Скачать или смотреть Different Shades of Green: Climate Change in Tropical Regions

Have you ever been stunned by the wonder of nature? Amazon rainforest, one of the “New 7 Wonders of Nature of the World”, will definitely be a WOW moment for you. Amazon rainforest is the paradise for millions of plant and animal species. Beyond being a grand botanic garden and zoo of the planet, scientific studies have revealed a clear link between the health of the Amazon and the health of the planet. The rain forests, which contain 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, help stabilize local and global climate. Human activities, including deforestation and biomass burning, may release significant amounts of this carbon, which could have catastrophic consequences around the world. Join us for a fascinating ride through different shades of green to explore wonders and challenges in the Amazon rainforest.


Speakers

Tianning Zhao is a Ph.D. student majoring in Environmental Science and Engineering in School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Prior to Harvard, Tianning received a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University, China. Her research in Professor Scot Martin’s group focuses on exploring the impact of anthropogenic pollution in the Amazon rainforest by using low-cost sensors onboard unmanned aerial vehicles.





Glossary of Important Terms


Biome: a collection of plants and animals that have common characteristics for the environment they exist in.
Transpiration: the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems, and flowers.
Savanna: a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.

Tipping point: the point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change. In the Amazon’s case, when the rainforest biome becomes unstable and regions swiftly transform into dry scrubland or savannah.




Resources to learn more:


Rainforest Alliance: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org
Rainforest trust: https://www.rainforesttrust.org
Amazon watch: https://amazonwatch.org
Rainforest action network: https://www.ran.org
Rainforest information: https://rainforests.mongabay.com
Earth day: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/