The past century is only a fraction of the time that people have existed in the world, but we have done more to change the planet in that time than in all of history before that. International trade, air travel, and the Internet have made it possible for someone to be surrounded by products, people, and information from thousands of miles away. This lesson will explore the positive and negative effects of globalization, focusing on the students’ place in a world that faces tremendous environmental challenges and is changing extremely quickly. This lesson is broad enough to allow teachers to dive deeper into a number of topics, including international politics, the struggle between environmental responsibility and cost effectiveness, environmental protection in developing and third world countries, etc.
Goals
- Students will learn about the effects of globalization with a focus on the environment, including how it has affected the US and local economies and the pros and cons of manufacturing / farming locally
- Students will learn about the challenges raised by cultural and political differences in orchestrating efforts for conservation and environmental stewardship
Objectives
- Students will compare today’s economy with those of different years during the past century in terms of the impact on the environment.
- Students will list everyday goods they use / consume and analyze where they come from and the resources that were required in producing and transporting them from their site of origin. Students will compare these goods and their requirements to alternatives or locally produced items. Example: Hawaiian pineapples not only support the local economy, but also don’t require the use of fuel to transport them from places like Costa Rica.
- Students will discuss the moral dilemma faced by imposing conservation and environmentally sustainable practices on impoverished countries at the cost of the health of its people.