Population Dynamics Project

Good morning, everyone.


YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TODAY is to make certain you are working.  Text me if you have questions.  The teacher in the room today will make certain attendance is done,  walk around to make sure you are on-task, and will let me know if you are off-task.   I TRUST YOUR ABILITIES.

1. Make sure you have contributed to the quick topic on Friday's blog post before doing anything else.  Your answers should be related to the countries you chose and their biomes.
2. Choose either the country that has an expansive population pyramid or the constrictive population pyramid.  Find out more about your country by looking at the CIA Factbook, UNESCO, and the World Food Programme
3. Decide what you would do to move this country towards a sustainable population.  This could be tax incentives, water treatment, medical treatment, world food programs, birth control, education, or something else.  Remember, people in general are not stupid, but you have more education, right now, than a large proportion of the world.  How can you make their lives better while still honoring their culture and religious traditions?
4. Set three short-term goals for the next five years and three long-term goals for the next 10 years.   Explain how each one of them will help you meet your objective.

Put all your materials together, with highlighting or explanation as appropriate, and be ready to hand in tomorrow.

Points:  Creativity of solution (10), Connections to biomes (5), Honoring of culture and traditions (5),  quality of goals in helping stabilize the population pyramid (10)

Population as a Type of Commons

Read sections 1-4 of Chapter 5 of The Habitable Planet.   Generate a list of ten or more  questions that you think need to be answered in terms of impact on biomes, effects on the commons, and what we have valued since the industrial revolution.   You should have 6-10 questions.   Upload these to a Google Doc and share with me.


Learn about the three types of population pyramids using the link.

Population Pyramids by Country

Population Pyramid and Life Expectancy



Discuss How your population is affected by your biome discussion

Jan 22

Answer the questions

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/file/martha-11-population-pyramid-cb1297294129.pdf

Answer the questions

http://www.plaidavenger.com/images/uploads/Population_Pyramid_Activity_Sheet.pdf



Look for the Commons that are inherent in each set of links.

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/


http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks/worldclock/


http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=5&secNum=2

Tragedy of the Commons

The tragedy of the commons is a dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen. (from Wikipedia)

Friday, 1/18

Tragedy of the Commons

Who is at Fault?

The RESULT of the case

Monday, 1/21

First 45 minutes.  Please read the two sections of the personal solutions article below.  

Is the Tragedy Inevitable

Table 1

Personal Solutions

Decide with your group of two or three how the following structures can be designated as a type of commons control:   

• government rules, 
• taxes,
•  law enforcement, 
• an entrance fee, 
• a cooperative of farmers,
•  economic sanctions, 
•  fences, 
• an ID tag,
• designated hours for open and close

Give concrete examples of each and hand in.

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Second 45 minutes

Complete questions 1-12  for tomorrow, using the case study below.  Each person should be ready to hand in individual work tomorrow.

A Case Study

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Tragedy Revisited

Biome Reflection

Find three recent news articles that specifically impact your biome and read them. Examples of this could be an industrial project, a nutrient spill, an endangered species designation, or some other impact. A link must be provided for each article, as well as a short summary.

Make sure the  articles you choose come from a progressive-leaning, a neutral learning, conservative-leaning website.

Finding Bias:  http://semanticreasoning.org/practical/bias.html

Faulty Reasoning:  http://www.slideshare.net/julienjubiezrutherford/week-7-faulty-reasoning-teacher-version (chart on page 4)

http://www.yourlogicalfallacyis.com

Do you see examples of bias in any of the articles?

Do you see examples of faulty reasoning in these articles?

Use the logicalfallacy site and write 5 environmental arguments that are related to biomes.     Make sure to include an argument that is

• strawman
• begging the question
• tu quoque
• another 1
• another 2

Levels of Organization

Just like the progression in biology where we start with a kingdom and go down to a species, we need to look at the world of increasing complexity through a different set of lenses. Here's a 6th grade view

We need to look at a more complex viewpoint to solve problems, so here is the other end of the spectrum:

It is part of a bigger set of questions on a website that other people can take a look at for research ideas

http://bchs.uh.edu/~nholland/research.html

Your reflection question.  How do YOU interact with your world on multiple levels? And what implication does that have for the future of the communities you deal with?

Sustainability and Environmental Science

Chapter 1 notes


Chapter 4 notes

The Real Change is Inside of You: Personal Change Project

This world can benefit from some personal changes, and you are the one to tell us about it.  This project will be done individually, and is due on MONDAY.  It is worth 90 points--50 points for your research and 3 minute presentation, 20 points for the reflection, and 20 points for the class reflection . It will be your goal to tell us, as a class, about a change that you believe benefits the world,and why you believe it matters.  You must talk, include a digital artifact,and write a reflection after your presentation.  This will take the place of a semester individual test.

Possible topics (yours must be approved individually by your teacher)

• Bamboo as a building material
• LED vs. incandescent lighting
• European rail systems vs. US highways
• Needs vs. Wants in a Society
• Macromansions vs. Microhousing (400 sq ft or less)
• Microloans for Women
• Wind power in Iowa pros and cons
• Grow/plan your own garden
• Reducing a carbon footprint
• Seedsavers repository
• International Potato Center
• Off-the-grid lifestyles
• Meatless Mondays/Buy Fresh, Buy Local
• Farming with minimal chemicals
• Avoiding Banana Republics
• Childbearing in an Overpopulated World
• Sustainable Wind and Solar
• Battery problems
• Should Wolves and Mountain Lions be brought back to Iowa?
• Carbon Sequestration
• Superinsulation
• Building Solar Houses in Iowa
• Oglalla Aquifer worries
• The air we breathe
• Acid precipitation
• How much clothing do you need and how often should you replace it?
• How long should you keep a vehicle?
• Should you replace your water-guzzling household items?
• Recycled paper products:   genuine change or consumer scam?
• Can vertical integration of livestock be sustainable?
• Adding swamps/marshes to our sewage systems
• Choosing new appliances using Energy Star
• Can regular maintenance of a car save fuel?
• Can I build in a sustainable manner?
• Finding hope in the challenges
• Cleaning our water
• Stopping malaria and guinea worm
• Increased prices vs. environmental sustainability

Project:

10 points--3 minute presentation to the class

20 points--quality of information presented to the class

10 points--resources used to gather information

10 points--quality of presentation

Personal Reflection on Project (individually filled out)

Environmental Science Question Review (individually filled out)