Discussion Guide ® Vol. 66 No. 15 Week of December 12, 2016 Danger for the Great Barrier Reef Holiday Break This is the last regular issue of Newscurrents for this year. You will receive your next issue, the Semester Quiz during the week of January 2nd. We wish you and your students a wonderful holiday season and a joyous New Year! ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Should more people eat bugs? Government halts Dakota Access Pipeline Ryan Speedo Green: From delinquent to See inside cover opera star Beavers are thriving in the U.K. Country of the Week: Guyana This Week in History: Wright brothers make first flight NewsCurrents aligns with Common Core Standards A District Administration magazine's “Readers' Choice Top 100 Products of 2016” Who Am I? ADVANCED A ) I represent California’s 12th District Can you answer this in the U.S. House as a Democrat. I have question? If not, served as the House Minority Leader since 1 here are some clues. 2011. BASIC/GENERAL B) I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. My father served as that city’s mayor, and A) I am the leader of the Democrats in the was also elected to the U.S. House. When U.S. House of Representatives. I moved to San Francisco, I worked for California’s Democratic Party. In 1987, I B) I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. After took over the House seat once held by my moving to San Francisco in 1969, I became former mentor. Since then, I have been involved in California’s Democratic Party. re-elected 10 times. I served as Speaker I have represented my San Francisco of the House from 2007 to 2011, the first district in the House since 1987. From woman to hold this important position. 2007 to 2011, I was Speaker of the House, the only woman ever to hold this position. C) In the wake of the Democratic Party’s failures in this year’s election, I faced a C) Since the Democrats lost the majority challenge to my leadership from Ohio Rep. in the House, I have served as the House Tim Ryan. However, House Democrats Minority Leader. Some people thought I voted to keep me as their leader, though might lose this job. But I recently won the a third of them voted for my challenger. vote among House Democrats to keep this Who am I? (Nancy Pelosi.) position. Who am I? (Nancy Pelosi.) 2 NEWS NAMES, NEWS PLACES, NEWS WOrdS News Names: News Words: Army Corps of Engineers — U.S. acidification — Raising the level of acid government agency under the in a liquid Department of Defense; maintains baritone — Male vocal part lower than U.S. waterways and other tenor and higher than bass environmental resources coral — Invertebrate marine animals Dave Archambault II — Chairman of with hard outer skeletons made of Standing Rock Sioux calcium David A. Granger — Current president dam — Barrier restricting the flow of of Guyana water or other substances Malcolm Turnbull — Current prime entomophagy — Practice of eating minister of Australia insects among humans Orville and Wilbur Wright — Brothers macaw — Species of parrot with long who built and flew the first powered tail, curved beak, and brightly- airplane colored feathers Ryan Speedo Green — Opera singer polyp — In zoology, a group or colony of originally from Virginia tiny creatures quintillion — Large number equal to News Places: a billion billion, indicated by one followed by 18 zeroes Australia territorial — Intent on defending living Guyana space from outside threats North Carolina North Dakota United Kingdom Virginia 2 NewsCurrents Week of December 12, 2016 Copyright 2016 Knowledge Unlimited Danger for the Great Barrier Reef Pollution and climate change have ruined miles of this coral reef. The picture here shows a where is it? BASIC coral reef. It looks like a huge (In the ocean underwater rock covered with plants and near Australia.) starfish. But coral reefs are actually made Hundreds of of tiny living animals called polyps — PAWL- miles of coral 3 ips — that live together in groups. These in the Great polyps surround themselves with a very Barrier Reef died in 2016. The main reason hard covering. Over time, this hard covering is warmer water temperatures. Pollution forms a large structure: a coral reef. Many is also a big problem. There is also a ocean plants, fish, and other creatures make higher level of acid in ocean water. What their homes in, on, and around coral reefs. is this called? (Ocean acidification.) Acid Why is this a good place for them to live? in the ocean makes coral weak. It is The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral happening because oceans are absorbing reef in the world. From the map here, more carbon dioxide from the air. NEXT GENERAL The Great Barrier Reef is Australian scientists say 2016 has been one of the most important the worst year in recent history for the Great natural areas in the world. Located just Barrier Reef. Hundreds of miles of coral off the northeastern coast of Australia, died this year due to much warmer ocean it is the largest coral reef in the world. It temperatures. They are also threatened by is about 1,600 miles long, and provides water pollution and ocean acidification. homes for thousands of underwater plants, Carbon dioxide pollution is causing ocean fish, and other animals that depend on the water to change its chemical makeup. The reef for food. world’s oceans soak up carbon dioxide like Do you know what coral is? While they a giant sponge. This leads to too much may look like they are made of rock, coral acid in the water. Acidification robs ocean reefs are actually made up of tiny living water of calcium, which coral needs to grow creatures. Each one of these creatures is strong. Losing the Great Barrier Reef would called a coral polyp. The polyps join together be a disaster for Australia. Why? (Loss in groups called colonies. Each polyp of tourism, loss of fish, and so on.) Prime works to form its own hard outer shell, or Minister Malcolm Turnbull has committed exoskeleton. Over thousands of years, the nearly $1 billion to help the Great Barrier exoskeletons from these different corals Reef. Is this enough to save the Great become larger structures called coral reefs. Barrier Reef? NEXT Why is it a problem if they are in danger? ADVANCED Australian scientists have groups called colonies. Over thousands of issued a study claiming years, the exoskeletons from these different that this year has seen the biggest coral coral polyps become larger structures die-off in recent history on the Great called coral reefs. These reefs are home Barrier Reef. This massive underwater to thousands of species of underwater ridge is very important to the environment plants, fish, and other animals. They can and the economy of Australia and the be found all over the world, mostly in world. But if scientists cannot reverse shallow ocean waters. recent trends, we may lose one of the The recent study found hundreds of world’s greatest natural treasures. miles of bleached-out and dead coral The Great Barrier Reef stretches for along the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists about 1,600 miles along the northeastern blame the problem on warmer water coast of Australia. It is the largest coral temperatures and man-made carbon reef in the world. What is coral made dioxide pollution, which leads to ocean of? (Tiny living organisms, most just a few acidification. Acidification leaches calcium centimeters in length.) Coral reefs are made from ocean water and weakens coral of individual tiny animals called polyps. reefs. Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm These polyps excrete a hard substance to Turnbull has pledged nearly $1 billion to form a protective shell. What is another help fix these problems. Will $1 billion be word for this kind of hard outer shell? enough? NEXT (Exoskeleton.) Coral polyps organize into Copyright 2016 Knowledge Unlimited NewsCurrents Week of December 12, 2016 3 Danger for the Great Barrier Reef (cont'd) Coral reefs are very important in many different ways. The coral reef shown here is of the world’s BASIC healthy and beautiful. About fishing is 25 percent of all the fish in the world live in done on coral coral reefs. How much is 25 percent? (It reefs. People means one out of every four fish live near a find valuable reef.) There are many plants and animals minerals and 4 that use coral reefs as their homes. There chemicals near reefs. And many people is a word for places where many different travel to coral reefs to go scuba diving. things live together. Do you know the Would you like to go on a scuba diving word? (Biodiversity.) What do you think trip to a coral reef? When you add it happens if a reef is destroyed? Coral all up, coral reefs are worth about $375 reefs also protect shorelines, breaking billion to humans every year. Can you see up big ocean waves so they are not why they are called the “rainforests of as big when they hit the shore. Much the ocean”? NEXT GENERAL Coral reefs, like the healthy waves before they reach the shore. What one shown here, are found happens in places where the reefs are all around the world’s oceans. They are worn down or gone? (Larger waves hit usually located in shallow waters, but coastal communities harder.) Millions of sometimes extend deeper. Taken all people make their living from coral reefs together, coral reefs take up less than through fishing, although some of them one-tenth of one percent of the ocean fish in irresponsible ways.