go.vsb.bc.cago.vsb.bc.ca/.../socialstudies/Documents/WhatInTheWor… · Web viewacross the country: 386 kinds of birds, 365 fish species, 106 different mammals, and 46 reptiles

Where Has Canada’s Wildlife Gone?

Canada’s wildlife is disappearing at a disturbing rate, according to the Living Planet Report Canada.

This comprehensive study, released September 14 by World Wildlife Fund Canada, looked at 903 vertebrates across the country: 386 kinds of birds, 365 fish species, 106 different mammals, and 46 reptiles and amphibians. The study found that population levels for half of these species declined by an average of 83 percent between 1970 and 2014.

“The sheer magnitude is very sobering,” says David Miller, CEO of WWF Canada, the country’s largest international conservation organization.

Human Footprints and Habitat Loss

What is at the root of the problem? There are many factors, including pollution, invasive species, overfishing, and climate change. But the biggest contributor is habitat loss.

Oscar Venter, author of a study on disappearing wilderness, says that undisturbed forests are critical to wildlife survival. But farming, forestry, industrial and urban development, mining, and dam construction are all consuming or destroying wildlife habitat. In fact, between 2000 and 2013, an estimated

216,000 square kilometres of forests were disturbed or fragmented by human activity. That’s an area four times the size of Nova Scotia.

Meanwhile, the forests, lakes, wetlands, and coastal areas in our national parks are no longer a safe haven, either. A January report by Parks Canada states that only half of the ecosystems in national parks across the country are in good condition. The rest are ranked fair to poor.

Banff, for example, has listed its forests, freshwater, and tundra in only fair condition. The Alberta park receives four million visitors a year, a human footprint that can’t help but impact the integrity of its ecosystems.

The Trouble With SARA

Another finding of the Living Planet Report? Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) doesn’t effectively protect endangered species.

The Act was passed in 2002 to identify and protect wildlife at risk of extinction. Yet the report found that the 87 species in the study protected under SARA declined by 63 percent over the research period.

Lack of political will partly explains SARA’s failure to protect our at-risk species. In many cases, the

government takes a long time to decide whether to accept a scientific recommendation to list a species. Then, there are often further long delays between listing it and taking action.

For example, the woodland caribou, which ranges across much of Northern and Eastern Canada, was listed as threatened in 2003, but its “recovery strategy” wasn’t released until 2012. During this time, development activities continued to damage key woodland caribou habitat, and the population continued to plummet. And actual action plans to help the woodland caribou recover aren’t due from the provinces and territories until the end of 2017.

“In the last decade, the Species at Risk Act was ineffectual,” says Sarah Otto, a biology professor at UBC. “Until the new [federal Liberal] government, there had really only been nine species of the hundreds we know to be at risk who had gone through the whole process to be protected.”

University of Victoria marine biologist Julia Baum agrees. “It’s like the house is on fire, you call the fire department, and they sit there for ten years twiddling their thumbs and debating whether or not they should put the fire out.”

2017/2018 • Issue 2 What in the World? • Level 2 - 1 -

A Question Of Jurisdiction

There’s another problem. Even when the federal government designates a species as endangered, it doesn’t have jurisdiction over the habitats in which the animals live.

“The vast majority of activities that pose threats – agriculture, mining, forestry, hydroelectric dams – all of these things are under provincial jurisdiction,” says C. Scott Findlay, a biology professor at the University of Ottawa who has studied SARA.

Though the provinces and territories have species at risk laws that

correspond to SARA, they aren’t as stringent. SARA does have clauses that can compel compliance, but the federal government has yet to use them.

“Just because you have a piece of legislation doesn’t mean that you’re going to have action on the ground and in the water and that’s what ultimately matters,” Mr. Findlay says.

How Can We Stop It?

So what can be done to turn the situation around? The WWF’s report made three main recommendations. First, we need to do more research on

how wildlife is being impacted by and is responding to climate change so we can take appropriate action. Second, all levels of government need to collaborate to protect, restore and expand wildlife habitat. And finally, SARA needs to be retooled to cover not just wildlife, but the habitat it needs to survive.

Otherwise, warns Ms. Otto, the future will be grim. “We are going to lose species. We are going to lose ecosystems. We’re going to lose precious natural spaces. And if we don’t act we’re going to lose a lot more.”

Did You Know?The World Wildlife Fund’s Canadian study is the first since 2007. It took two years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

How The Species at Risk Act WorksThere are currently more than 700 species on SARA’s list. Each has been assigned a status reflecting the population’s degree of risk:

• Special Concern: may become threatened or endangered• Threatened: likely to become endangered if nothing is done• Endangered: facing extirpation or extinction• Extirpated: no longer found in the wild • Extinct: a species that no longer exists

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is made up of wildlife experts and scientists. It makes recommendations which the government assesses before any species is added to the list. Once a species is designated as being at risk, the government is obliged to prepare an action plan to protect and recover the species and its habitats.

compliance: the practice of obeying a law, rule, or requestcomprehensive: complete; including all or nearly all elements or aspects of somethingecosystem: a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environmenthabitat: the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organismineffectual: lacking in power or forcefulness; producing no result or effectintegrity: the quality of being in a good condition, without any damage

invasive species: any species that has been introduced to an environment where it is not native, and that has since become a nuisance through rapid spread and increase in numbers, often to the detriment of native speciesjurisdiction: the power or right to govern an arealegislation: a law, or set of lawsmagnitude: great size, importance, or effectsafe haven: a place of refuge or securitystringent: having a very severe effect, or being very limitingvertebrate: an animal with a backbone, for example a mammal, bird, or fish


On The Lines

Answer the following in complete sentences:

1. Which conservation organization released an important study in mid-September? What was the name of the report?

2. What did this study look at and what did it conclude?

3. What did the report find was the largest contributing reason for this decline?

4. Describe the general condition of Canada’s national parks.

5. Explain what SARA is and how it is supposed to work.

6. What did the recent report conclude about the SARA process? Explain why this is happening.

7. What other problem has the federal government encountered in protecting at-risk species?

8. Explain the three main recommendations of the WWF report.

Between The LinesAn inference is a conclusion drawn from evidence. A plausible inference is supported by evidence in the article and is consistent with known facts outside of the article.

What inference(s) can you draw from the fact that governments are taking so long to prepare their action plans?

Beyond The LinesWhile about half of the species tracked by the Living Planet Report Canada declined by an average of 83 percent between 1970 and 2104, our nation is actually doing much better than the global average. If we count all 903 species WWF Canada studied, there was an eight percent total decrease over the 44 years studied. Globally, the decline is closer to 50 percent. Read “Earth Has Lost Half of its Wildlife in the Past Forty Years” at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/29/earth-lost-50-wildlife-in-40-years-wwf. Conduct more research into the issue. How do the causes, consequences, and potential solutions differ globally, as compared to the Canadian story you just read?

Just Talk About It1. The Living Planet Report Canada was the first study of its kind since 2007. It took two years to complete and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. As you see it, is this time and money well-spent? Why or why not?

2. What if... all of Canada’s wildlife disappeared?

3. a) What is your understanding of the reasons why many of Canada’s wildlife populations are declining?

b) Brainstorm a list of steps that you could take to help support Canada’s wildlife. Then, choose the one that is most do-able and would have the most impact – and follow through on it.

On LineNote: The links below are listed at www.lesplan.com/en/links for easy access.

1. Read the full report at http://www.wwf.ca/newsroom/reports/lprc.cfm

2. Watch a one minute video that introduces the report at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwatZ23n-E8

3. Watch CBC’s coverage of the report from The National at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q5WMxpJRUc

4. Watch a three-minute BBC News clip about WWF’s global Living Planet Index and the findings of a 50-percent wildlife decline over the last 40 years at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixsfYICRAwQ

5. Follow daily WWF updates on Twitter at @WWFCanada

6. Go deep and read the Species at Risk Act at http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-15.3/2017/2018 • Issue 2 What in the World? • Level 2 - 3 -


The Desperate Plight of the Rohingya

The United Nations (UN) calls the Rohingya of Myanmar the world’s most persecuted people – and recent events seem to support this description.

Since late August, the Rohingya have been running for their lives, trying to escape government security forces who are burning their villages and shooting their people. At least 400 Rohingya have died in the violence, while more than 400,000 have streamed out of Myanmar on foot. According to the government, nearly 200 Rohingya villages – about 30 percent of the total in the Southeast Asian nation – have been emptied by “clearance operations.”

“The situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” said the top human rights official at the UN.

Most of the refugees have fled to Bangladesh. Others have taken to dangerous seas in hopes of reaching Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. However, these neighbouring countries have been reluctant to take the Rohingya in, fearing that they won’t be able to cope with the influx. Bangladesh, for instance, already hosts 750,000 Rohingya refugees, many of whom left Myanmar before

this current crisis began.

Who Are The Rohingya?

Most Rohingya are Muslims living in largely Buddhist Myanmar. Before this latest exodus, about 1.1 million Rohingya made up about one-third of the population of Rakhine State on Myanmar’s northwest coast.

Scholars say the Rohingya have lived in Myanmar since at least the 12th century when their Indian, Chinese, and Arab ancestors migrated to the region. Many were also encouraged to move there from surrounding countries by the British after that nation took control of the region early in the 19th century.

A Stateless People

The Rohingya believe they have a right to live in Myanmar in peace, yet the government refuses to recognize them as one of the country’s 135 ethnic groups. It considers them to be foreign, illegal migrants of Bengali origin. So, it restricts their ability to study, work, travel, marry, practice their religion, and access health services.

The Rohingya are also banned from voting, and were stripped of Myanmar citizenship in 1982. That means that

they can’t get passports – and that they are the largest stateless group in the world.

A History Of Persecution

Discrimination against the Rohingya has gone on since at least since 1948 when Myanmar – then known as Burma – gained independence from Britain. Why? Partly because they’re different. The Rohingya’s culture, language, and religion set them apart from the majority of the population. Lack of money and underdevelopment play a role, too. According to the World Bank, more than 78 percent of households in Rakhine State live below the poverty line. The majority population resents competing for scarce resources with this minority.

Tensions Escalate

Over the decades, the discrimination has worsened, and since the 1970s, vigilantes and Myanmar government security forces have frequently attacked the Rohingya.

In 2012, after ethnic riots killed hundreds of Rohingya and forced more than 140,000 others into squalid camps, some Rohingya decided to fight back. They formed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and trained as militants.


On August 25, ARSA attacked police posts, killing 12 officers. It was the second attack in a year by this resistance group, and it sparked the current fierce response from security forces and civilian mobs.

Aung San Suu Kyi

In the midst of this violence, the world has been looking to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to speak up for the Rohingya.

Ms. Suu Kyi, who came to power in November 2015, spent most of her time from 1989 to 2010 under house arrest for trying to bring democracy to Myanmar, which was then ruled by the military.

She faced down soldiers pointing guns directly at her – and her efforts paid off in 2012 when the military allowed, for the first time, mostly-free elections. She was even given honorary Canadian citizenship and

awarded the Nobel Prize for peace because judges said she represented “an outstanding example of the power of the powerless.”

Yet Ms. Suu Kyi has refused to side with the Rohingya. Instead, she claims her government is defending all the people of Rakhine, and that she is the victim of “fake news”. Security forces are not targeting civilians, her government says, but rather a group of terrorists that claim to protect the Rohingya but are actually militants wanting to create an Islamic state.

“We know very well, more than most, what it means to be deprived of human rights and democratic protection,” her government said in a statement, adding that many photographs that seem to show the suffering of the Rohingya are “simply the tip of a huge iceberg of misinformation calculated to create a lot of problems... with the

aim of promoting... terrorists.”

Stinging Criticism

Analysts agree that it would be politically difficult for Ms. Suu Kyi to denounce the crackdown on the Rohingya because her civilian government has no authority over the powerful military. Still, countries around the world spoke out strongly against her refusal to support the Rohingya.

For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the government to “end the military operations, allow unhindered humanitarian access and recognize the right of refugees to return in safety and dignity.”

“[Myanmar] must also address the grievances of the Rohingya, whose status has been left unresolved for far too long,” he said.

MyanmarThe Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has a population of nearly 53 million people. It is bordered by Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Laos, and China, and is about the size of Alberta.

Previously an independent kingdom, Myanmar was annexed by the British Empire in 1886. Japan invaded and occupied the country during World War II, but it was returned to British control until independence in 1948.

The military ran the country between 1962 and 2011. During this time, the generals in control inflicted human rights abuses and turned the international community against them. However, in recent years they have gradually let go of some power, making it possible for Aung San Suu Kyi to rule.

annex: to take control of a country or region by forceBengali: a major ethnic and linguistic group in South AsiaBuddhist: of or relating to a religion of eastern and central Asia growing out of the teaching of Siddhārtha Gautama that suffering is inherent in life and that one can be liberated from it by cultivating wisdom, virtue, and concentrationethnic cleansing: the mass expulsion or killing of members of an unwanted ethnic or religious group in a society.influx: a large number of people or things coming to a particular placemigrant: someone who travels to a different place or country in order to live there

Muslim: someone who follows or practices Islam, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Muslims consider the Quran, their holy book, to be the word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet and messenger Muhammad. persecute: to subject (someone) to hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefssqualid: dirty, run-down, and repulsiveUnited Nations: an international organization formed in 1945 to increase political and economic cooperation among 193 member-countries. The UN works on economic and social development programs, improving human rights and reducing global conflicts.


vigilante: someone who tries to catch and punish criminals by themselves, without waiting for the police


On The Lines


1. What is the population of Myanmar?

2. List at least four other important facts about this country.

3. How long have the Rohingya lived in this country?

4. How many Rohingya lived in the northern part of Myanmar before the current crisis?

5. Explain why this ethnic group has faced discrimination and persecution over the decades.

6. Describe how Myanmar’s government sees the Rohingya. What restrictions have been imposed on this ethnic group?

7. What happened in 2012? What did some Rohingya do as a result?

8. What did members of this militant group do in late August?

9. How did the government respond to these attacks? Describe what happened to many Rohingya.

10. Where did most of the Rohingya go?

Beyond The LinesMany of the world’s problems today can be traced back to decisions made by colonial powers like Britain and France. But what exactly is colonialism? What other countries besides Britain and France established colonies? What explanations can you offer for this behaviour? In your opinion, what responsibility (if any) do these one-time rulers of now-troubled lands still have? Explain.

Just Talk About It1. Consider the following quote: “The bottom line is this, moral authority is one thing. He who controls the barrel of the gun in Myanmar is another.” (former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd)

a) As you see it, what is Mr. Rudd saying about the current situation in Myanmar? Explain.

b) In your opinion, can a nation be a true democracy if the military is not controlled by elected civilians?

2. What if... you were not a citizen of any country?

3. In what ways might poverty fuel hatred and violence? Explain.

4. a) Bangladesh is a poor nation. As you see it, what is Bangladesh’s responsibility to the Rohingya refugees? What is the world’s responsibility?

b) If you were Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, how would you respond to the Rohingya refugee crisis? Explain.

5. a) What is your understanding of the term ‘genocide’? Use a dictionary to help you define this term, if necessary.

b) What evidence is there in the article that supports the view that the Myanmar government is committing genocide? What evidence refutes this view? Explain.

6. Imagine that you are Aung San Suu Kyi, writing in your journal about the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar. What are your inner thoughts about this crisis? How do they compare with your outer actions? Explain.

7. An old adage says One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. What is your understanding of this adage? As you see it, how might this adage relate to the situation in Myanmar? Explain.

8. ARSA has done more harm to the Rohingya than good by turning to violence. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons to support your response.



1. Read “Myanmar Follows Global Pattern in How Ethnic Cleansing Begins” from the New York Times at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/world/asia/myanmar-rohingya-ethnic-cleansing.html?mcubz=1

2. Watch (and fact check) Aung San Suu Kyi’s statement at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/20/fact-check-aung-san-suu-kyi-rohingya-crisis-speech-myanmar

3. Read a Vox explainer of the crisis at https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/18/16312054/rohingya-muslims-myanmar-refugees-violence

4. Learn more about the ARSA at http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/12/asia/arsa-rohingya-militants-who-are-they/index.html

5. See a Child Wellbeing snapshot of Rakhine State from UNICEF at https://www.unicef.org/myanmar/Rakhine_State_Profile_Final.pdf


A Violent Hurricane Season

An angry Mother Nature left a deep and ugly scar on Caribbean islands and the Southern United States during this year’s dangerous and historic hurricane season.

In less than one month, three storms – Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria – descended with brutal and deadly force on the U.S. Gulf Coast. They whipped through cities, farms and nations, turning streets into raging rivers, crumpling buildings like paper, and leaving total devastation in their wake.

In late September, authorities were still counting the dead.

Harvey Roars to Life

The first hurricane, Harvey, began as a tropical storm on August 17. It formed in the Lesser Antilles, a group of smaller islands in the southeast region of the Caribbean Sea. In just 56 hours, it grew to a raging Category 4 menace, lumbering toward the Texas coast. It slammed into the town of Rockport on August 25. In the eye of the storm, winds were clocked at about 210 kilometres per hour.

“The whole town of Rockport is demolished. My home was just one of many,” said Chantal Yendiree, whose house was largely destroyed when the roof was ripped off. “This is a disaster.”

Despite its ferocity, Harvey moved slowly, saving a terrible August 26 punch for Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S.

Counting the Costs

Maya Wadler, 17, was just one of the millions of Texans caught up in Harvey’s rage.

“It bubbled up from the doors,” she said, “seeped in from the windows, everywhere you turned there would just be a new flowing puddle. It just kept filling. It passed the outlets. I was so scared, we didn’t know what would happen.”

Her family climbed into a boat and floated to an emergency truck, where they were rescued.

Soon, Harvey weakened to a tropical storm, but it was far from finished. It pummelled Houston for four days, dumping nearly 1.3 metres of rain – a national record for a single storm. Then, over the next few days, its strength lessened further as it moved through eastern Texas and Louisiana.

When it was all over, at least 82 people had died of storm-related causes.

Irma’s Caribbean Attack

Texas was just beginning its long road to recovery when another brute, Irma, began developing as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa. By August 31,

it was a Category 5 hurricane, racing toward the Caribbean.

By September 6, the most powerful storm ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean was leaving destruction everywhere. It ravaged the Caribbean islands with astonishing 300 kilometre-per-hour winds, impacting over one million people and leaving at least 44 dead.

Total Devastation

Irma hit hard in Anguilla, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as in Turks and Caicos. Up to 95 percent of the structures on these islands were at least partly damaged.

On the U.S. Virgin Islands, Laura Strickling, her husband, and 1-year-old daughter cowered in a boarded-up basement apartment as Irma passed. When they came out, they found the island in pieces.

Barbuda, which had 1600 residents, suffered the worst of Irma’s fury on September 6. The eye of the storm passed directly over it, wiping out nearly every building. Officials recorded a 2.5-metre storm surge. In mid-September, the island still had no electricity or water service, and not a single person was living there.

In Cuba on September 8, 13 of the


country’s 15 provinces felt Irma’s wrath. The storm destroyed buildings and crops, contaminated water supplies, and left some flooded regions isolated long after the hurricane had passed.

Next Victim: Florida

Irma was still a dangerous Category 4 hurricane when it crashed into the Florida Keys – a string of small tropical islands stretching some 200 kilometres off the southern tip of Florida – on September 10. Winds estimated at about 210 kilometres per hour swept across the islands, hammering the Keys and causing four-metre storm surges.

The hurricane lost strength on its way up the peninsula, but it still caused significant damage. Cities like Miami and Jacksonville suffered flooding, and some 60 percent of homes across Florida had no power. Electric pumps at wastewater stations shut down, too, causing more than 106 million litres of treated and untreated sewage to be released in 22 counties.

The storm also drenched Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. In the end, at least 42 people died in Florida and eight died in other affected states.

New Monster: Maria

The total price tag to repair the damage caused by Harvey and Irma in the United States? At least $290 billion. U.S. President Donald Trump

paid visits to both Texas and Florida and pledged that the government would find the funds to help the victims of these natural disasters.

As for the Caribbean islands ripped apart by Irma, they had no time to heal. Maria, the second Category 5 storm of the season, struck there on September 18.

It first battered the Caribbean nation of Dominica. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit had to be rescued from his official residence there. He said he saw roofs flying off houses.

“We will need help, my friend, we will need help of all kinds,” he said, describing the damage as “mind-boggling.”

Puerto Rico In Crisis

Puerto Rico, however, was hardest hit by this monster. On September 20, the Category 4 hurricane levelled this U.S. territory, home to 3.4 million citizens. It was the strongest storm to hit the island in 80 years, and the fifth-strongest ever to hit the United States.

Five days after Maria passed through, communications with the island were still difficult. Cell phones weren’t working and neither was the Internet. Power was out on the entire island and may stay that way for months. One spokesperson from the Puerto Rican government said that the territory has “full communities” where “80 or 90

percent of the homes” are “totally lost.”

“Whenever I walk through San Juan,” said Carmen Yulín Cruz, a mayor in Puerto Rico, “I see the “sheer pain in people’s eyes… They’re kind of glazed, not because of what has happened but because of the difficulty of what will come.

“What I would ask is not only for Puerto Rico, but for the entire Caribbean that has been hit so hard by this: Do not forget us and do not let us feel alone,” she said.

Joining Together

Certainly, individuals and governments have been doing what they can to help out. People from all backgrounds, colours, and cultures stepped up to help their neighbours. Nations, including Canada, the Netherlands, and Great Britain have sent essential items like water purifiers, as well as troops, to affected regions. And in the U.S, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided food, water, and help to affected Americans.

Yet even as the rebuilding got underway, many were taking note of another alarming fact: there were still two months remaining in hurricane season.

Did You Know?Many oil refineries and chemical plants are located on the Texas Gulf Coast. Harvey flooded or damaged more than 50 of them, causing about a year’s worth of pollutants – including carcinogens like benzene – to be released into the environment.

carcinogen: a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissuestorm surge: an unusual, often destructive rise in sea level in a coastal area, caused by a combination of low atmospheric pressure and strong winds

tropical storm: a cyclonic storm originating in the tropics and having winds ranging from 63 to 117 kilometres per hourtropical wave: an elongated area of relatively low air pressure that moves across the tropics causing cloudiness and thunderstorms


On The Lines


1. Name the three monster storms that hit the Caribbean and the United States in recent weeks.

2. Describe how the first storm formed and gathered strength.

3. Where and when did this storm make landfall? How powerful was it when it hit?

4. What did this storm do next? Describe the damage it caused and the reason why this happened.

5. Describe how the second storm formed and gathered strength. How strong did it become?

6. Describe the impact of this hurricane on the Caribbean. Which island suffered the most damage?

7. Where did this storm strike next? Describe the damage that it caused.

8. Describe the third storm that struck the Caribbean. Which island was hit first?

9. Which island suffered the most damage? Describe what happened on this territory.


What inference(s) can you draw from the fact that hurricanes that hit the Caribbean islands and the United States in the past resulted in a greater loss of life than these three new, extremely powerful ones?

Beyond The LinesConsider the following quote from TV legend Fred Rogers: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

a) What does this quote mean to you?

b) Go online to find a few inspiring stories of how human beings came together to help one another during the three hurricanes.

c) Write about a time that someone helped you, your family, or a friend through a time of crisis. What did their help mean to you? Explain.

Just Talk About It1. As you see it, what is the significance of this story? Explain.

2. As you see it, who should be responsible for the rebuilding and repairing that’s required after a natural disaster such as a hurricane? Give reasons to support your response.

3. What reasons can you suggest to explain why authorities urged some 6.5 million people to evacuate Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma, but didn’t encourage Houston residents to evacuate before Hurricane Harvey hit? Explain.

4. Even when authorities were urging people to flee ahead of Irma, some chose to stay in their homes.

a) What reasons can you suggest to explain why these people didn’t leave?

b) If you lived in a city that was about to be hit by a hurricane, what would you do: stay, or go? Give reasons to support your response.

5. Experts are saying that it could take months to restore power to all of the 3.4 million citizens of Puerto Rico following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria. Have you ever had to go an extended period of time without power? What do you think will be the biggest challenges for citizens who do not have access to electricity? Why?



1. Watch satellite imagery of Hurricane Harvey’s birth at

http://www.weather.gov/crp/hurricane_harvey

2. See photos of the havoc and heroism that Hurricane Harvey brought out in Texas at http: L/www.cnn.com/2017/08/26/us/gallery/hurricane-harvey/index.html

3. Watch CNN videos that detail the destructive power of Hurricane Irma at http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/15/americas/irma-barbuda-population-trnd/index.html

4. Watch the video “A Walk Through Dominica, Hours After Hurricane Maria,” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkn1jYP0Nmg

5. Read about the lingering health risks that were ushered in by the hurricanes at https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/9/19/16325044/hurricane-2017-health-risks-irma-harvey-pollution-mold-mosquitoes-depression


All About Hurricanes

Hurricanes are very strong tropical storms that occur in the Atlantic Ocean. They consist of a large system of powerful winds that circulate around a centre of low barometric pressure and move along the Earth’s surface with a counterclockwise rotation in the northern hemisphere and a clockwise rotation in the southern hemisphere.

Hurricanes cause strong winds, heavy rains, and often storm surges. These phenomena can cause major destruction, especially when a hurricane’s path takes it over land.

How Do Hurricanes Form?

Hurricanes begin over tropical waters west of Africa, near the Cape Verde islands. When sea-surface temperatures in this region are above 26.5 degrees Celsius, water vapour from the ocean rises, creating an inward movement of air. The air begins to spiral toward the centre of the disturbance, moving faster and faster the larger the storm gets. As long as winds in the upper atmosphere do not produce a shear force to disrupt the system, the storm can increase in height and breadth until it reaches hurricane status, gaining strength as it moves westward toward the Caribbean and picking up energy

from the warm Atlantic waters.

Measuring a Hurricane’s Strength

Hurricanes are categorized by the intensity of their wind speeds using the Saffir-Simpson scale, which rates the severity of hurricanes as a measure of the damage they can cause.

The scale runs from Category 1 through Category 5 in order of increasing intensity. A Category 1 storm has wind speeds of 119 to 153 kilometres per hour and causes minimal damage. A Category 4 storm is considered extreme, with the ability to knock down walls, tear off roofs, wreck mobile homes, and flood coastal and lowland areas. A Category 5 storm packs winds of 250 kilometres per hour or greater and causes catastrophic damage.

Naming Hurricanes

Forecasters began naming hurricanes and tropical storms in 1950 to provide easier communication between them and the general public in areas regarding forecasts, watches, and warnings.

Each year, a potential list of names is prepared for the upcoming hurricane season, containing a name for each letter of the alphabet – except the letters Q, U, X, Y, Z, since not many

names begin with those letters. Male and female names are used alternately. These lists are recycled every six years, although if a hurricane causes extensive damage, its name is retired from use.

Hurricane Season

In the Atlantic, hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, but the most intense storms mainly occur between mid-August and mid-October.

In early August, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Centre predicted a hurricane season with above-normal activity. Scientists said there would be between 14 and 19 named storms. Of these, between five and nine were expected to strengthen to hurricane force and up to five would emerge as major hurricanes.

So far, the predictions are on track. Harvey was the eighth named storm for the season; Irma was the ninth; Maria, the thirteenth.

Reasons For The Disaster

Some meteorologists say that this year’s unusually severe storms may simply be the result of various natural cycles. But many more argue that it is becoming increasingly clear that


global warming is a factor. They say that warmer ocean temperatures are causing larger hurricanes that are producing more rain, stronger winds, and higher storm surges.

“The reason hurricanes form to begin with is there’s a tremendous amount of energy stored in the ocean in the form of heat,” says Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. “Nature doesn’t like these imbalances, so what it tries to do is

dissipate or rebalance some of that heat. That creates the environment for hurricanes.”

However, other researchers say that people shouldn’t spend time arguing about the role of climate change in these natural disasters. The cause of destructive hurricanes is less important than decisions that people make about where and how to build cities, and how they live their lives.

“The hurricane is just a storm, it is not the disaster,” says Dr. Ilan Kelman, at

the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction and Institute for Global Health at University College London. “The disaster is the fact that [the] Houston population has increased by 40 percent since 1990. The disaster is the fact that many people were too poor to afford insurance or evacuate.

“Climate change did not make people build along vulnerable coastlines so the disaster itself is our choice and is not linked to climate change,” he argues.

Did You Know?In the northwest Pacific Ocean, hurricanes are known as typhoons; in the southwest Pacific and Indian Oceans, they’re called cyclones.

About Global Warming The Earth is supposed to be warm. Heat-trapping, or ‘greenhouse’ gases exist naturally in the air around the Earth. There, they trap and hold the sun’s heat. This warms our planet and makes life possible.

The problem, however, is that this natural warming system – known as the greenhouse effect – has been thrown out of balance over the last 200 years. More greenhouse gases are gathering in the atmosphere than naturally exist there.

What’s causing this imbalance? Humans. By burning fossil fuels to run cars, heat homes, and make products, people are continually adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Rotting garbage also gives off methane gas, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. And cutting down trees, which absorb these emissions, makes the problem worse.

If current trends continue, melting ice will cause ocean levels to continue rising. Low-lying areas around the world will flood. Many animal and plant species will become extinct. Fresh water supplies will dwindle, and the world will experience more intense weather more often. Droughts – which are already more frequent – will grow longer and more intense. Worse still, scientists warn of a “tipping point” when methane released from permafrost, even in the absence of man-made CO2, will be enough to keep the planet warming, thus releasing even more methane. Such a feedback loop would be unstoppable.

If nothing is done, under current trends, the rise in average global temperatures will be between 5˚C and 6˚C by 2100. To achieve a goal of keeping warming below 2˚C the world needs to reduce global emissions by 40 to 70 percent by 2050 compared to 2010 levels. By 2100, emissions must drop to zero.

dissipate: to gradually disappear by becoming less strongpermafrost: ground that stays permanently frozen, for example in the polar regionsshear force: a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere

storm surge: an unusual, often destructive rise in sea level in a coastal area, caused by a combination of low atmospheric pressure and strong winds


On The Lines


1. Explain what a hurricane is.

2. List three characteristics of a hurricane.

3. What are these types of storms called in other regions of the world?

4. Where do hurricanes form?

5. Explain how they form.

6. When is hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean?

7. How do meteorologists categorize hurricanes? Explain.

8. Why do meteorologists name hurricanes?

9. According to many scientists, how are climate change and storm intensity connected? Explain.


What inference(s) can you draw from the fact that ocean temperatures are rising?

Beyond The Lines On the NASA website (https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov//cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=11874) find out as much as you can about average hurricane duration and intensity for each of the past five decades. Graph your data. What are your observations? What hypotheses can you make? How would you go about proving your hypotheses to a scientist? Explain.

Just Talk About It1. a) What is your understanding of how hurricanes form? Explain.

b) Why do some scientists believe there is a connection between hurricane size and strength, and global warming? Explain.

2. For what reasons could you agree with Dr. Kelman’s position that the disaster caused by hurricanes is our choice and not linked to climate change? For what reasons could you disagree? Explain.


1. Watch a PBS Explainer called “Engines of Destruction: The Science of Hurricanes” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtu2_ziBI_w

2. Watch “Hurricanes 101” from National Geographic at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP4rgvu4xDE

3. Watch a video explaining how hurricanes get their names at https://www.nbcnews.com/better/video/how-hurricanes-are-named-1052724291881

4. Embrace complexity by reading “Hurricanes and Climate Change” from PBS’ NOVA at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/hurricanes-climate.html5. Watch a Vox investigation called “Why a Storm Surge Can Be the Deadliest Part of a Hurricane” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ5C7TsBsao

