Photosynthesis

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• Sister Dorothy Stang was born and raised in
  Ohio. In the 1960s she was sent to Brasil as a
  missionary and later moved to western Para (a
  state in Brasil) to work with settlers migrating
  to the region after the completion of the
  Trans-Amazon Highway.

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Based in Anapu, Sister Dorothy rode a motorcycle
and craved chunky peanut butter.

• On February 12, 2005 Dorothy Stang was in Lot
  55, a remote area of the Amazon Rainforest. On a
  secluded path on her way to a meeting with local
  farmers she was confronted by several gunmen.

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According to witness testimony, Stang saw them
reach for their guns. She opened her bible to
Matthew and read from Chapter 5 Blessed are
they who hunger and thirst for justice for they
shall be satisfied. As she turned to go they
leveled their revolver and squeezed the
trigger.(National Geographic January 2007)

• Sister Dorothy Stang was shot in the back six
  times. The men responsible for her murder each
  received 20.

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Why would anyone want to kill a 73 year-old nun?

• Talk in your groups about why this may have
  happened. Be prepared to share your ideas with
  the class.

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• Sister Dorothys mission work revolved around
  working with poor, local farmers on sustainable
  farming practices.
• She saw human rights and environmental
  conservation in the Amazon as inextricably
  intertwined. Though poor settlers themselves
  damaged the forest, Stang believed they could
  learn to manage their land sustainably as a
  matter of self preservation.
• (National Geographic January 2007)

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Brasil
Brasil is 5th in the world in both size and
population.
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People of Brasil

• People in Brasil suffer from significant
  economic disparity.
• The majority of wealth lies in the hands of a
  small minority.

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In an effort to diminish poverty, the Brasilian
government gave 500,000 poor, landless families
settlements in forested areas. As a means of
making quick money, the families illegally sell
the timber and land.

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Brasilian Economy

• Brasils economy is based on three products
• Soybeans
• Timber
• Beef

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Soybeans

• Soybean production in the Brasilian Amazon
  soared after heat tolerant varieties were
  introduced in 1997.

Brasil may soon lead the world in soybeans,
surpassing the US. (National Geographic January
2007)
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Beef

• The worlds largest exporter of beef since 2004,
  Brasil now supplies nearly every country
  including emerging markets such as Algeria,
  Romania, and Egypt.

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Timber

• Demand for Brasilian hardwoods in Europe, US,
  and Asia has been growing in recent years.

Most timber from the Amazon Basin is taken
illegally and stays in Brasil.
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Brasilian Geography

• The Amazon Rainforest makes up 50 of the land
  in Brasil.

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The Amazon Rainforest is over 1 BILLION ACRES.
It spreads through several countries in South
America, including Brasil, Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, and Peru.
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It is larger than all of Europe!
Europe Amazon Rainforest
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What do you know about rainforests?

• Talk with your group. Be prepared to share what
  you know with the class.

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Sister Dorothy Stang was murdered trying to
protect the Brasilian rainforest.

• She is not the only one. Since 1985, 1379 people
  have been victims of land-related killings. Five
  hundred of those in Para. Only 75 individuals
  responsible have been brought to trial.

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• Is the Amazon Rainforest worth dying for?
• Why would so many people, like Dorothy Stang,
  make that choice?

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Species Diversity

• Half of the 10 MILLION
• species of plants, animals
• and insects are found in
• tropical rainforests.

1 Hectare (2.47 acres) contains 750 types of
trees and 1500 species of higher plants.
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Water

• One-fifth of the WORLDS freshwater is in the
  Amazon Basin.
• Thats a lot of water!

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Food

• 80 of the WORLDS diet originated in the
  tropical rainforest, including

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• Avacados, coconut, figs, oranges, lemon,
  grapefruit, bananas, guava, pineapple, mangoes,
  tomatoes, corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash,
  yams, black pepper, cayanne, CHOCOLATE, cinnamon,
  cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee,
  vanilla, brasil nuts, and cashews.
• Mmmmmm.Anyone hungry?

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Medicine

• 121 prescription drugs come from plants and 25
  of ALL WESTERN drugs are derived from rainforest
  ingredients.
• Only 1 of trees and plants in the rainforest
  have been tested for pharmaceutical uses.

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Medicine

• 3000 plants actively work against cancer cells.
• 7O of those are found in the rainforest.
• 25 of active ingredients in cancer drugs are
  found only in the rainforest.

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Gas Exchange

• The Amazon Rainforest is referred to as the
  Lungs of the Planet.
• Why do you think this is?

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20 of the WORLDS oxygen is produced in the
Amazon Rainforest.

• You recently learned that Oxygen is essential to
  life because it is used to make ATP.

How is the Amazon Rainforest producing all of
this oxygen?