1. Environmental Issues in Latin America
SS6G2 The student will discuss environmental issues in Latin America
a. Explain the major environmental concerns of Latin America regarding the issues of air pollution in Mexico City, Mexico, the destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil, and oil-related pollution in Venezuela

2. Mexico City, Mexico

3. Air Pollution in Mexico City
Used to have really clear skies, now in the TOP TEN of world’s worst areas of air pollution
What has caused the air pollution?
City is HEAVILY populated
Over 19 million people live in the city
Factories and cars send pollution into the air
Lead, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide
Many cars are older models and produce more pollution than newer cars
Geography of the city
City is built in a bowl-shaped crater of an extinct volcano
High elevation means thin air is caught from factories and cars and gets caught in the valley

4. What are some effects of this?
Children are more likely to have breathing problems and develop lung diseases when they grow up
Older adults must stay indoors and limit activity on particularly bad days
SMOG
Combination of smoke and thick fog

5. Mexico City’s air is believed to be safe to breathe only 31 days in the year! Around 100,000 children die due to pollution complications every year. There are also over 50,000 small factories in and around the city.

6. Mexico City, Mexico

7. What is the government doing to fix this?
Drivers must leave their cars at home one day each week
Citizens are encouraged to take buses or carpool
Cars are inspected more often
Those with really bad exhaust problems must be repaired
Some factories may be closed on days when pollution is at it’s highest

8. Brazil

9. Deforestation in Brazil

10. Brazil’s Rain Forest

11. Destruction of Brazil’s Rain Forests
Brazil is the largest country in South America
It is also the 5th largest in the world
MORE THAN ½ IS COVERED BY RAIN FORESTS
Are rain forests important?
YES!!
Plants can be used to produce drugs for treating disease
People also use Brazil nuts, cocoa, and rubber which can be found in the rain forest
Trees create oxygen
Why do we need oxygen?
Over 20% of world’s oxygen is produced in these rain forests

12. What is happening to the Rain Forest?
There are still some native populations in Brazil that depend on the resources in the forest for food, clothing, shelter, and spiritual life
What is happening to the Rain Forest?
Humans are clearing large areas of forest
Deforestation- process of clearing land of forests, usually to make room for farms and homes

13. What are some causes of this deforestation?
Clearing forest and selling the timber is the only way some families make money
The cleared land is needed for cattle farms and growing crops
Illegal clearing of forest when prices of cattle go up
What are some effects of this?
In the past 10 years, nearly 200,000 sq. miles of rain forest have been lost
People, animals, and plants that live here are threatened with extinction
If too much timber is cut down, there will not be enough trees to absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

14. What is being done to fix this?
Government created laws to control amount of forest that is cut down
HOWEVER, little money is spent enforcing the laws
Environmental groups and governments from around the world are working with government of Brazil to find ways to save the rain forest

15. Venezuela

16. Oil-Related Pollution in Venezuela
Venezuela is the 5th largest producer of oil in the world
Money from oil sales account for ½ of the money received by the government of Venezuela
What causes oil-related pollution?
Oil spills and tanker leaks
Burning fossil fuels

17. What are some effects of this?
Oil spills damage the environment
Fisherman cannot earn a living because of the water is polluted with oil
Burning oil (which is a fossil fuel) leads to a lot of carbon dioxide being produced
This can cause breathing problems for children and the elderly
What is being done to fix this?
The Venezuelan government really does not want to fix this because the government gets about ½ of its money from the oil business

18. Pollution in Venezuela

19. Deforestation of Brazil’s Rain Forest
Square Miles
Years