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Q5. Will Rainforests Exist in the Future? Click here to view a page with tips on how to complete the activities Question 5 Activity 5.5: In the Rainforest Travel to a nearby patch of rainforest. The scene before you is probably awash with bright green hues and chocolate browns. Now look closely at the plants around you. Do they look like they belong in the rainforest? Are there any plants you see that you might have growing at home? As you know, feral species, or weeds, cause havoc in the Wet Tropics. One way we can control this problem is by having concerned citizens (you?) learn to identify common weeds in the Wet Tropics. Then you can go home and see if your household is perhaps contributing to this problem. Download the Weed
Pocket Guide from the Wet Tropics web site. Create a transect line
of approximately 100 metres. A transect is a path along which you record
or count the occurrences of something.
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to learn to identify weeds in the rainforest. Now’s the time for action! You CAN remove weeds from your school or home garden. Conduct a weed audit of your home and/or school gardens. Download the
Weed
Pocket Guide from the Wet Tropics web site. Identify all the weeds that exist in your school and home garden. Once
you’ve identified the weeds species, you might like to ask your
parents or your school principal if you can remove the weeds. Be sure
to think carefully about how you’re going to approach them! They
may just love the pretty purple leaves of the Wandering Jew (Tradescantia
zebrine). Think carefully about your justification for the removal of
the weeds.
As you know, it’s possible that global warming will affect vast areas of our country, not just the Wet Tropics. A really useful way you can determine your contribution to global warming is through a great activity called the Australian Greenhouse Calculator. The beauty of this Calculator is that it allows you to compare your greenhouse gas emissions with other Queenslanders, or other states of Australia. Also, you can compare yourself against someone who is already trying to living in a more sustainable way. Download the Greenhouse
Calculator or ask your school if they have the Greenhouse Calculator
CD. Once you’ve calculated your greenhouse gas emissions, complete
the following table:
5.8 The World In 1992, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) wrote the World Scientists’
Warning to Humanity. Read their warning on the UCS
website. Go to the UCS website’s Frequently
Asked Questions about Global Warming
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