Then, in 1839, it was founded that through treatment with sulphur and heat, rubber's elastic properties could be made more permanent . ... From each isolated camp the gatherer cut for himself a path or Estrada through the forest, leading to perhaps as many as two hundred rubber trees . The latex tapped from these trees was brought to the camp and there formed into solid rubber balls by smoking over a slow fire. ... They will then leave the service and descend the river to Manaus, where they live as "gentlemen of leisure."" ... Since only the means of transportation were the river boat...

• Word Count: 3885
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Daniel Nepstad's team did a field survey, including 1,593 interviews with wood mill operators and landlords ("Sci/Tech Amazon forest," 1999). ... The Woods Hole Research Center's study shows that the Amazon forests are being destroyed at twice the rate as the Brazilian authorities first believed ("Amazon forest loss," 1999). ... To finish with the results, "Amazon's wealth of biodiversity is being threatened by sustainable logging, over fishing, oil and gas excursions and large-scale development projects ("The Amazon," 2002, p. 1)." ... One more difficulty to fight through i...

• Word Count: 2226
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The primary elements to be dealt with under each zone were chosen because they are considered the basic elements at all levels, from the entire planet through each of its component physical environments to the species themselves. ... Vegetation varies in size and structure (physiognomy), in its seasonal manifestation, and in how it changes over time. ... Soils are classified by the size of the particles that make them up, from the finest (clay) through increasingly coarse (silt, sand) to the coarsest (gravel), and by organic content (humus). ... The overall direction of water movement (up or...

• Word Count: 12375
• Approx Pages: 50
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate