10.1 - The Biosphere - Island School History

Lesson Purpose

As you learned in Unit 5, the biosphere is not static. The biosphere changes as a result of astronomical, geological, and biological influences. The dinosaurs, for example, became extinct as a result of an astronomical event - the effects of an asteroid impact on Earth. Every species impacts the biosphere, though the extent of that impact can vary dramatically. The impact of humans has changed over time. The impact of foragers was not dramatic, but these early humans did have the ability to destroy flora and fauna and cause fires in different parts of the Earth. Agriculture, and later the modern revolution, significantly increased the impact of humans on the biosphere. The acceleration of the last 100 years has seen an acceleration of these human impacts on the biosphere. What are the most significant of these impacts and what should humans be doing about them?

The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To identify important human and environmental issues that affect the future of our species and the biosphere.

Activity 1 - Natural Disasters

Activity Objectives
Humans have been subject to the impact of natural disasters for as long as they have been on Earth. Disasters, unfortunately, are happening all the time. They are typically the result of a variety of factors, which begs the question, are these “natural” disasters really natural, or are they a result of something else? This activity is designed to get you to think about the variety of reasons why natural disasters occur.

Activity Tasks

Take 30 seconds to make a list of all the types of natural disasters you can think of.
Share your answers with your teacher who will write them on the board.
Discuss - Which disasters could, and could not, occur in your area?
Look at this Natural Disaster Chart, which lists some major, recent disasters around the world. Choose one disaster from the chart and brainstorm a list of all the factors that made this particular disaster so devastating. In addition, respond to the following questions about the disaster:
1. Did your natural disaster have more of an impact today than it would have 50 or 100 years ago? Why?
2. Would the disaster have been as intense or as big 50 or 100 years ago? Why or why not?
3. Whom do these disasters impact the most? Why?
4. Are disasters today less “natural” than they use to be? Why or why not?

Activity 2 - Globalisation II: Good or Bad? - Crash Course

Globalization is a process whose impact continues to accelerate. Keeping pace with the changes brought about by globalization will require humans to use their ability for collective learning to innovate and address biospheric changes in the future.

Activity Objectives
This video is meant to get you thinking about globalization and whether or not this process has benefited society in general. Since you are living in the middle of the globalization process, it can be difficult to determine how everything will end up in the future, but the ideas and evidence provided here will help you think more carefully about the positive and negative effects of globalization.

Activity Tasks

Watch the video and try to answer these questions:
1. 1:21 What are some of the benefits of global economic interdependence?
2. 2:40 What does Green mean when he says that globalization has led to a celebration of individualism?
3. 4:52 What are some of the negative impacts of globalization?
4. 7:14 What else is negatively impacting the Earth as a result of globalization?
5. 7:32 Why is Green surprised by the lack of pandemics in recent history?
6. 9:06 Has globalization rid the world of violence?
7. 10:12 What is the ideological shift in the age of globalization that seems new?
8. 10:40 Has democracy been accompanied by economic success?
9. 11:30 Does Green think globalization is good or bad?
10. 12:10 What does Green say about the specific criticism that globalization is increasing inequality across the world?
11. Discuss - Given what you have learned about energy, the impacts on the planet, and on humans in general, what are some solutions for lessening the negative—and potentially catastrophic,—impacts of globalization around the world?

Activity 3 - The Atmosphere and Climate

Activity Objectives
In this video, you are asked to think about the changing impact of humans on the Earth’s climate and how this impact has accelerated in the modern era.

Activity Tasks

Watch the video and try to answer these questions:
1. 1:40 How did farming and the appearance of human civilizations impact climate?
2. 2:24 How does the impact of the Industrial Revolution on climate compare with the impact of farming?
3. 3:02 Why do scientists argue that the Earth is undergoing a period of global warming?
4. Discuss - Do you think that technological innovations, like the ones you have witnessed in your lifetime, allow humans to have less of an impact on the environment, about the same impact, or a greater impact?

The impact of the Industrial Revolution on accelerating the growth of population and innovation in commerce and trade is hard to argue against. The impact of the Industrial Revolution on climate is real, and many populations across the world are already experiencing the negative effects of climate change

Activity 4 - Jacqueline Howard Presents: A Day on Mars

Life on Mars would require quite an adjustment from that on Earth. After a five to ten month journey, inhabitants would have to brave harsh conditions created by exposure to ultraviolet radiation, high winds, and low temperatures. These conditions result from a lack of atmospheric protection surrounding the planet. Communication back to Earth would be difficult due to the vast distances between the two planets. All aspects would not be negative, however: less gravity would make you a better leaper, and two moons would fill the sky at night!

Activity Objectives
This video helps you gain an understanding of what the conditions are like on Mars and what life on the red planet might be like if humans attempt to colonize it in the future.

Activity Tasks

Watch the video and try to answer these questions:
1. 1:09 According to organizers of Mars One, by what year will it be possible to establish a human colony on Mars?
2. 1:40 How does the gravity on Mars compare to that on Earth?
3. 2:52 Utilizing space technology in its current state, how long does it take to travel to Mars? Why does this concern NASA scientists?
4. 3:53 Why did industrialization encourage innovation and what are some examples of this innovation?
5. 5:00 Mars has not one, but two moons, which behave differently than the Earth’s moon. Describe this behaviour.
6. Discuss - Mars and Earth orbit at different distances from the Sun. They also travel at different speeds. We all know that one year on the planet Earth is 365 days. On the red planet, one year consists of 687 days. If you were born on Mars, roughly how old would you be?

Activity 5 - Gapminder Card Sort

Activity Objectives
This activity compels you to think about gaps that exist in today’s world, and should help challenge preconceived ideas about what the world is really like today.

Activity Tasks

Get into groups of 3-5 students. Your teacher will give you a set of country cards.
Arrange or group the cards according to the development level of each country.
Once you’re done sorting the cards, be prepared to explain to the class how your group arranged the cards. Does your arrangement reflect the countries’ income, health, or development more generally?
Study the Gapminder World Map Graph on this worksheet. The main features are:
1. Bubbles represent countries.
2. The size of the bubble is related to the population (the bigger the bubble, the more people).
3. Colour represents the continent
4. Y-axis is life expectancy (health)
5. X-axis is income per person
Next, circle the 16 countries from the card sort on the graph. Then, discuss the following questions:
1. How did their card arrangements compare to what the graph actually shows?
2. Were there any surprising results?
3. What do they think the difference is between more and less developed countries?

Activity 6 - Visions of the Future

Activity Objectives
You will identify a problem affecting the world at large, and will then predict a vision of the future based on this problem and what you now know about the history of the Universe. This activity also allows you to think about how much your thinking has changed during the Big History course, since you completed this activity in the first lesson of Unit 1.

Activity Tasks

Identify a problem affecting the world today, and present a vision of the future based on it. Create a presentation that includes your responses to all of the following questions. Presentations can be in a variety of formats including a short video, a podcast, a digital presentation, an infographic, or anything else you or your teacher might think of (and approve):
1. Define and explain the problem, and explain why they picked that problem.
2. Explain why it qualifies as a problem that affects the entire world rather than a small part of it.
3. Explain how this problem affects the world now, and how they think it will impact the world in 25 years and in 100 years.
4. Explain the top three changes to the world that result from this problem now, in 25 years, and in 100 years. Students should use their understanding of the history of the Universe to create an evidence-based vision of the future.
5. Share research findings about the current status of the problem (if any exists).
6. Research and share predictions that have already been made about what this problem might look like in the future.
7. Discuss how their visions of the future have changed since Unit 1.

Challenge Yourself! - Optional Activities

1. “A billion hours ago, human life appeared on earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion seconds ago, the Beatles changed music. A billion Coca-Colas ago was yesterday morning." --Robert Goizueta, chief executive of the Coca-Cola Company, April 1997
2. What does the World Meteorological Organization project for the future of weather, climate, and water?
3. You can participate in a huge, distributed computing project to help model climate data by doing… pretty much nothing. Learn how here!
4. Four minutes of eye-popping economic and lifespan statistics for 200 countries over 200 years.

TAKE THE QUIZ!