Nature's Habitat: Sustainable Living
It is easy to notice only our own place in the world—what’s right in front of us, and around us, and has been since the second we became conscious beings. When we are babies, our limited view of the world focuses on the people in our immediate family. Soon we notice our home, our neighborhood, our town. As we grow, we begin to see a wider picture of the world and the people with whom we share it. After all, there are more than seven billion other people on earth.
What happens to all those other people affects what happens to us, whether or not we know it, or choose to pay attention. Money, war, natural disasters, literacy, education—these are all factors that have wide-sweeping influences that connect us to each other, whether we live in a small town in Iowa or a village in Sierra Leone or a city in Thailand. What happens to our fellow citizens on earth shapes all of us.
This may sound simple, but it’s an important place to start when we think about the ways in which the world could change to make it a more balanced, more humane, more functional place.
Animated GIF by Frédéric Vayssouze-Faure
Core Concepts
- Change: Preservation and Progress
- Cause and Effect
- Interdependence: Conflict, Compromise, Consensus, and Cooperation.
- Civic Awareness: Law/Taxation/Government
Core Questions
- Who interacts with the environment and what are some of the consequences of those interactions?
- What conflicts exist among citizens, institutions, and governments regarding environmental issues?
- When have scientific and technological advances had unintended consequences on the environment?
- Where are the most serious natural habitat crises or the greatest opportunities in the world?
- Why do people in different parts of the world have different perspectives on environmental resources benefits and problems?
- How should people and societies balance global connectedness with local needs?
Core Principles
People, places, and environments: Understand the relationship between human populations and the physical world. Students learn where people and places are located and why they are there. They examine the influence of physical systems, such as climate, weather and seasons, and natural resources, such as land and water, on human populations. They study the causes, patterns and effects of human settlement and migration, learn of the roles of different kinds of population centers in a society, and investigate the impact of human activities on the environment.
This enables them to acquire a useful basis of knowledge for informed decision-making on issues arising from human-environmental relationships.
This enables them to acquire a useful basis of knowledge for informed decision-making on issues arising from human-environmental relationships.
Science and technology: Scientific advances and technology have influenced life over the centuries, and modern life, as we know it, would be impossible without technology and the science that supports it. Basic technologies such as farming tools, shelters, ships, automobiles, and airplanes have evolved to impact the environment; air conditioning, dams, irrigation, and pesticides modify our physical environment and contribute to changes in global food supplies, energy, and health standards. Scientific ideas and technological changes have created unintended consequences, surprised people, and challenged their beliefs, quality of life, and the environment.
Interdependence and Cooperation: People often have wants that exceed the limited resources available to them. The unequal distribution of resources necessitates systems of exchange, including trade, to improve the well-being of people from place to place. Increasingly, decisions are global in scope and require systematic study of an interdependent world, the recognition of different points of view, and awareness of the need for cooperation.
Civic awareness of power, authority, and governance: Learning the basic ideals and values of a constitutional democracy is crucial to understanding our system of government. By examining the purposes and characteristics of various governance systems, learners develop an understanding of how different groups and nations attempt to resolve conflicts and seek to establish policies for environmental issues.
Core Skills
- Understand issues impacting sustainable living.
- Draw upon immediate personal experiences in field studies and neighborhoods.
- Extend knowledge through the use of primary sources.
- Interpret data in charts, tables, and graphs analyzing human behavior in relation to its physical and cultural environment.
- Learn to use maps, globes, and other geographic tools in research and note taking.
- Identify bias in the selection of data and anecdotes to support or question a course of action or position.
- Distinguish between fact and opinion when discussing sustainable living issues.
- Evaluate and recommend public policies addressing national and global environmental change.
- Recommend changes or preservation of public policies related to sustainable living using persuasive communication skills.
Careers
- Biologist
- Cartographer
- Economist
- Environmental Engineer
- Geologist
- Political Lobbyist
- Real Estate Developer
- Sociologist
- Urban Planner