In this youtube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOUFd6mqioI
we learn about a World Bank project to develop a mass urban transportation system in major cities of Colombia. The project is supposed to bring a number of social and economic benefits to the people of Colombia. There is also an environmental component to the project, as trees will be planted to promote green spaces in urban areas.
The Britannica Encyclopedia writes a good entry about Foot-And-Mouth Disease (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/212824/foot-and-mouth-disease-FMD), the most economically devastating livestock disease in the world. Because the virus is so easily transmitted, ranchers and even governments must go at great length to contain outbreaks. They do this by disinfecting automobiles, cleaning roads, and monitoring traffic. Although this disease is not common in the United States, it is what ranchers in Latin America and the world fear the most.
At www.mongabay.com/brazil.html, we find an interesting website with basic but useful information about development in the Brazilian Amazon. The author details the main causes of deforestation by industry and includes a section about the role of roads in the process of deforestation. This website is particularly interesting because it goes over economic, historical, and even cultural reasons why Brazil has embraced a development approach towards the Amazon. The website belongs to Rhett Ayers Butler, a man who has completed research in Rainforests across the world. He does cite many academic journals for his data, which means he is a trustworthy source. The website has plenty of basic information on tropical forests across the world such as Borneo, Congo, New Guinea, etc.
The introduction of roads in areas inhabited by wildlife will undoubtedly put huge pressure on the local fauna. Only strong, lucky and clever individuals will be able to adapt and survive. This image shows a young owl waiting for mother owl to come back to their home, an underground water drainage network. Daily road traffic and floods are two of the major threats this owl family has to face on an everyday basis. 