1 Our Global Community

Transcription

1 1 Our Global Community PEOPLE ACROSS the world share the same basic needs, despite many differences. Food, water, energy, and shelter sustain our human communities. Any group of people with a common interest living in a particular area from the smallest village to the largest country is a community. All the people of the world form a global community, with diverse governments, environments, and cultures. A community is sustainable if it meets its present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable activities do not press nature beyond its capacity to regenerate. A sustainable solution to a difficult situation must consider the environmental, economic, and social impacts on the community. In this course, Science and Global Issues, you will explore ways science helps people to understand and develop solutions to sustainability challenges. You will begin this activity by analyzing some statistical indicators from around the globe. An indicator is an observation or calculation that shows the presence or state of a condition or trend. By looking at a set of indicators, you will explore the sustainability of human activities in populated regions of the world. Challenge What do indicators tell us about regions of the world? Researchers tag a lemon shark in the Bahamas (left). Students study marine life on the coast of Vancouver Island (above). 3

2 SCIENCE & GLOBAL ISSUES/BIOLOGY SUSTAINABILITY MATERIALS FOR THE CLASS set of large Indicator Pie Graphs set of region signs small magnets FOR EACH STUDENT calculator Procedure Part A: World Data 1. On the world map below, identify the eight geographical regions of the world this activity focuses on: 2. Your teacher will designate eight locations in the classroom one for each region of the world. A sign at each location labels the region. 3. As a class, look at the large Indicator Pie Graph for world population. In this procedure your class represents the entire population of the world. Use the percentages for each region to calculate how many people in your class represent each region. 4. Assign everyone in the class to a region based on the results of the calculation in the previous step. Have each person move to his or her region in the classroom. 5. Send one representative from your region to get and bring back the appropriate pie piece from the world population graph. 4

3 OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY ACTIVITY 1 Indicator Key INDICATOR ICON EXPLANATION CO 2 emissions Energy consumption GDP HIV deaths Internet users Malnutrition Population Protected area Threatened species An estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere based on United Nations (UN) data. The amount of primary energy consumed, on average, by each person living in a particular country or region in a year. All primary sources of energy, such as coal and coal products, oil and petroleum products, natural gas, nuclear power, and hydroelectric power, are included. Energy losses from transportation, friction, heat, and other inefficiencies are included in these totals. The gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. It is provided here at purchasing-power-parity (PPP) exchange rates valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists cite when looking at per-capita wealth and when comparing living conditions or resource consumption across countries. An estimate of the number of adults and children who died of AIDS during a given calendar year. The number of users within an area who access the Internet. Statistics vary from country to country and range from those who access the Internet at least several times a week to those who access it only once in a period of several months. The total undernourished population is calculated as the number of people who consume less than a minimum food-energy requirement, which is estimated by sex and age group by a reference body weight. This minimum energy requirement varies by country, but typically averages 1,750 2,030 calories per person daily. US Census Bureau s International Programs estimates based on population censuses, sample surveys of vital-statistics-registration systems pertaining to the recent past, and assumptions about future trends. The total protected area is the area of land especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and natural resources. Protected areas include nature reserves, wilderness areas, national parks, natural monuments, habitatand-species-management areas, protected landscapes and seascapes, and managedresource areas. The data in this activity excludes marine and intertidal areas. Critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, mollusks, insects, and plants. 6. As a class, choose the next indicator to examine. Read aloud the definition of the indicator from the graph. Each piece of the pie represents the region s portion of the world s total for that indicator (not a portion of the regional total). 7. Again, send a representative to get and bring back the appropriate pie piece from the Indicator Pie Graph. 8. Repeat Steps 6 7 until your region has collected all the Indicator Pie Graph pieces. 9. As a class, walk around the room and review the data for each region. Compare the amounts of the indicators relative to other regions how the indicators relate to the population of each region 5

4 SCIENCE & GLOBAL ISSUES/BIOLOGY SUSTAINABILITY 10. With those in your region, categorize the nine indicators into three groups: economic, environmental, and social. Record the groups, and explain your choices in your science notebook. 11. Using the data on the pie graphs and in the table below, calculate both the gross domestic product (GDP) in U.S. dollars, and the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions per capita for your region. A sample calculation is shown below the table. World Data INDICATOR WORLD TOTAL Population (people) 6,705,900,000 Gross domestic product (US dollars) 69,490,000,000,000 CO 2 emissions (metric tons, per year) 27,246,000,000 SAMPLE CALCULATION: NORTH AMERICA GDP per capita (world total GDP) (North America % of world total GDP) (world total population) (North America % of world population) ($69,490,000,000,000) (.25) (6,705,900,000 people) (.065) $39,856/person 12. Share the per-capita data for all the regions with the class. When the data have been reviewed, discuss how perceptions can change when the data are presented differently what other ways the data could be presented what the indicators in the activity show what the indicators don t show how indicators could be used to evaluate sustainability Part B: Planet Watch the slide presentation Planet 100. During the presentation, record any information that is surprising. questions the presentation raises for you. 14. When the presentation is over, share your notes according to your teacher s instructions. Discuss what the presentation shows about the sustainability of the global community if the world continues on its current path. 6

5 OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY ACTIVITY 1 Analysis 1. Did calculating indicators per capita significantly change your perception of the sustainability of a region? Explain why or why not. 2. Indicator levels can vary from country to country within a region. For example, Botswana (population two million) and Ethiopia (population 85 million) are both in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, 95% of the people in Botswana have improved drinking water, compared to 22% of Ethiopians. The average of people with improved drinking water for all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is 66%. a. Use this example to explain how data can be misleading. b. Do you think it is better to rely on regional data or data from individual countries when looking at global trends? Support your answer using the example above, and identify the trade-offs of the choice you made. 3. According to the United Nations, South America consumes 4% of the energy generated in the world every year and generates 0.02% of the waste. However, only one country in South America (Brazil) reported its figures to the United Nations. a. Make a list of possible reasons why some world data collected by the United Nations is not reported or is underreported. b. Describe some consequences of unreported or underreported data. 4. Give an example of at least one potentially useful indicator that was NOT presented in this activity and what it could show about sustainability. 5. Who is responsible for protecting the following resources? a. air b. water c. soil d. fossil fuels KEY VOCABULARY indicator sustainable 7