Teachers' Guide to Content
Globally, we are using up roughly five planets (Steffen, 2005). The world we live in is used in wild ways (Steffen, 2005). Currently, “we do not know how to build a society that is environmentally sustainable, shareable with everybody on the planet, promotes stability and democracy, promotes human rights, and which is achieved in the time frame we have,” (Steffen, 2005). A more sustainable world is possible. It takes every individual in this world to make it possible. We must become aware. We must take action.
Alex Steffen: TEDGlobal 2005, The route to a sustainable future. For the full video please visit TED
What is sustainability?
“Sustainability is the idea that people should meet their needs without hurting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” (“From consumption to consumerism,” 2017). To live sustainability, individuals need to be conscientious of their daily habits; individuals need to make sure their habits do not use up too many resources or damage the environment (“From consumption to consumerism,” 2017). There is a powerful link between consumerism and sustainability. Students should be taught to promote and put forth effort towards a more sustainable world.
What is consumerism?
Americans have become engrossed with the idea of acquiring materialistic items. There is a difference between consumerism and consumption. Consumption is focused on satisfying basic human needs (Etzoini, 2017). Consumerism is satisfying higher needs through goods and services (Etzoini, 2017).
What are human rights?
Human rights are rights inherited to all human beings. Human rights do not discriminate based on an individuals nationality, sex, religion, language, amongst various other characteristics an individual may uphold (“Human rights,” n.d.). We are all equally entitled. We should all be treated the same, with respect and compassion.
In regards to human rights, there are a multitude of laws and regulations set in place to protect the people. These include but are not limited to: international human rights, economic social and cultural rights, civil and political rights, and the list goes on (“Human rights,” n.d.). It is important to point out that international human rights promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups (“Human rights,” n.d.). Additionally, the people should always remember that within the economic social and cultural rights it is noted that individuals have the right to work in just and favorable conditions (“Human rights,” n.d.). However, individuals human rights are often disrespected and this is demonstrated substantially through our global food system.
What is deforestation?
Deforestation is the phenomenon when massive amounts of forestland are removed for non-forest use (“What is deforestation,” n.d.). The trees are never re-planted and the land is often damaged from soil erosion, salinization, pesticides, and drought. The biggest proponent of deforestation is for agricultural use. Farmers crop forests to provide more room for traditional crop fields known as mono-cropping and pasturing livestock (“What is deforestation,” n.d.).
The environment is negatively impacted in result of deforestation. Forests are home to some of the most bio diverse ecosystems in the world. Deforestation causes habitat loss resulting in an upset in the natural order of the ecosystem (“Deforestation,” n.d.). Climate change becomes more predominant as the degradation of the forests for urban development and farmland, increase (“Deforestation,” n.d.). Additionally, with fewer trees to absorb the greenhouse gas emissions that contaminate the atmosphere, deforestation actively partakes in the global warming phenomenon that is becoming significantly detrimental (“Deforestation,” n.d.).
What is a solutionary?
A solutionary is, “one who develops solutions to both large and small problems. Solutionaries use their knowledge and skills to take on challenges in order to bring about positive changes for all people, animals, and the Earth,” (Crawford & Costner & Luke, pg. 49, 2013). To be a solutionary is to be someone who makes positive change through critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration that is driven by a common vision.
Resources & Materials
Teacher Guide to Content
Crawford, E.O., Costner, H., & Luke, N. (2013). “Do you want paper or plastic?” An inquiry-based environmental education unit for grades 3-5. New York: U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
Deforestation. (n.d.). National Geographic. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/.
Etzoini, A. (2017). The crisis of American consumerism. Huff Post. Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/amitai-etzioni/the-crisis-of-american-co_b_1855390.html.
From consumption to consumerism. (2017). Newsela. Retrieved from: https://newsela.com/read/lib-sustainability-consumption/id/37172/quiz/0/.
Human rights. (n.d.). United Nations. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/human-rights/.
What is deforestation. (n.d.). eSchoolToday. Retrieved from: http://eschooltoday.com/forests/what-is-deforestation.html.
Weil, Z. (2012). The solutionaries. National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved from: https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent-school/spring-2012/the-solutionaries/.
Lesson 1
Baehr, B., (2010). Birke Baehr: What’s wrong with our food system. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/birke_baehr_what_s_wrong_with_our_food_system.
Bray, S., (2018). The global food system. The Regis. Retrieved from: http://www.theregis.ca/politics-social-issues/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-global-food-system/.
Clapp, J., Scott, C., (2014). Individual diet changes can’t fix the global food system. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/food-blog/diet-changes-global-food-system.
Food first: Institute for food & development policy. (2018). Retrieved from: https://foodfirst.org/about-us/history/.
Local food systems. (n.d). COMMUNITY-WEALTH.ORG. Retrieved from: https://. community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/urban-ag/index.html.
Riley, B., (2011). Britta Riley: A garden in my apartment. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/britta_riley_a_garden_in_my_apartment.
Steffen, A., (2005). Alex Steffen: The route to a sustainable future. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_steffen_sees_a_sustainable_future#t-247695.
Stehfest, E., (2014). Food choice for health and planet. Nature, 515, 501-502. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13943.pdf.
Take action: Food. (2018). GRACE communications foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.sustainabletable.org/1453/take-action-food.
Thrupkaew, N., (2015). Noy Thrupkaew: Human trafficking is all around you. This is how it works. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/noy_thrupkaew_human_trafficking_is_all_around_you_this_is_how_it_works#t-1109379.
Lesson 2
Amnesty International (2014). Bitter harvest: Exploitation and forced labor of migrant agricultural workers in South Korea. Amnesty International. Retrieved from https://www.amnestyusa.org/files/asa_250042014.pdf
Amnesty International (2014). South Korea: End rampant abuse of migrant farm workers. Amnesty International. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/10/south-korea-end-rampant-abuse-migrant-farm-workers/
Barrick, Kelle, Lattimore, Pamela, Pitts, Wayne, and Zhang, Sheldon (2013). Indicators of labor trafficking among North Carolina migrant farm workers. U.S Department of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/244204.pdf
Brisson, Pat (2014). Before we eat: From farm to table. Thomaston, Maine. Tilbury House Publishers.
Coalition of Immokalee Workers (Unknown publication date). Anti-slavery program. Retrieved from http://ciw-online.org/slavery/
González, Jr., Eduardo (2015). Migrant farm workers: Our nation’s invisible population. Retrieved from http://articles.extension.org/pages/9960/migrant-farm-workers:-our-nations-invisible-population
International Labour Organization (2015). New ILO figures show 150 million migrants in the global workforce. ILO. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/news-statements/WCMS_436140/lang--en/index.htm
Lange, Dorothea (1930s). Collection of migrant worker photographs from The Great Depression era. Library of Congress. Retrieved from http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b29516/
Longoria, Eva and Schlosser, Ben (2014). Food chain$. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/6vw-qTCW8fo
NPR (2014). These Ivory Coast cacao farmers had never tasted chocolate. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/08/01/336919715/these-ivory-coast-cacao-farmers-had-never-tasted-chocolate
Oxfam America and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (2014). A state of fear: Human rights abuses in North Carolina’s tobacco industry. Oxfam. Retri
http://www.floc.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/FLOC-report-toplines-US-Final.pdf
Phelan, Ben (2014). The story of the migrant mother. PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/stories/articles/2014/4/14/migrant-mother-dorothea-lange
Starbucks Coffee (Unknown publication date). Committed to 100%. Starbucks. Retrieved from https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/farmer-support/farmer-loan-programs
The Economist (2017). Migrant workers in South Korea are often better off in prison. The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21720646-poor-foreigners-are-pampered-behind-bars-scorned-elsewhere-migrant-workers-south-korea-are
Velasquez, Baldemar (2008). A call to the fields. Farm Labor Organizing Committee. Retrieved from http://www.floc.com/wordpress/call-to-the-fields/
Weatherford, Carole Bostone (2017). Dorothea Lange: The photographer who found the faces of the depression. Park Ridge, Illinois. Albert Whitman & Company.
Lesson 3
(n.d.).Retrieved March 29th, 2018, from https://projects.ncsu.edu/goingnative/whygo/video.html
Aide, T. M., Clark, M. L., Grau, H. R., Carr, D. L., Levy, M. A., Redo, D.,...Muñiz,M.(2013). Deforestation and Reforestation of Latin America and the Caribbean(2001-2010). Biotropica, 45(2), 262. Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://doiorg.liblink.uncw.edu/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2012.00908.x.
Creager, R. (2016, March 27). North Carolina's fading forests. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved from Paradise Lost: Can the Amazon Rainforest Be Saved from Destruction? (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.readworks.org/article/Paradise-Lost/ae164a9a-91c7-44b4-bfcb-f81a1c27bd22#!articleTab:content/
Deforestation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation
Milway, K. S. (2010). The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.
Paradise Lost: Can the Amazon Rainforest Be Saved from Destruction? (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.readworks.org/article/Paradise-Lost/ae164a9a-91c7-44b4-bfcb-f81a1c27bd22#!articleTab:content/
Siebert, S. F. (2002). From shade- to sun-grown perennial crops in sulawesi, indonesia: Implications for biodiversity conservation and soil fertility. Biodiversity & Conservation, 11(11), 1889-1902. http://dx.doi.org.liblink.uncw.edu/10.1023/A:1020804611740 Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.liblink.uncw.edu/docview/751827159?accountid=14606
Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. (2008, September 25). Retrieved April 28, 2018, from http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai/taking-root-documentary
Watson, J. (2016). Parrots in America are getting attention. Smithsonian Tween Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.tweentribune.com/article/tween56/parrots-america-are-getting-attention/.
Winter, J. (2008). Wangari's Tree's of Peace: A True Story from Africa. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
Lesson 4
Adidas (n.d.). Adidas originals x parley. Retrieved from http://www.parley.tv/updates/2018/3/21/adidas-originals
Adidas and parley from threat to thread (n.d.). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/kzog5O_hGIk
Adidas is making sneakers out of literal trash (n.d.). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/UewANOPC728
Distinct Daily (2016). Distinctdaily presents: Loliware. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/6EaJmDOat3E
Elizabeth Preston (2018). Eat this spoon. NewsELA. Retrieved from https://newsela.com/read/elem-edible-spoon/id/41855
Fair Trade Certified (2010). Starbucks and fair trade present small changes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=35&v=6MLhSCZq1XY
Fair Trade Foundation (2015). Starbucks and fair trade working together. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5BiT1caWuoE
Hay! Straws (2018). The most eco-friendly drinking straws. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/EBQ5NmPL5so
Henry Bodkin (2017). Plastic cutlery blighting Britain’s beaches as pollution rises 10%. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/30/plastic-cutlery-blighting-britains-beaches-pollution-rises-10/
Jenny Luna (2017). We are so forked: Wait, we toss out how many plastic utensils a year? Mother Jones. Retrieved from https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/07/are-alternate-utensils-for-take-out-an-envrioment-friendly-option/
Laura (no last name) (2014). An update on those amazing edible cups that benefit the environment: Loliware. Retrieved from http://www.ifitshipitshere.com/update-amazing-edible-cups-benefitted-environment/
National Geographic (2016). A spoon you can eat is a tasty alternative to plastic waste. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/r4Cc5zmy0eY
New Hope Network (2015). Entrepreneur profile: Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker, co-founders of Loliware biodegredibles. Retrieved from http://www.newhope.com/managing-your-business/entrepreneur-profile-chelsea-briganti-leigh-ann-tucker-co-founders-loliware-b
Starbucks Coffee (n.d.). Committed to 100% ethically sourced. Retrieved from https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/farmer-support/farmer-loan-programs
Steer, Molly (2017). Straws no more. Tedx Talks. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Rr5Py1r9xjw
Tech Insider (2017). Biodegradable bag is helping save animals’ lives and reduce pollution. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/0VJVkE2IWgE
The Sustainability Box (2016). 15-year-old Filipino genius invents biodegradable plastic bags. Retrieved from https://sustainabilitybox.com/15-year-old-filipino-genius-invents-biodegradable-plastic-bags/