Water, Water, Everywhere

Assignment type Coursework / Assignment
Discipline Economics
Description Water, Water, Everywhere Status: Not Scheduled COMPETENCIES TO MASTER Can identify and explain key concepts in environmental science, such as water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling and biodiversity Can identify and explain the basic principles of population ecology, such as population growth and distribution Can identify major environmental problems Can analyze and critique leading solutions to major environmental problems Can identify and analyze ethical issues presented by scientific and technologic developments Can solve practical problems using measurements such as time, temperature, distance, length and volume Overview Human activity changes the natural environment, and now there are more humans than ever. In fact, there are over seven billion people in the world, and people make, use and throw out a lot of stuff. How does all of that affect the environment, and what, if anything, should we do about it? In this Project, you will create a report that addresses these questions by tracking the journey of a single use water bottle from its beginnings as raw materials all the way through its transportation and consumption to its disposal. Directions As office manager, you are responsible for directing what the Food Services Department supplies at breakfast and luncheon meetings. For drinking water, you can choose to purchase water bottles or serve chilled tap water and ice served in reusable water pitchers and glasses. You have already determined that the difference in cost is negligible, so you can choose based on a different factor: environmental impact. Of course, your boss will want to know how you came to your decision. So, you will produce a report, supported by research and mathematical calculations. First, complete the Water Bottle Tracking Worksheet. Then, create a report in which you discuss effects of human actions on the environment related to the water bottle life cycle. The calculations you make on the worksheet will give you some ideas and figures to supplement your discussion specific to transportation; other resources will offer different angles of approach for your analysis. You may include charts, diagrams or other graphics to enhance your materials, but be sure to write in your own words and cite sources as necessary. In your report: Describe the cycles of four chemicals essential to life on earth: water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Be sure to use appropriate key terms and explain them in your own words. Consider: How do the cycles normally function? How does the production cycle of water bottles change each of the cycles? Explain biodiversity and how it is affected by human transportation (that is, transportation-related systems such as trucking and manufacturing) as detailed in the worksheet and other resources. Explain the population-growth model. How do humans live in relation to this model? How does this affect the environment? Select four different variations from the normal processes identified in parts 1, 2 and 3 above. Offer at least one possible restorative measure for each variation, explaining how each measure could mitigate negative effects on the processes you described. Analyze each restorative measure critically by addressing the following questions: What benefits would each measure have? What drawbacks might result from adopting a given intervention? What kinds of complications could make the adoption difficult? Identify and discuss at least three different ethical issues that face humans (as consumers, citizens, businesses or governments) due to human population growth and/or consumption of resources. Consider the information and ideas you have developed in researching the topics above, as well as the results of the Water Bottle Tracking Worksheet. DELIVERABLES Completed Water Bottle Tracking Worksheet Report Project Resources These are links to public external resources. Any comments or statements made on these public websites are not representative of College for America. Water Bottle Tracking Worksheet Complete and submit this worksheet. VIEW ADD TO LIST Population Ecology Click on the Population Growth link at the top of the page to find information about population ecology. VIEW ADD TO LIST Converting Units by Using Ratios Review this set of examples to learn a general method for converting units such as miles to kilometers. VIEW ADD TO LIST Perimeter and Area This video reviews calculation of area and perimeter. VIEW ADD TO LIST Volume of a Rectangular Prism This brief video demonstrates how to calculate the volume of a rectangular prism. VIEW ADD TO LIST Plastic Water Bottles Causing Flood of Harm to Our Environment This article explores facts and misconceptions about bottled water production and use. VIEW ADD TO LIST Biogeochemical Cycles Learn about life’s direct relationship to the geologic makeup of the planet and how organisms and the environment process the chemicals essential to life. VIEW ADD TO LIST Five Human Impacts on the Environment Humans have direct effects on the environment; five of them are described here. VIEW ADD TO LIST Pollution Watch this video to learn about how certain human behaviors can cause pollution. VIEW ADD TO LIST Global Warming 101 This video describes the basics of global warming. VIEW ADD TO LIST Science of Climate Change This website from the EPA provides animations, graphs, charts and verbal descriptions to explain the process and elements of climate change cycles. VIEW ADD TO LIST 10 Solutions for Climate Change Overabundance of biogeochemicals causes ecological damage that can be controlled in part by methods described in this article. VIEW ADD TO LIST Skill-Building Resources These are links to public external resources. Any comments or statements made on these public websites are not representative of College for America. How to Round Decimals to the Nearest Whole Number If you need a review of rounding decimals up or down, watch this video. VIEW ADD TO LIST Solutions for Air, Nutrient and Industrial Pollution Click the links in the box to read about problems caused by pollution and some solutions for reducing pollution and repairing damage to the environment. VIEW ADD TO LIST How Water Bottles Are Made Learn about the process of creating plastic water bottles in this video. VIEW ADD TO LIST CfA Citation Guide This resource helps to explain how citations should be used in CfA Projects including formatting guidelines and where to get help. VIEW ADD TO LIST Rounding Decimals to the Tenths Place To refresh your math skills, review this video on rounding to one decimal place. VIEW ADD TO LIST