Environmental Issues of Latin America The Neotropics

							Environmental
Issues of Latin
   America

 The Neotropics
 Struggle Between
   Economy And
   Environment
•Latin America has the benefit
 of seeing other regions
 mistakes and trying to avoid
 them
•Economic Pressures make
 that a difficult task
     Mexico’s
  Central Plateau
•Very attractive for
 settlement:
 –Year round mild temps
 –Rich, volcanic soil
 –Ample water supply
    Mexico’s
 Central Plateau
•Ironic that the
 topography that
 grants all that good
 creates a lot of bad
Mexico City Smog
Mexico City Smog
 Water Problems
•Scarcity
 –Many of the large lakes
  were filled or drained for
  farm land
•Pollution
 –Unlined canals leaking
  into aquifers
 Water Problems
•Subsidence
 –Pumping out the aquifer
  creates instability of the
  soil
  •30 feet in the 20th century
  •Some places as much as 20
   inches in a year
  •40,000 water line ruptures a
   year
Water Problems
  Deforestation
•Different than
 deforestation in other parts
 of the world:
 –Clearing for agricultural
  land
 –Expansion of cities
 –Creation of grazing lands
   (grassification)
   Degradation of
     Farmland
•Soil Erosion
•Loss of soil fertility
•Large farming corporations
 force the little guy onto
 unstable hillsides etc.
•Poor use of pesticides
 –Health problems
 –Water contamination
 Urban Problems
•Squatter settlements
 in danger from
 industrial waste
 –1984 fire in Cubatao Brazil
 –1985 Ammonia leak
Urban Problems
 Urban Solutions
•Cities like Curitaba
 “the Green City”
 –Planning for drainage
 –Clean public
  transportation
 –Public education on
  environmental issues
 –Recycling programs
Urban Solutions
Urban Solutions
Altitudinal Zonation
•The relationship
 between elevation,
 different temps, and
 different vegetation
•Environmental Lapse
 Rate
 –3.5 degrees / 1000 ft of
  elevation
Altitudinal Zonation
•4 levels
 –Tierra Caliente < 3000 ft
 –3000< Tierra Templada<6000
 –6000<Tierra Fria<12,000
 –12,000< Tierra Helada
Altitudinal Zonation
         El Nino
•Warm Current that brings
 increased rains to
 Ecuador and peru every
 year and big time every ten
 years
 –Brings floods and ruins crops
 –Can cause drought in the
  periphery