Assess relationships between disparities in the distribution or quality of resources (e.g., availability of land or water, soil quality, energy availability, diversity of resource base) and social or political conflicts (e.g., conflicts between pastoralists and farmers over land rights and usage, conflicts between or within countries over water rights, food shortages caused by civil wars and insurgencies). Sample questions: “How has the scarcity of a natural resource contributed to conflicts?” “Why are some people predicting that there will be an increase in international conflict over water supplies? Where would such conflicts be most likely to occur?”
Explain the meaning and geographic significance of the commons (i.e., common-pool resources such as water, fish, fishing grounds, forests, common pastures) and the global commons (i.e., the atmosphere, the oceans, outer space, and Antarctica). Sample questions: “Who owns a common-pool resource? Who uses it? What determines how much of the resource can be used by any one person or group?” “What makes the global commons different from other common-pool resources?” “What is the value of the atmosphere? Of the oceans?”