why care about settlements and the environment? · 2) is a greenhouse gas that contributes to...
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DROUGHT IN THE AMAZON RIVER BASINThink about how drought (continuous dry weather) could affect where and how people live. A basin is the area drained by a river. The Amazon River basin, in South America, is generally hot and wet with a lot of annual rainfall. However, rainfall has decreased since the mid-1980s. As a result, there has been less natural flooding, and there have been more water shortages.
One severe drought in the Amazon happened in 2005 (Figure 2.2), and drought returned in 2010. The effects of the 2005 drought were still visible in the Amazon River basin at the time of the 2010 drought. Some effects of the 2005 drought were a smaller leaf canopy, fewer trees, and a large drop in the river level, especially in the western Amazon.
Drought also leads to less water and more fires, meaning more trees die during each drought. Damaged trees are not growing back, even during wetter years. Geographers and others studying drought in the Amazon are not sure whether the drought is a temporary change or an example of climate change.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? How would you decide where to live? What factors are important to you? Would you base your decision on the natural resources in an area or the climate? Climate refers to the average weather of an area over time. No matter where you decided to live, physical processes, or natural changes to the physical environment, such as landslides and volcanoes, would affect you.
Living in Canada, you know how the climate impacts you. Extremely cold Canadian winters can cause water pipes to freeze and burst. Ice storms can knock down trees and branches, sometimes cutting electric power (Figure 2.1). During the hot summer, your family may use lots of energy to cool your home. Canada’s climate has a huge impact on your life.
In this chapter, you will learn how various physical processes affect where and how people live. You will also learn how these physical processes are expected to change as a result of climate change, or changes in long-term weather patterns.
WHY CARE ABOUT
SETTLEMENTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT?
climate the average weather of an area over a long period of time
physical process any naturally occurring change on or in Earth, such as an earthquake
climate change changes in long-term weather patterns caused by natural events and human activity
I wonder how many people were put at risk during this storm?
FIGURE 2.1 During an ice storm in Ontario in December 2013, falling trees and branches damaged many homes and broke hydro lines. The ice was too heavy in some places for the trees to support it.
FIGURE 2.2 Much of the Amazon River basin shown here in October 2005 should not have been this dry. The light-toned areas show dryness.
I wonder why there are no settlements in this area?
46 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability CHAPTER 2: Settlements and the Environment 47NEL NEL
HEROES IN ACTION
REDD PROGRAM IN TOLO RIVER: HELPING TO PROTECT THE RAINFOREST
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas
that contributes to global warming, which
leads to climate change. Trees absorb and
store CO2. Trees also release water into
the atmosphere through their leaves. This
process contributes to rainfall through the
water cycle. So, when trees in an area are cut
down, less CO2 is stored,
and the area receives less
rain, leading to drought.
Each year, about
13 million ha (hectares) of
forest around the world
are lost to deforestation,
which includes human
tree destruction and natural causes
such as disease. We lose enough trees
to fill the area of 36 football fields every
minute. To reduce deforestation, the
United Nations created a program called
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Forest Degradation in Developing
Countries (REDD). (Degradation means a
reduction in quality.) REDD partners with
communities to help them create jobs by
protecting their forest ecosystems.
As part of REDD, people in the
Tolo River community in northern
Colombia are paid to protect their
rainforest. For example, they help to
stop people from cutting down trees.
The rainforest in this area covers about
13 000 ha. By not cutting down the
rainforest, the community
reduces CO2 emissions
by 100 000 t (tonnes)
every year.
Youth in Tolo River are
now employed by REDD
as rangers. They monitor
the rainforest to ensure
that no one is illegally cutting down
trees (Figure 2.3). The rest of the money
earned from the program goes into a
community fund that supports healthcare
and education. The fund also provides
small loans to members of the community
to help them start small businesses. The
people now feel empowered to protect
their rainforest as a source of income.
This is a step toward preventing drought
and slowing climate change.
A CALL TO ACTION 1. Preventing deforestation is an
important way to help slow climate
change. Work with a classmate to
come up with a way to creatively
educate your peers about
deforestation.
2. The action taken by the community of
Tolo River was inspired by threats to
their natural environment. What issues
in your natural environment could
inspire you, and other people in your
community, to take action? Why?
IMPACT ON SETTLEMENTSHow are the Amazon droughts affecting the people who live there? Communities depend on the flooding for crops and water use in their homes. People have started to move out of settlements near the river to urban areas to escape the effects of drought. The river level is sometimes so low that fishing boats can become stranded (Figure 2.4). As the river becomes shallower, navigation routes change. Farmers’ crops suffer, and pipes needed to deliver water for irrigation and settlement uses need to be extended. With climate change, conditions may worsen and drought could become the normal pattern.
Drought in the Amazon River basin is just one example of a changing environment that has the potential to affect settlements. You will learn more about how physical processes affect settlements in the next topic.
1. SPATIAL SIGNIFICANCE How would the problems
created by an ice storm, like the one shown in
Figure 2.1, differ for people living in a rural area
compared with an urban area?
2. GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE Explain how people
living in the Amazon River basin, such as the
owners of the boats in Figure 2.4, might have
described the 2005 drought.
3. EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS If the Amazon
droughts are a result of climate change, how
might this affect future settlement and
development?
4. COMMUNICATE Create a flow chart or another
graphic organizer to summarize how drought
might affect migration to cities in the
Amazon River basin.
CHECK-IN
FIGURE 2.4 Boats are stranded in the Amazon River basin due to drought and low river levels.
FIGURE 2.3 Four rangers in northern Colombia monitor their rainforest to ensure that no one is illegally cutting down trees.
If people depend on the river for transportation, I wonder what they do during a drought?
What are the interrelationships
between drought and people’s livelihoods?
“WE CAN PROTECT OUR TERRITORY, MAINTAIN PEACE,
IMPROVE OUR LIVES.”
CHAPTER 2: Settlements and the Environment 49NEL48 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability NEL
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