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26th November 2015
N e w s a d e m ic .co m ™
- British English edition
page
6
During the Devonian there was far
more carbon dioxide (CO2) in the at
mosphere. Scientists believe it was
about 15 times today’s levels. Like
plants, trees take in, or absorb, CO2
from the air. By a process called
photosynthesis, they use sunlight
to turn CO2 and water into starches
and sugars. This is how trees grow,
or build up their tissues.
In the Devonian the Earth was
much warmer. This was probably
because o f the extra CO2 in the at
mosphere. Scientists suspect that
trees, like those growing in the Sval
bard forest, changed the climate.
After these trees and forests began
to expand, more and more CO2 was
taken out o f the air. This contin
ued over hundreds o f thousands of
years. The Earth started to cool. By
the end o f the Devonian, the amount
o f CO2 in the atmosphere was about
the same as it is today. □
A
r g e n t in a
'
s
n e w
p r e s id e n t
An election for the president o f Ar
gentina took place on 22nd N ovem
ber. The following day the coun
try ’s electoral commission, or the
organisation in charge o f the vote
counting, announced the results. It
declared that, with just over 51.4%
o f the votes, Mauricio Macri was
the winner.
Argentina is the second-largest
country in South America. (Brazil is
the biggest.) For many years this part
o f South America was controlled by
Spain. Independence from Spain
was declared in 1816. In the late
1800s thousands o f people from Eu
ropean countries went to live in Ar
gentina. M ost travelled from Spain
and Italy. Today, Argentina is home
to 43 million people. The county’s
official language is Spanish.
Argentina is well known for its
productive farmland. It is one o f the
biggest growers o f wheat and maize
in the world. The country also has
large herds o f beef cattle. Much of
the food that Argentina produces is
sold, or exported, to other countries.
In recent years many farmers have
decided to grow soya beans. Now, the
country is one o f the world’s biggest
soya producers. M ost is exported to
China where soya is very popular.
M auricio Macri, A rg e n tin a ’s n ew p re sident
Even though Argentina exports
large amounts o f food, the country
still has financial problems. In the
past, governments have borrowed
large amounts o f money from for
eign banks and financial organisa
tions. There have been times when
Argentina has defaulted on its debts.
This means that it has been unable
to repay the money. Today, inflation
in Argentina is believed to be about
20%. Inflation is when a currency
loses value and the cost o f most
things goes up.
M r M acri’s victory brings an
end to 12 years o f the ‘de Kirch-
n er’ presidency. Elections for Ar
gentina’s president are held every
four years. Christina Fernandez de
Kirchner won the 2007 and 2011
elections. Before 2007 her husband,
Nestor Kirchner, was the country’s
president. He died o f a heart attack
in 2010, aged 60.
Ms Fernandez de Kirchner was
not allowed to stand again. This is
because presidents in Argentina can
serve for only two successive four-
year terms. She and members o f her
political party wanted Daniel Scioli
to win. He was Argentina’s vice pres
ident when Ms Fernandez de Kirch-
ner’s husband led the country. Since
then, M r Scioli has been the gover
nor o f Buenos Aires Province. Ar
gentina is divided into 23 provinces.
The Province o f Buenos Aires is the
largest. It includes the city of Buenos
Aires, which is Argentina’s capital.
The election on 22nd November
was a run-off. Argentina has a rule
that says a person must get over 45%
o f the votes, or be ten percent in front
o f their nearest rival, to win a presi
dential election. If this does not hap
pen, a second round, or run-off, must
be held. Then, the two candidates
who got the highest number of votes
take part in this second election.
The first election was held on
25th October. M r Scioli got 36.7%
o f the votes and M r Macri 34.5%.
The third-placed candidate got
21%. So a second round had to be
arranged. This was Argentina’s first
ever run-off election. M r Scioli said
that he would govern the country
in the same way as Ms Fernandez
de Kirchner. M r Macri declared
that he would change many of
her policies. News reporters de
scribed M r Macri as the ‘business-
friendly candidate’.
As M r Scioli won the first round,
many people were surprised by the
final result. M r Macri will officially
take over from Cristina Fernandez
de Kirchner on 10th December. □
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