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C oe L ake O utdoor S cience E ducation. Environmental Science Unit. Sustainability. What is sustainability?. Preserving natural resources for future generations. Do well by doing right- a new way of thinking and pursuing innovation.
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Coe Lake Outdoor Science Education Environmental Science Unit Sustainability
What is sustainability? • Preserving natural resources for future generations. • Do well by doing right-a new way of thinking and pursuing innovation. • No negative environmental impact is felt as a result of your (business) existence.
Can you major in sustainability in college? • Yes! Right here in Berea. • Link to BW web-site
There is a greater demand by consumers for companies that are: • Good stewards of people • Good stewards of community, • Good stewards of the environment & profits.
Salmon Runs in Northwest U.S.LIVE.EAT.SHOP.SPAWN. • The runs were degraded over time due to unsustainable development of riverfronts, vineyards,farms,etc. • Salmon populations declined. • Now products are labeled “Salmon Safe” bc there was a demand by the public to protect the salmon runs.
Sustainable Requirements • You have to understand how things work in nature, how they are connected – a systems approach. • This requires planning! • EX: Grindstone Elementary- A LEED Silver Building!
What If We Continue The Way We Have Always Produced Goods? Ideas:
Maybe We Can learn fromDr. Seuss’s- The Lorax (1971) • In The Lorax- deforestation and devastation remain once all of the resource trees are removed for consumption without planning for their replacement.
Read The LoraxPass out book, play tape • What species became extinct in the story? Why? • 2. What else was affected by the loss of the trees? Why and How? • 3. What is the natural resource? • 4. What are the waste by products? • 5. What could they have done to protect the species in the story?
Our Planet Can’t Keep Up • The planet is not capable of supporting, among all peoples of the globe, the level of materialism & consumption common in the U.S. today. • Proof? *Increasing costs *social unrest *higher demands *dwindling resources *potential loss of complex ecosystems (degradation)
Consumption Consumption • The average American buys 53 times as many products as someone in China and one American's consumption of resources is equavalent to that of 35 Indians.
Materialism/Consumption…Like What? • Clothes- • iPODs- • Unsustainable Coffee production- • Cheap chicken/meat/shrimp/fish- • Bottled water- • Shoes/purses- • Make-up • Fossil Fuels- Why Cheap?- discussion here….
Can We Become ASubsistent Society? • Where we produce just enough food to feed oneself and family members. • Having the “basic” needs met (nothing over): food, shelter. • Do most Americans exist in a subsistence lifestyle or not? Discuss here.
Becoming a Sustainable Shopper… • First reduce consumption…do you really NEED this or that? • Where is product made? Consider distance, fossil fuel use, environmental degradation, labor laws. • Buy recycled when possible. • Re-Use shopping bags, plastic containers, anything! • All of this does take some research.
What is your global/carbon footprint? • Identify one item you are wearing. Item - _____________________ • Where was it made? Made in ___________________ • Go to that place on the World Map. • Travel its approx. route from “birthing place” to your home. • What means of transportation was most likely used? _____________________________ • Approximate the distance in miles __________. • 20lbs. Of Carbon Dioxide are produced from 1 gallon of gasoline. Approx. how much carbon dioxide was emitted into the air for JUST your product’s travels. • Product Travel = ______________ carbon dioxide
Cell Phones & Gorilla Habitat?How is this connected? • A metallic ore called coltan, found in the core of cell phones is mined out of the republic of Congo • This has resulted in the destruction of critical gorilla habitat, (which of course also affects the entire ecosystem in which they live.)
Mountain Gorillas & Cropland & Pure Human Ignorance • Read Article Click Here
Orangutans & Make-Up? How is this connected? • Orangutans on the verge of extinction because forests are being clear-cut and burned to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations. • Palm oil used in the following products:
So What Can You Do? Listen & Learn. The Story of Electronics Video Clip Take a few notes ( 10 facts) on your PowerPoint.
10 Facts about Our System: • What does “designed for the dump” mean? • What is externalized costs? • What is e-waste?
Waste as Art? Chris Jordan- my favorite artist!
Conclusion • Every product--every T-shirt, every SUV, every child's toy--has a global footprint defined by the resources and energy used to make it. • Try to reduce your footprint.
What You Need To Know • What is sustainability? • What are the 3 processes (components) take hold when considering a sustainable lifestyle/business? • Provide 3 examples of sustainable products. • What is the “lesson” we must learn from The Lorax by Dr. Seuss? • Can our planet keep up indefinitely with our current consumption rates? Explain. • How are gorilla habitats & cell phones connected? • How is make-up & orangutan habitat connected? • What can you do as a consumer to become a more sustainable shopper? • List three facts from “The Story of Stuff” video-clip that surprised you. (e-waste, externalized cost)