Take a journey through the heart of the Amazon rain forest to discover why it's so important for life on Earth. Even though rain forests take up less than 10 percent of Earth’s land, they are home to more than half the world’s plants and animals. In this adventure, readers climb aboard a river boat and tour the Amazon with a local guide. Observe howler monkeys, harpy eagles, and other wildlife as you discover how the planet’s largest tropical rain forest became endangered, and why it’s up to us to protect it.
Take a journey through the heart of the Amazon rain forest to discover why it's so important for life on Earth. Even though rain forests take up less than 10 percent of Earth’s land, they are home to more than half the world’s plants and animals. In this adventure, readers climb aboard a river boat and tour the Amazon with a local guide. Observe howler monkeys, harpy eagles, and other wildlife as you discover how the planet’s largest tropical rain forest became endangered, and why it’s up to us to protect it.
Our world abounds with the wonders of natural beauty. Readers of the books in this series will discover mysterious, exciting, and exotic natural landforms. Through the study of science and social studies, the authors show the diversity of our planet and provide information on the geological history, plants, animals, and people who populate each landform, as well as the environmental issues by which each landform is threatened. Each title in the series also establishes the importance of the history, culture, and environment of the landform in relation to the region in which it is located. with stunning photography, maps, and informative sidebars, Nature's Wonders offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the natural wonders of the world.
Why Are the Rain Forests Being Destroyed? looks at the threats to the worlds rain forests from the logging and mining industries, power and oil companies, and from ranchers and farmers.
A compelling anthology of environmental speeches by prominent and articulate leaders from around the globe. This book is required reading for anyone who cares about the future of our planet--and especially for those who don't yet care enough.
An accessible guide to help teenagers improve all aspects of their writing skills, from preparing a research paper to creating works of fiction Writing well is a worthwhile skill for anyone to master, but it is especially important for teenagers. To be successful, young adults must write for school, college, and employment; and sometimes, young adults write to be creative or to express themselves. Despite this, most teens don’t know how to write well, and this can be a source of great frustration and stress. In The Teenage Writer: A Guide to Writing for School and Creativity, Dr. Timothy Horan presents a remedy for this deficiency. He starts from a belief that all teens are writers at heart—whether they are writing for fun or for school—and can develop their skills and writing potential through proper instruction and practice. Written with a light touch, Horan uses experience, compassion, and humor to make all aspects of writing transparent and understandable. In this book, for example, he provides readers with the following advice: The best writing is clear and simple Always start with an outline Analyze things in terms of threes Write the way you talk Believe in yourself and in your ideas From writing an outline, to a paragraph, to a research paper, Horan explains all steps of writing in an accessible, enjoyable manner that takes the anxiety out of the process. An invaluable guide for young writers of all levels and abilities, this book will also be useful for parents, teachers, and all who want to understand the art of writing well.
Three children embark on a day-long trek through the Amazon, discovering all sorts of rainforest creatures in their natural habitats. The charming, rhyming text highlights an adjective for each creature. The story is complemented by educational endnotes about the creatures in the story and the peoples of the rainforest.
This ambitious interdisciplinary study is the first to examine the interlinked economic uses and cultural practices and beliefs surrounding cattle in Western Amazonia, where cattle raising is at the center of debates about economic development and environ Winner, Brazil Section Book Award, Latin American Studies Association, 2016 The opening of the Amazon to colonization in the 1970s brought cattle, land conflict, and widespread deforestation. In the remote state of Acre, Brazil, rubber tappers fought against migrant ranchers to preserve the forest they relied on, and in the process, these “forest guardians” showed the world that it was possible to unite forest livelihoods and environmental preservation. Nowadays, many rubber tappers and their children are turning away from the forest-based lifestyle they once sought to protect and are becoming cattle-raisers or even caubois (cowboys). Rainforest Cowboys is the first book to examine the social and cultural forces driving the expansion of Amazonian cattle raising in all of their complexity. Drawing on eighteen months of fieldwork, Jeffrey Hoelle shows how cattle raising is about much more than beef production or deforestation in Acre, even among “carnivorous” environmentalists, vilified ranchers, and urbanites with no land or cattle. He contextualizes the rise of ranching in relation to political economic structures and broader meanings to understand the spread of “cattle culture.” This cattle-centered vision of rural life builds on local experiences and influences from across the Americas and even resembles East African cultural practices. Written in a broadly accessible and interdisciplinary style, Rainforest Cowboys is essential reading for a global audience interested in understanding the economic and cultural features of cattle raising, deforestation, and the continuing tensions between conservation and development in the Amazon.
This book--the first to apply the combined approaches of anthropology, geography, ecology, economics, and sociology to the analysis of the Amazon River region and its imminent development--explores the impact of development on Amazonian populations and the results of rural and urban growth strategies. The authors use the methodologies of environmen
