clear these forests faster?  Although each country seems to clear the forests for different reasons, farming is often a big reason.  Brazil is beginning to see the negative effects with a drought that is threatening the water supply of Sao Paulo. 

Questions:

1. Does it matter how quickly the forests are disappearing?  Why?  Why not?

2. How do we convince the rain forest countries of the world to slow (or even stop) deforestation and engage in reforestation projects?

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Article on Severe Weather and Deforestation

Here's what happens when increasingly severe weather meets deforestation

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Some of the nearly 250,000 Malawians displaced by recent flooding in the southern part of the country sit for a photo at a school where they've taken refuge. Far from the epicenter of international flood relief efforts, the 4,220 people in this isolated camp face hunger and disease.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
You could say the people living along the banks of the Thondwe River in southern Malawi were lucky. At least they’d been warned of the flash flood in early January that would burst through an earthen dike, wash away their homes and crops, and leave more than 4,000 of them homeless.

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Amazingly, no one in the dense cluster of villages called Makawa died in the flood. But they’ve been living in pretty desperate conditions here since.
Like everyone else from Makawa, a village chief named Phanzi has been staying at a local school since his home was destroyed. Phanzi says, aside from some donated plastic wash basins and a small amount of corn that no one can mill into flour, they’ve been on their own, salvaging whatever greens they can from fields that were under water for weeks.
Water from the Makawa school’s only well is proving insufficient for the thousands of displaced who have sought refuge at the camp.
Water from the Makawa school’s only well is proving insufficient for the thousands of displaced who have sought refuge at the camp.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
You can already see signs of malnourishment in some of the children, Phanzi says. He nods in the direction of hundreds of women sitting on the ground with babies seeking the shade of the schoolyard’s only tree. He says more than 2,000 people cram into the school’s half dozen buildings every night.
And that’s just here. I passed more camps in churches and other buildings on the four-mile walk in from a washed out bridge, Makawa’s only link to the outside world.
That isolation is one of the big problems in the relief effort. Makawa fared better in the recent deluge than other parts of southern Malawi. All told, UNICEF now says the heavy rains and flash floods over the last month displaced almost a quarter of a million people, mostly in districts farther south than here.
That’s also where much of the international relief effort is now focused. Meanwhile, with the road in here impassable, it’s hard to bring in aid and medical help.
The village chief says there are about 100 pregnant women in this camp. One has just given birth. Some of the children have contracted malaria. Even more are suffering from diarrhea.
One small positive development is that the Makawa school where the displaced have been sleeping has reopened for classes during the day. But 13-year-old Regina Weston says the classrooms are jammed with everyone’s stuff.
And, the student says, “it’s hard to concentrate when I feel hungry, so no one is learning much.”
Weston says she may drop out of school, abandoning her dream of becoming a nurse, and get married instead — to a man from a village that, hopefully she says, wasn’t flooded.
13 year-old Regina Weston is a student at the school in Makawa where she and more than 2,000 others have now taken refuge from the floods. She says it’s hard to concentrate in school when she feels hungry so he may drop out and try to fid a man to marry.
13 year-old Regina Weston is a student at the school in Makawa where she and more than 2,000 others have now taken refuge from the floods. She dreams of becoming a nurse — a dream that is threatened by her current circumstances.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
It’s these long-term effects of the floods that worry Sosten Chiotha, regional director for the nonprofit organization Leadership for Environment and Development. He says a combination of deforestation and a surge in extreme weather in Malawi are wreaking havoc on people’s lives.
“Environmental degradation, climate change — these are all bringing negative feedback loops that are undermining that very base that provided the stability for their livelihood,” Chiotha says.
Chiotha says rapid population growth and an informal charcoal market have stripped most of Malawi’s hillsides of trees, causing the large amount of water that fell in a few days to simply rush off the hillsides, turning floods that would have been bad enough into a full-blown humanitarian crisis.
Chiotha says it is a general trend he’s been seeing in recent years, even with normal rainfall. And he says that also means trouble after the rainy season.
“We’ll have longer, drier seasons,” he says, “because in the rivers, we’ll have very little water flowing.”
A flash flood in early January washed out bridges and spilled over the banks of the Thondwe River, displacing more than four thousand people inMakawa. A month later, the cluster of isolated villaged still hadn't received any assistance.
A flash flood in early January washed out bridges and spilled over the banks of the Thondwe River, displacing more than four thousand people inMakawa. A month later, the cluster of isolated villaged still hadn't received any assistance.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
That doesn’t bode well for the future of a country where most of the population survives off rain-fed, subsistence farming.
A vision of part of that future may be the rows of white tents and heavy sacks of international food aid in displacement camps in Nsanje, more than a hundred miles south of Makawa. On a visit to one of them, not a single family I spoke with said they plan to return to their flooded farms.
Which raises two more serious questions for Malawi.
The first: With more than half the country affected by the floods, how will it produce enough food for its people?
The second: If the displaced people cannot go home in what is one of Africa’s most densely populated and least developed nations, where will they go?
This washed-out bridge across the Thondwe River was Makawa’s only link to the outside world.
This washed-out bridge across the Thondwe River was Makawa’s only link to the outside world.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
Thousands of homes in Makawa collapsed in the floods. But an early warning from a local radio program helped ensure that everyone got out alive.
Thousands of homes in Makawa collapsed in the floods. But an early warning from a local radio program helped ensure that everyone got out alive.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
Phanzi, Makawa’s Chief, says no one has come to his people’s assistance. He says the only food they’ve been eating is the greens and vegetables they can salvage from their flooded fields and that malnutrition is already visible in many of the children her
Phanzi, Makawa’s Chief, says no one has come to his people’s assistance. He says the only food they’ve been eating is the greens and vegetables they can salvage from their flooded fields and that malnutrition is already visible in many of the children here.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
These children are among the 2,000 or so people sleeping on the concrete floors of Milala Primary School in Makawa, without bedding or mosquito nets.
These children are among the 2,000 or so people sleeping on the concrete floors of Milala Primary School in Makawa, without bedding or mosquito nets.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton
Some of the 2,000 flood victims now sheltered at the Milala Primary School in Makawa gather on the gather outside two of the school's buildings. Malaria and malnutrition are starting to take hold in the isolated camp.
Some of the 2,000 flood victims now sheltered at the Milala Primary School in Makawa gather on the gather outside two of the school's buildings. Malaria and malnutrition are starting to take hold in the isolated camp.
Credit: 
Sam Eaton

Education in Sierra Leone

Imagine living in a place where school fails to resume after summer break.  Would you miss it?  Would you find a way to read, write, and learn without the influence of your teachers?

In Sierra Leone, classes never resumed last summer due to the Ebola outbreak. Roughly a million students have not returned to class.  After roughly a month out of school, the government of Sierra Leone partnered with UNICEF to offer radio education programs to all the students missing school.  Younger students tune in during the morning and older students tune in during the afternoon.  Initially, about 20% of the children tuned in but the rates have risen to over 50%.  The government does hope that the schools will be reopened by March 30th but for those who have tuned in, they may have avoided any loss in their academics.  

Would you tune in?  Why?  Why not?

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Socotra in SW Asia

Socotra is located approximately 220 miles from Yemen and the Arabian peninsula in SW Asia.  It was relatively unknown to the outside world prior to the 21st century.  For instance, in 2000 only 140 visitors traveled here.  By 2010, though, the number climbed to 4,000.  Why?

Socotra is a World Heritage site.  It has nearly 600 villages, unique flora and fauna, the Hajhir Mountains (5,000 ft), and amazing beaches and vistas.  

Examine the photos of Socotra below and then answer the questions that follow.





Predict what YOU think the total visitors will be for 2015.  Why did you choose this number?  Based on the information provided and any prior knowledge that you may have, list reasons why someone would want to visit here AND some reasons why someone might not want to visit here.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Myanmar Clashes with Rebels

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has recently seen a rise of clashes in the Shan region near the Chinese border.  Some people have even fled Myanmar across the Chinese border.

The Kokang rebels have killed approximately 50 soldiers and injured 70 more.  Air strikes have caused roughly 10,000 people to flee.  The government has long feared the rebel groups that live in both the Shan and Kachin regions.  The government has been holding talks with the rebel groups in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, but so far no deal has been reached.  

Myanmar has been ruled by a military government since 1962.  It has been considered by most to be a totalitarian government with no regard for human rights.  The government was known to shut off the internet, force citizens (even children) into labor camps.  Since 2011, though, there have been some elections and some attempts at reform.  However, the many ethnic groups and some religious differences (Buddhists and Muslims) has led to clashes on and off.  

In the case of the Kokang rebels, they have run a strip of land in the NE section of the Shan region for years but seek more autonomy.  What should a government do when a group tries to assert independence and/or acts violently?  

Grateful for School?

We all love an unexpected day off, right?  A snow day is exciting whether we hear the announcement the night before or early the day of.  What if you had TOO many snow days or days off?  In the winter of 2015, Boston surpassed many records for snow totals and by February vacation was up to 8 missed school days.  Other systems--Quincy, Braintree, and Somerville--were up to 11 days.  Massachusetts requires that all public schools offer 180 days of school.  Schools need to figure out how to make up all those days especially during years when the number exceeds 5.  Should students and teachers skip Good Friday,  part of April vacation, or attend school on Saturdays?  No one wants to remain in school past mid June, right?  It just gets too hot!

Americans rarely feel grateful for the 180 school days that they are required to attend.  Some kids even state that they prefer vacations.  Yikes!  Would you feel differently IF....

Examine the graphic below that was shared from PRI.

What if you lived in Liberia or Syria?  Would your feelings about missed school days be different?  What is going on in these places that is preventing students from attending school?  Do you think students in these places long to return to school?  Why or why not?  

Below is a slightly different photo from Afghanistan.
 What would it be like to learn in this classroom?  How might it be the same to your experiences?  Different?

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Ukraine

Ukraine and Russian-backed separtists have declared another truce.  France and Germany have intervened to try to broker this truce.  Will it last?  Does Putin have a goal with this fighting?  For instance, he wanted Crimea.  He didn't want Ukraine to join the EU.  Does he want part or all of Eastern Ukraine?  Does he want to recapture other lands that were once part of the now failed Soviet Union?  

QUESTION(s) of the DAY:

1. Do you think the truce will last?  Why or why not?

2. Do you think Putin has broken any international laws by encouraging the fighting in Eastern Ukraine?  Why or why not?

North Korea

Chris Marker first published a book called The People of the North in 1989.  The book highlighted photos of the people of North Korea.  What do you think the photos tell you about this East Asian country?

Pick one photo and tell a story about what you think the photo is trying to portray.




Wednesday, February 11, 2015

War or no War?

Should the United States formally declare war against ISIS?

President Obama is expected to ask Congress for expanded war powers to fight ISIS.  It has been roughly 13 years, since POTUS has asked Congress for war powers.  It was President George W. Bush in 2002 who asked Congress for the power to go to war against Iraq.  

Imagine that you were a US congressman or congresswoman.  How would you determine your vote?  What factors do you need to examine?  

With your desk partner, FIRST develop a list of questions that you would need the POTUS to answer before you vote.

SECOND, after listening to the questions and some possible answers, cast your vote.

Desertification in Mongolia

Did you know???

At least 25% of Mongolia's population lives a nomadic lifestyle.  This way of life requires that the people rely on the open land for survival.  Due to changes in the climate in Mongolia, though, this lifestyle has been increasingly difficult to maintain.  

In the last 30 years, nearly 1/4 of the country has turned to desert with approximately 850 lakes and 2,000 rivers have dried out.  If this pattern continues, the Mongolian tradition that has existed for thousands of years will become extinct.  

Examine the photograph below by Korean-born photogragher, Daesung Lee.



What is the purpose of this photograph and how does it portray what is happening in Mongolia?