HOW HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH AND RESOURCE CONSUMPTION AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT
A ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES STANDARDS BASED UNIT USING Earth Matters, Zero Population Growth's High School Curriculum
Standards:
6.9 Students examine the interrelationships among physical earth processes, ecosystems, and human activities.
7.13 Students … recognize the interdependence of all systems that support life.
7.15ee. Students understand ecological interactions and interdependence between humans and their resource demands on environmental systems.
Desired Outcomes:
Students learn:
This Standards-Based-Unit was prepared using Earth Matters, available for $19.95 from Zero Population Growth (ZPG), 1400 Sixteenth St., N.W., Suite 320, Washington, DC 20036, 1-800-POP-1956. This curriculum has 2-3 activities for each unit. The units include: population dynamics, climate change, air quality, water quality and availability, food, waste disposal, deforestation, habitat, energy use, global disparities of wealth and opportunity, economics, women, and solutions for a sustainable future.
Unit scope:
This SBU gives an overview of the issues of population growth and human impact including impacts on air quality, water quality and availability, waste disposal, and energy use. Each lesson should take one or two class periods and is designed to have a homework component.
Assessment: Each topic has opportunities for student research and writing.
Lesson One: Population Dynamics Student Reading pp. 3-5
Have students graph the populations of the U.S., Brazil, China, Japan, Kenya, and Austria (Power of the Pyramids - activity 3). I recommend breaking the class into six groups so that each group does one country. Questions are provided for homework or classroom analysis and discussion of the demographics.
Lesson Two: Water, a Renewable Resource? Student Reading pp. 51-53
Use Part Two of the Water, Water, Everywhere (activity 10) to have students assess their own water use. Activity 11 provides another learning opportunity, having students do mock trial concerning drawing water from the Colorado River. Plaintiffs and judges would need at least one or two days for research and preparation.
Lesson Three: Human Activity and Air Quality Student Reading pp. 41-43.
Activity 9 asks students to gather at least two news articles about air pollution. The students then must complete a chart listing the causes of the air pollution, the location, the effects, and the solutions. The class can then create a class chart that is a compilation of the individual accounts. Discussion questions are provided.
Lesson Four: Waste Production and Reduction Student Reading pp. 97-98
Students will weigh the waste they generate from their lunches for a week. Students will analyze how they can reduce their production of waste.
Lesson Five: Energy Consumption Student Reading pp. 117-119. This is a ambitious culminating activity (# 23) in which the students are asked to design an energy policy for the U.S. The curriculum offers a page of resources concerning energy use. For further student work, Activity 22 asks students to develop a survey about transportation habits in their community and Activity 21 has students analyze global per capita energy use.
1) Write a letter to a Congressional representative about a particular environmental issue.
2) Study local growth. Examine the balance of good jobs, social needs, and the environment. Interview a local planner about regional growth planning. Find out whether there are any local sustainable community initiatives working to balance long-term social, environmental, and economic needs. Are there indicators that your students could monitor?
*available on loan from VPA
Videos: (see Population and Sustainable Living Resource Guide for more information)
World Population * (6 minutes) ZPG - graphically depicts population growth since 1 AD
Who's Counting? * (24 minutes) National Audubon Society - explores the issues of population growth and its effect on wildlife and habitat.
Sustainable Lives, Attainable Dreams * (30 minutes) National Wildlife Federation - features family planning and sustainable development success stories in Indonesia, Kenya and Mexico.
Curricula
Adventures on Earth*, middle and high school curriculum available for $10 from the Population Reference Bureau, Inc., 1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 520, Washington, DC 20009-5728
Community Sustainability* , grades 9-12,available for $3 from the Izaak Walton League, 707 Conservation Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20878-2983 (301) 548-0150 <sustain@iwla.org> http://www.iwla.org
Connections, Linking Population and the Environment and Adventures on Earth high school curricula available for $15 from the Population Reference Bureau
Living in a Material World: Lessons on Commercialism, Consumption, and Environment, grades 8-12, Available for $15 from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300 Washington DC 20009-5728 (202)332-9110
Publications:
Population and Sustainable Living Resource Guide*, published by Vermont Population Alliance
Why Population Matters*, published by Population Action International ZPG's free Teen Pack has excellent activities concerning population growth and natural resource usage.
This Standards-Based-Unit was written by Barbara Duncan, Executive Director of Vermont Population Alliance (VPA) and member of ZPG's Population Education Network (PETNet). Ms. Duncan is a Population Mentor for the Sierra Club and is active with the National Audubon Society's Population and Habitat Program. For more information you can reach Vermont Population Alliance at P.O. Box 466, Norwich, VT 05055, 802-649-5168, <bdpop@valley.net>.
VPA has produced similar Standards Based Units using Population Reference Bureau's (PRB) high school curricula, Connections, Linking Population and the Environment and Adventures on Earth. VPA has also produced elementary and middle school Standards Based Units on human impact. VPA is available for school programs and teachers' workshops.