Sources for Information
LWSD Junior High Databases, where you can access:
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SIRS
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Modern World History
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World Geography
IJHS Library (print and electronic resources)
- Click "Resource Lists"
- Select "Public Lists"
- Look for "Humans and the Environment."
- A list of the available books is also here
- A list of the available websites is also here
Contemporary Topic
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Acid Rain, Europe
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Air pollution (select a city)
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Deforestation—Latin America and Indonesia
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Endangered Species: pandas in China, turtle extinction, elephants in Thailand, polar bears, green sea turtles
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Environmental Responses to Controlling Disease (malaria, cholera, West Nile)
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Famine: Sudan
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Flooding in Bangladesh
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Food Crisis in North Korea
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Garbage island in the Pacific
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Garbage local: living off landfills (Guatemala)
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Impact of Tourism: ecotourism, Galapagos Islands, preserve places vs. overuse, Mt. Everest (garbage), Africa (reserves)
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India: Ganges, cremation
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Mining (Peru, Chile, Bolivia, US)
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Nuclear Waste Containment (Hanford, WA; Yucca Mtn, Nevada)
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Off-shore drilling (Valdez, AK; Gulf of Mexico)
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Overfishing
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Rising sea levels threaten population centers
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Natural disasters and the impact on human settlement(Japan, Gulf Coast, Chile, Haiti, Iceland)
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Water pollution (select a site in China, other?)
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Water Rights: India vs. Pakistan and the conflict over Kashmir, Colorado River/US Mexico border
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Whaling in Japan
Potential Topic List
· Deforestation/Logging
o Effects of deforestation on wildlife, air quality, communities
§ Example: Brazil’s rainforest depletion
· Water
o Dams, river pollution, access to drinking water
§ Example: China’s Three Gorges Dam
§ Example: India’s lack of clean drinking water
§ Example: Pollution of Tokyo Bay
· Pollution
o Air quality, global warming, health effects, marine life
§ Example: Air quality in big cities like Beijing or Mexico City
§ Example: Developing countries’ responsibility to uphold Kyoto Protocol
· Land/Water Use
o Resource depletion, mining, fishing, improper agriculture or over-farming
§ Example: China’s Great Leap Forward
· Colonialism
o Resource depletion, land overuse/misuse
§ Example: British land use in India
§ Example: French resource depletion in Indochina
§ Example: Spanish mining in South America
· Globalization (ties in with many topics listed above)
· Overpopulation (ties in with many topics listed above)
Manmade Disasters
· Johnstown Flood, America
· Famines in Asia, Europe, Africa, or Russia
· Chemical Pollution, Bhopal, India
· Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor, Russia
· Acid Rain, Europe
· Deforestation, Brazil
· For each disaster, think about:
· When did the disaster occur?
· Where did it occur? What country or countries were affected?
· How many people were affected?
· What ways were people affected?
· What was the cost to property? To agriculture? To other things?
· How long did it take people to recover?
· What are the long-term effects on the environment?
Industrialization
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Overview
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America
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China
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Brazil
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World Facts
Stopping Spread of Disease
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Flu
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AIDS
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Avian Flu
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Malaria
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Smallpox/Measles
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Cholera