Environmental Concerns
Environmental Science
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Environmental Concerns: Overview
Students will examine various health risks associated with urbanization, economic inequality, pollution, and lifestyle choices, and evaluate different points of view about our responsibilities to each other as global citizens.
Chapter 14 highlights the environmental concerns associated with human population growth.
Chapter 15 explores the risks associated with environmental and technological changes and how we can reduce them.
Chapter 16 examines the major environmental issues related to Earth’s atmosphere.
Chapter 17 highlights the environmental challenges involved with producing, handling, and disposing of society’s waste.
Chapter 18 examines the intersection of environmental systems, economics, politics, and worldviews.
Engineering Project 5 explores ways to build a carbon-capturing device.
Unit Standards
What is the NGSS & 3 Dimensional Science Learning and Why is it Important?
Science Practices - Disciplinary Core Ideas - Crosscutting Concepts
HS-ESS2-2: Feedback in Earth's Systems
Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to earth's surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other earth systems. (Stability and Change)
Clarification Statement: Examples should include climate feedbacks, such as how an increase in greenhouse gases causes a rise in global temperatures that melts glacial ice, which reduces the amount of sunlight reflected from Earth's surface, increasing surface temperatures and further reducing the amount of ice. Examples could also be taken from other system interactions, such as how the loss of ground vegetation causes an increase in water runoff and soil erosion; how dammed rivers increase groundwater recharge, decrease sediment transport, and increase coastal erosion; or how the loss of wetlands causes a decrease in local humidity that further reduces the wetland extent.
Boundary Statement: none
HS-ESS3-5: Climate Change and Future Impacts
Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to earth systems. (Stability and Change)
Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence, for both data and climate model outputs, are for climate changes (such as precipitation and temperature) and their associated impacts (such as on sea level, glacial ice volumes, or atmosphere and ocean composition).
Boundary Statement: Assessment is limited to one example of a climate change and its associated impacts.
HS-LS2-1: Carrying Capacity of Ecosystems
Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales. (Scale, Proportion, and Quantity)
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on quantitative analysis and comparison of the relationships among interdependent factors including boundaries, resources, climate, and competition. Examples of mathematical comparisons could include graphs, charts, histograms, and population changes gathered from simulations or historical data sets.
Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include deriving mathematical equations to make comparisons.
HS-LS2-7: Human Impact Reduction Solution
Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity. (Stability and Change)
Clarification Statement: Examples of human activities can include urbanization, building dams, and dissemination of invasive species.
Boundary Statement: none
Learning Objectives / Career Connections
Chapter 14 Human Population and Urbanization
Chapter 14 highlights the environmental concerns associated with human population growth and how we can reduce them.
The continuing rapid growth of the human population and its impact on natural capital raises questions about how long the human population can keep growing.
We can slow human population growth by reducing poverty through economic development, elevating the status of women, and encouraging family planning.
Most cities are unsustainable due to high levels of resource use, waste, pollution, and poverty. Cities can become more sustainable by increasing opportunities for mass transit, recycling, local food sourcing, and preservation of surrounding land.
Chapter 15 Environmental Hazards and Human Health
Chapter 15 highlights the risks associated with environmental and technological changes and how we can reduce them.
The human population faces significant hazards from infectious diseases such as flu, AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, and malaria, and from exposure to chemicals that can cause cancers and birth defects, as well as chemicals that can disrupt the human immune, nervous, and endocrine systems.
Because of the difficulty of evaluating the harm caused by exposure to chemicals, many health scientists call for much greater emphasis on pollution prevention.
By becoming informed, thinking critically about risks, and making careful choices, humans can reduce the major risks we face.
Chapter 16 Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone Depletion
Chapter 16 highlights the major environmental issues related to Earth’s atmosphere— air pollution, climate change, and ozone depletion—and discusses ways people can and are facing these challenges.
Sources of harmful outdoor and indoor air pollution can be identified and reduced. People can also reverse the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer.
Reducing the harmful effects of rapid climate change during this century requires action to increase energy efficiency, sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and rely more on renewable energy resources.
While people can prepare for and adapt to some of the effects of climate change, we can also realize the economic, ecological, and health benefits of slowing it.
Chapter 17 Solid and Hazardous Waste
Chapter 17 examines the environmental challenges involved with producing, handling, and disposing of society’s waste.
The order of priorities for dealing with solid waste should be first to minimize production of it, then to reuse and recycle as much of it as possible, and finally to safely burn or bury what is left.
The order of priorities for dealing with hazardous waste should be first to minimize production of it, to reuse or recycle it, to convert it to less-hazardous material, and then to safely store what is left.
We can view solid wastes as wasted resources, and hazardous wastes as materials that we want to avoid producing in the first place.
Chapter 18 Environmental Economics, Politics, and Worldviews
Chapter 18 emphasizes the intersection of environmental systems, economics, politics, and worldviews.
A more sustainable economic system would include in market prices the harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using goods and services, subsidize environmentally beneficial goods and services, tax pollution and waste instead of wages and profits, and reduce poverty.
Individuals can work together to become part of the political processes that influence how environment policies are made and implemented.
Living more sustainably means becoming environmentally literate, learning from nature, living more simply, and becoming active environmental citizens.
Using ChatGPT to find local Colorado Phenomena
Use the following prompt, adjust accordingly. "I am a high school science teacher looking for a local Colorado phenomena to address NGSS standard (enter standard you are looking for... example HS-LS1-6)"
Career Connections
Connecting what students are learning to careers not only deepens their engagement in school but also helps them make more informed choices about their future. Browse the following related career profiles to discover what scientists really do on the job and what it takes to prepare for these careers. For additional profiles visit your Year at a Glance Page.
Hands On, Minds On Connections
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Ocean First Education - Online Courses
Switch Energy Alliance – Environmental Science - Switch Classroom is a free, video-based online learning platform that provides innovative and entertaining lessons and activities about energy and energy resources to educators and students. Switch Energy Alliance is aligned with AP Environmental Science and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) standards. Switch Energy Videos
St Vrain Science Center
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