-A few acres of ra inforest in the Amazon River Basin contain more plant species than all of Europe -An estimated 50 species of plants and animals become extinct every day in the world's rainforests -Currently, scientists estimate that a rainforest area the size of two football fields is destroyed each second
WHERE HAVE ALL THE TREES GONE? -20% of old-growth forests are left on Earth
-6% of old-growth forests are left in the US -Of that 6%, Alaska has 5%
THE BROWN PLANET -South Africa loses over 300 million tons of topsoil each year due to desertification
-70% of the world's desertification occurs in drylands - Drylands make up 25% of the world's total landmass
TROUBLE IN THE KINGDOM - The world loses about 100 animal species each day, that's roughly four per hour
-Until 1916 grizzly bears roamed as far south as Los Angeles - In the last three decades, more than 95% of the world's black rhinos have been killed -There are only about 1,000 giant pandas left on Earth
WHERE HAVE ALL THE TIGERS GONE? - India's tiger population: under 4,700 -China's tiger population: 25 -The last Balinese tiger was killed in 1937 - The last javan tiger was seen in 1972
BUT PEOPLE ARE DOING OK -We passed the six billion mark last fall
WHAT THE DALAI LAMA HAS TO SAY
"Our wild animals are a symbol of freedom. Without them something is missing from even the most beautiful landscape: '
WHAT TED TURNER HAS TO SAY ''The United States has got some of the dumbest people in the world. I want you to know that. It's a disgrace. I mean, there are times when I have been so discouraged about my own country."
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE - In the past decade, the US wolf population has increased 100%
DEAD IN THE WATER -71 % of the Earth's surface is covered by water -25% of all marine life lives in, around or on coral reefs -In the past three decades 20% of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed - If the present rate of destruction continues, 70% of the world's coral reefs will be killed within 30 years
BLACK GOLD -Cubic tons of oil spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill: 37,000 -Number of oil spills of over 100,000 cubic tons since 1942: 11
TO HELP THE PLANET, LEARN ABOUT THE ISSUES! HERE ARE SOME IDEAS ON WHERE TO START.
SEARCH:
www.britannica.com www.mcdonalds.com/whatsnew/ WV\'W. gree n peace. orgli nterac t www.oneworld.org/cse/html/eyou/eyou21 .htm I www.surfrider.org www.cwpost.l iunet.edu/-edt/professional/triv.htm seawi fs.gsfc. nasa .gov:80/0CEAN_PLAN ET IHTM L/peri I_deforestation. htm I www.climatehotmap.org www.emagazine.com takeaction . worldwi Id I ife.org www.coral.org/volunteer www.2020vision.org www.ran.org www.sierraclub.org WV\'W. mothers.org www.audubon.org/campaign www.earthwatch.org www.wild-earth.org
~(MONE¥ MATTERS) : - I
BIG SPENDER -The US Federal Budget annually for natura l resources and the environment is $24 bi llion
- This is 0.3% of the US Gross National Product
[ '.- (TESt TIME) , . ' .
1. How many feet do climatologists expect sea level to rise in this century?
a) less than 1 inch b) between 1 and 6 inches c) between 1 and 6 feet
2. Due to mercury poisoning, it's recom- mended that pregnant women and young children limit their tuna intake to how many tuna sandwiches per week? a) 4 b) 1 c) 3
3. Number of Asians who die from air pollution each year?
a) 200,000 b) 1 million c) 3 million
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