1. Latin America Environmental Problems

2. Mexico City and Air Pollution Today, Mexico City is known as one of the world’s worst areas of air pollution The air is so bad that children are starting to develop breathing problems and older people are asked to stay indoors.

3. Mexico City and Air Pollution Mexico City is crowded Over 19 million people There are thousands of Factories and 3 Million Cars Many of the cars in Mexico are older models that are not fuel efficient. video

4. Mexico City and Air Pollution The city is built in the basin (pit) an old volcano that was an old lake. The bad air gets trapped in the rim of the old volcano walls.

5. Mexico City and Air Pollution The Mexican government has tried several solutions. Drivers must leave their cars at home for one day each week Citizens are encouraged to ride busses or take bikes Cars are inspected often Factories are closed on high pollution days Video

6. Destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil Brazil is a large country and more than half of it is covered in rain forest. Over 4,000 kinds of plants and thousands of animals live in the rain forest. The Amazon River flows through most of this area giving much needed water to the trees.

7. Destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil The Rainforest is being threatened by Humans. Many of the poor people of Brazil are selling the timber in order to get enough money to survive. The process of clearing the land is called Deforestation (Situation).

8. Destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil Many of the plants are used to make medicine are being destroyed People cut down the trees to get Brazil nuts, cocoa, and rubber.

9. Destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil The trees are good for timber Cutting down the trees is lowering the oxygen level The trees produce oxygen

10. Destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil Home to many Native people that have no contact with the outside world The native people are loosing their land that they depend on.

11. Destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil The cleared land is then used for cattle herding in and farming. Illegal deforestation occurs more often when the price of these products goes up. Video

12. Destruction of the Rain Forest in Brazil The government has created laws to stop the deforestation but the laws are rarely enforced. Video

13. Oil Related Pollution in Venezuela Venezuela is one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas. 15 percent of the oil sold in the United States comes from Venezuela Most of the money from the oil sales goes to the Venezuelan government therefore, they do not regulate the oil industry like they should.

14. Oil Related Pollution in Venezuela Pollution is becoming a big problem along the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea Oil Spills and tanker leaks are causing much of this problem

15. Oil Related Pollution in Venezuela The oil pollution has hurt the ability for fishermen to make a living. Video Burning the oil has also led to high levels of Carbon Dioxide in the air This has led to breathing problems for children and the elderly Some say this is leading to global warm

16. Oil Related Pollution in Venezuela Lake Maracaibo is a large lake in northern Venezuela that is now extremely polluted because of the oil industry.

17. Solutions? The government is very slow to stop or restrict the oil industry The Venezuelan government makes most of it’s money from the sale of oil. Therefore the government has done next to nothing to solve the problem