Populations 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.

Try this link for the Google Doc


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

Population Pyramids by Country

Population Pyramid and Life Expectancy

Is there an Opposite to the Tragedy of the Commons

Read the first four pages of this article.


How are NIMBY or LULU similar or different to the concept of the Tragedy of the Commons?

Pick a commons area.  Explain what it is and why it matters, if there is current exploitation of the area, and regulation for the area to limit the exploitation. Decide if NIMBY or LULU affect this commons.  Out line your summary of important ideas in a poster or blog post


===============for people who were gone on Thursday--pick one of these=============

• logging old-growth forests
• Fukoshima nuclear power plant
• North Dakota pipeline spills
• garbage dump mining
• Gulf of Mexico dead zone
• 
  

• national forest lands

• the Alaskan National Wildlife Preserve
• the predator-prey balance in Yellowstone

• the oil shale in Oklahoma
• International fishing waters
• International fishing waters2

• the Pacific Ocean dump

• the Western expansion and its impact on buffalo
• the Yucca mountain development.

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)

Thursday, 10/24

Tragedy of the Commons

Who is at Fault?

The RESULT of the case

============Day 2=============

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.

======

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

==================

Tragedy Revisited

Day 2 and 3: Environmental Science

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?

To answer this, pick a biome for your group not chosen by anyone others.


Land Biomes are found:  http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/visual/visual.php?shortname=biome_map

Water Biomes are found: http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/visual/visual.php?shortname=aquatic_biomes

Temperature range, water amounts, biodiversity, human activity--all these affect a biome

1.  Define your biome in terms of abiotic and biotic factors
2.  Create an ecosystem pyramid, shown above.
3.  Look at a food web that exists for such a biome.
4.  Tell me if the biome, in your opinion, is healthy.

Collate this information in a blog or presentation to share with the class on Thursday.  Cite sources, like the book or the ebook or some other site.

Day 1: Environmental Science

Your textbook is online: The Habitable Planet


Today we are dividing and conquering Chapter 1 and Chapter 4.   Get a partner--I want you to interact with this material as teams, and divvy up the sections.


For each one of them , you will come up with 3-5 top facts.  Summarize them on the shared document HERE

For the last 20 minutes, you will be coming up with a group definition of the following terms, and sharing your information.  To do this, you will supplement this information with a textbook


ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

BIOME

ECOSYSTEM

SUSTAINABLE

ENERGY PYRAMID