Posts under "Environment"

Movimento Gota D’Agua

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Nov 28 2011

With the growth of Brazil’s economy has come the need for more energy. The government proposed a plan for a hydroelectric plant called Belo Monte, which is under construction in the state of Pará. But because of environmental concerns and the displacement of indigenous tribes, the project has come under fire. Earlier this month, Brazilian celebrities created a video as part of a protest to stop the construction of the dam.

Watch the video and try to answer the questions.

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Questions

1. What action do the celebrities ask viewers to take to help protest the dam?

2. How big will the plant be?

3. How much will the project cost?

While the video has helped rally support against Belo Monte, it’s also inspired parodies, like this one from comedian Rafinha Bastos.

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Answers after the jump.

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Reading Comprehension: New Species

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Jul 28 2010

Let’s test your Portuguese skills by reading this article about finding new species in the Amazon.

Expedição encontra espécies novas de insetos na Amazônia

“Após uma expedição realizada em junho na selva amazônica, pesquisadores voltaram à cidade com pelo menos 65 espécies de insetos que nunca haviam sido vistas na natureza. A estimativa inicial representa apenas uma pequena parcela do que ainda pode ser descoberto entre os mais de 100 mil indivíduos resgatados durante a viagem, já que a análise e a catalogação das espécies podem levar anos e o setor carece de especialistas.”

Read the full article here

Questions

1. How many new species of insects were discovered?

2. How many specimens did the researchers collect?

3. What is a louva-a-deus? What does louvar a Deus literally mean?

4. How long did the expedition last?

5. What happened during the scientists’ 2009 expedition?

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Reading Comprehension: Lizards

Posted by Rachel No Comments
May 14 2010

Today we’re going to look at an article about lizards and global warming. Have a read and try to answer the questions.

Aquecimento global já leva populações de lagartos à extinção, Estadão

Excerpt: “O aquecimento global está inviabilizando a sobrevivência de várias populações de lagartos, reduzindo o tempo em que os animais  se mantêm ativos para buscar comida e gerar filhotes, diz estudo internacional publicado a revista Science. Pelo menos 5% das espécies existentes já estão comprometidas, afirma o pesquisador brasileiro Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha, um dos autores do estudo. Rocha é professor do Departamento de Ecologia do Instituto de Biologia da UERJ.”

Questions

1. Where does the scientist in the article work? Where did the study take place?

2. Why is global warming contributing to lizard extinction?

3. The scientist studied the Liolaemus lutzae species, found in Rio de Janeiro. How many populations used to exist, and how many have disappeared?

4. What does the Science article predict will happen in 2080?

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Children of the Amazon

Posted by Rachel 1 Comment
May 3 2010

One thing you can do to help learn Portuguese is to keep your eyes peeled for films and documentaries about Brazil in your area. So here’s a tip: Children of the Amazon recently premiered on American TV stations and in film festivals around the world. Be sure to look for reruns on your local station, and check out these video clips below.

The film is about Brazilian photographer Denise Zmekhol, who worked in the Amazon and then returned fifteen years later to find immense environmental destruction and indigenous tribes struggling against deforestation. Along with the now grown children of the village where Denise photographed over a decade before, she also interviews several tribal chiefs, including Chief Almir Surui, a well known indigenous leader who has used the Internet and teaming up with international organizations to curb rainforest destruction.The film focuses not only on the environment, but also the survival of the indigenous tribes and their culture.

To find out more, see the official site. For bonus points, visit the Portuguese version of the site!

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Reading Comprehension: Endangered Species

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Jan 14 2010

Today we’re going to work on a reading comprehension exercise about an endangered species in the Amazon.

The article is entitled, “Pesca excessiva ameaça maior peixe da Amazônia, diz pesquisa,” on Globo’s Amazon section. Here’s the first part:

“A captura descontrolada pode fazer com que o maior peixe da Amazônia – e um dos maiores peixes de água doce do mundo – desapareça do mapa. Em pesquisa divulgada no “Journal of Applied Ichthyology”, cientistas afirmam que a maior parte da carne de pirarucu comercializada na Amazônia tem origem ilegal, e é difícil controlar a pesca predatória da espécie.”

1) What is the name of the endangered fish?

2) What are the two main reasons this fish is highly sought by fishermen?

3) What legal efforts have been made to control fishing for this species?

4) What’s the good news mentioned in the end?

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