Explore these environmentally conscious teaching tools. Search for lesson plans, Web sites, and educational resources by topic, grade level, cost, or location, or add your resource.
Planetary Boundaries
From site: As climate negotiators heading for the Copenhagen meeting seek a new agreement to stem global warming, the journal Nature has published a study describing eight more fundamental limits on a healthy planet.
Exceeding any of the “planetary boundaries” could overwhelm essential physical, chemical and biological systems: Using too much fresh water, converting too much land to farms, highways or cities, or spewing too much air pollution could block Earth from supporting the approximately 10 billion inhabitants it’s expected to have in 40 years.
Sustainable Fishing Game
From site: You have 10 days to catch as many fish as you can. The money you make from these fish will need to support your family for the next month. Each fish nets $2.
Each day, you’ll choose whether you want to take none, one, two, or three fish for the day. There are two other fisher folk also trying to catch as many fish as they can – they will follow your lead, and base their catch on yours.
The lake in which you are fishing can only support 20 fish (that is the carrying capacity of the lake). Every night, the fish that remain after a day of fishing will reproduce at a rate of 25% (for the purpose of this game, we round to the nearest whole number). However, the total number of fish can’t exceed 20. For instance, if there are 12 fish, they will multiply to 15 overnight. If there are 19, they will multiply to 20.
Science Bulletins: Earth
AMNH offers several webcast features, visualizations and snapshots on a variety of topics on the Earth’s geology, environment and resources. Some of the topics explored include melting glaciers, ice and rising seas, monitorying underground fires in Yellowstone, global ozone, world sea surface temperatures, and carbon monoxide.
Center for Ecoliteracy
From site: The Center for Ecoliteracy is dedicated to education for sustainable living.
We provide information, inspiration, and support to the vital movement of K-12 educators, parents, and other members of the school community who are helping young people gain the knowledge, skills, and values essential to sustainable living.
We base our work on these four guiding principles:
- Nature is our teacher
- Sustainability is a community practice
- The real world is the optimal learning environment
- Sustainable living is rooted in a deep knowledge of place
