Choose 1 rainforest scenario below the map. Use the random number generator if you dare! |
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Rainforest 1 - It is nightfall and you stop to make camp in a small clearing in the rainforest. As you sit by the campfire, you suddenly feel something slide down your leg and see it land on the ground beside you. It’s a leech! What a gross parasite! You quickly roll up your pants leg and see a trickle of blood oozing from the spot it had been attached. Yuk! But the worst part is...there’s another one still attached to your arm! Without proper medical treatment, you can’t remove it. You must let it fill and drop off by itself. In your journal, describe this experience and your feelings with this parasite
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Rainforest 2 - As you are walking, you meet a girl. As you begin talking, you learn that she works as a delivery girl for a nearby clinic after school every day in order to earn enough money to pay for her uniform and books. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up. When you met the girl, she was walking to nearby villages to deliver medicine for people who have malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever. She exclaims, “I wish there were no mosquitoes at all! I wish we killed them all!” You remember learning about the interdependence of life in science class. You also remember hearing a news story about this possibility ("The Ultimate Swatting"). You share your concerns with her about completely eradicating an entire species. Does she convince you? Or, do you convince her?
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Rainforest 3 - You have walked all morning and now find yourself at the edge of a river, with no bridge in sight. Looking to your left, upstream, you see 3 fat crocodiles sunning themselves on the opposite shore. Looking to the right, downstream, you see a small herd of zebras approaching the river on the far side. They are eating leaves and grasses. You think about the food web that all three organisms are part of. Directly in front of you, there is a small, flat boat hooked to a rope system. By pulling on the rope, you can move the boat from one side of the river to the other. You step into the boat and notice that there is only a few inches (about the width of your hand) between the top of the boat and the water. You also notice that those 3 fat crocodiles are no longer on the shore--they are swishing silently, but powerfully through the water, headed right towards you and your little boat! Oh, no! Will you become prey for the crocodile today?
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Rainforest 4 - As you enter a new village, you are pleased to see a few modern buildings. Hurray! Running water, actual bathrooms, and maybe even a hot shower if you can trade your services at a few odd jobs. You notice that the market square is almost empty and you hear lots of angry shouting coming from the far end of the square. You decide to edge closer and see what’s going on. A crowd of angry villagers is blocking the gates to some kind of factory; there are trucks that can’t get through. It seems as though the situation is getting worse by the minute, so you go back to the market square and ask a woman who is selling fruit about the conflict. She tells you the villagers are concerned about the effects a logging company is causing in their area (bit.ly/1oyMELa). Write about at least two different effects the logging is having on the rainforest and what might be done about it. Be sure to discuss the villagers’ opinions about it.
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Rainforest 5 - As you enter a new village, you are pleased to see a few modern buildings. Hurray! Running water, actual bathrooms, and maybe even a hot shower if you can trade your services at a few odd jobs. You notice that the market square is almost empty. You hear lots of angry shouting coming from the far end of the square. You decide to edge closer and see what’s going on. A crowd of angry villagers is blocking the gates to some kind of factory; there are trucks that can’t get through. You are surprised to see some other villagers on the other side of the fence, with the big trucks. It seems as though the situation is getting worse by the minute, so you go back to the market square and ask a woman who is selling fruit about the conflict. She sadly tells you that the conflict over palm oil has divided her village, pitting neighbors against neighbors. Some villagers are concerned about the effects a new company is having on the ecology in their area. Other members of the village are in favor of the jobs and other economic benefits that the company could bring to their lives (bit.ly/1UGqipk). Write about at least two different effects this new company could have on the rainforest. Also, gather information on palm oil and list at least 3 things it is used for. Reflect on what role you play in this situation, as an American consumer, and what might be done about it, both on a governmental level and on a personal level.
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Rainforest 6 - You are so hungry as you enter a new village, you go straight to the market square. You buy some delicious looking fruit at the first stall and the vendor at the next stall beckons for you to come closer. A cute little monkey in a cage at the edge of his stall makes a grab for your fruit, so you pivot and dodge to get away from his little hands, and come face to face with a stall full of dead, skinned monkeys! Ugh! And not just monkeys! There are all kinds of dead bush animals hanging from the rafters of the stall--chimpanzees, lizards, even rats. All skinned and ready to be put over someone’s fire pit. The vendor sees you gaze at all the selections and quietly lifts the corner of a tarp at the edge of his stall to show you his best product. You are horrified to see pieces of dead elephant--a protected, endangered species! How can this be? And what should you do now? The vendor and the poachers who supplied him certainly won’t be happy if you turn them in to the game wardens. The main store in the village offers free computer use, so you do some investigating (bit.ly/1TA2XEs). You decide to send an anonymous email to the World Wildlife Federation. Draft a copy of the email you will send explaining where you are and why it is so important that the World Wildlife Federation enforces the protection laws. You also decide to write a letter to the village elder, explaining the health risks that bushmeat poses to his villagers, so that he will shut the vendor down. Place a draft of that letter in your journal.
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