NewsTracker Answers for week of Aug. 12, 2019

Q: A scientist who was fired after reporting surging rates of deforestation in the Amazon rain forest attacked the “vile, cowardly attitude” of Brazil’s right-wing president who had called satellite monitoring data “lies.” Where is Brazil?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Ricardo Galvao, an MIT-trained physicist, was fired by President Jair Bolsonaro, who has promised to open up the country’s natural reserves to business. Scientists worry that rampant logging, mining and agricultural development in the Amazon could soon . . .

A. Create a savanna

B. Raise temperatures

C. Reduce rainfall

D. All of the above

D. Deforestation could trigger a “tipping point” in the region’s climate and turn the world’s largest rain forest into a vast grassland savanna, leading to higher temperatures in the immediate area and lower rainfall not only in Brazil but also in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

Q: Galvao was fired from a space research agency which reports that the rate of deforestation has jumped 67% so far this year. About 60% of the Amazon is in Brazil, the world’s fifth-largest nation by area. Which country is the largest by land area?

A. China

B. Canada

C. Russia

D. United States

C. Russia is the largest country with about 6.3 million square miles of land area. It is followed by by China, 3.6 million; Canada, 3.5 million; United States, 3.5 million and Brazil, 3.2 million. The Earth’s land masses, which are only 30% of the globe, are warming twice as fast as the planet as a whole

Q: A new UN scientific report warns that way people are using the land with forestry and agriculture is making global warming worse, creating a vicious cycle that makes food scarcer and more expensive. Brazil also is the world’s fifth most populous country. Which is the most populous nation?

A. China

B. India

C. Indonesia

D. United States

A. With nearly 1.4 billion people, China is the most populous. It is followed closely by India with 1.3 billion; United States with nearly 330 million; Indonesia with 268 million; and Brazil with 210 million. The report warned that the world’s tropical regions, including Brazil, will face “unprecedented climatic conditions by the mid-to-late 21st century.”

Q: President Bolsonaro also has attacked protected lands for the indigenous people in the Amazon, which he wants to open up to mining and other development. Which nation buys the most exports from Brazil?

A. Argentina

B. China

C. Netherlands

D. United States

B. China bought about 22% of Brazil’s exports in 2017, followed by the United States at 12.5%, neighboring Argentina at 8.1 8.1% and the Netherlands at 4.3 percent. In pushing for Amazon development, Bolsanaro said “Brazil lives from commodities. If the business fails, it will be a disaster.”