Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 1 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“The essence of global issues is a recognition that the it may take many years to be fully felt, and it will worsening desertification. people of the world are inexorably linked and that, in require similar time frames to be resolved. Climate Patterns are important today’s world, that which touches some touches us all.” change has proven to be “transnational,” meaning to identify because they that its effects are felt well beyond the borders indicate that a given event is — Paula J. Dobriansky, U.S. Undersecretary of of countries that contribute to it most. Climate not an isolated incident. State for Global Affairs, 2002 change can significantly affect millions of people and is an underlying cause of many events such as Like the different levels of desertification (spreading of desert areas), crop failure an iceberg, deep beneath What are and diminished water supplies. the patterns are the underlying structures or Global Issues? Climate change is also interconnected to many other root causes that create or issues such as food security and forced migration. For drive those patterns. For Global issues are significant issues involving most example, as sea levels rise, citizens of island nations example, the flooding of or all of the earth. Local issues, on the other hand, such as the Maldives, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina may be a involve only a single specific location or geographic are moving to areas of higher elevation, abandoning symptom of a much larger problem of increased Activity region. Most global issues affect people locally all over low-lying areas. Some of these climate refugees have hurricane frequency and intensity.** These observed the world. migrated to New Zealand and other larger islands, changes in weather are thought by many to be the v Visit World Wildlife Fund’s An issue is likely to be global if it: where they must find new homes and jobs.* result of long-term climate change. The devastating Climate Witness Web site www. effect of Hurricane Katrina on the poorest citizens of panda.org/climatewitness to • persists or is long-acting Because climate change is interconnected to other • occurs across national and regional boundaries New Orleans also highlights the potential of climate read about the effects of climate issues, efforts to reduce climate change could in turn change to disproportionately impact the poor. • affects large numbers of people positively impact other issues. For example, reducing change witnessed by people all • is an underlying cause of events carbon dioxide emissions through use of more Finally, at the very base of the iceberg are the over the world. You can also • is connected to other issues that meet these sustainable energy sources such as solar power would assumptions and worldviews that have created learn what people are doing to criteria also reduce air pollution and smog. or sustained the structures that are in place. The stop climate change from further important thing to understand is that in solving What are some global issues you have read or heard The Iceberg Model impacting their homelands. about? Take a look through the newspaper and use problems, changing the underlying structure will have these criteria to find global issues in the news today. One model that is helpful for understanding global the greatest effect on the events at its tip. To reduce issues is the iceberg model. An iceberg is a large piece human contributions to climate change, we will need Climate Change as a Global Issue of ice floating in the ocean. We know that an iceberg to examine the assumptions and worldviews that have Take Action! contributed to climate change. Can we use cleaner v Interview a climate witness. Climate change is a good example of a global has only 10% of its total mass above the water while 90% of it is underwater. But that underwater 90% is sources of energy for electricity? Can we build cities Ask an older relative or issue. Climate change is a result of both natural in such a way that people can walk or ride their bikes and human-induced factors. Natural events such what the ocean currents act on and what creates the community member to explain iceberg’s behavior at its tip. more easily? Can governments regulate the amount of as volcanic eruptions can contribute to climate greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere? how climate (temperatures, change. One major way that humans contribute Global issues can be looked at in this same way. If we rainfall, long-term weather to climate change is through activities that release apply the iceberg model to climate change, we would Tune in on Friday for a more in-depth look at patterns) has changed during greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous say that at the tip, above the water, are “events,” or climate change and a closer look at solutions to his or her lifetime. oxide. Greenhouse gases are released into Earth’s things that we see or hear about happening in the this global issue. atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels (such as coal, world, such as flooding below glacial regions in Nepal oil and natural gas) for energy to heat our homes or or increased desertification in Chad. Events we hear * Alex Kirby, “Pacific Islanders Flee Rising Sea,” BBC News Online, run our cars. When greenhouse gases build up in the about in the news often represent the iceberg tip. October 9, 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1581457.stm atmosphere, they trap heat from the sun near Earth’s If we look just below the water line, we often start to ** P. J. Webster, G. J. Holland, J. A. Curry, and H.-R. Chang, “Changes surface, causing temperatures on Earth to warm. see patterns, or the recurrence of events. This might in Tropical Cyclone Number, Duration, and Intensity in a Warming Climate change is persistent and long-acting in that be multiple floods around the world or years of Environment,” Science, September 16, 2005, 1844-1846.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: Sustainable Solutions each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register for Climate Change for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 2 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

Let’s first consider if wind energy is environmentally It’s All The Seventh sustainable. If wind is a sustainable resource, this means About You! that wind energy cannot be used faster than it can be In many ways, replaced, or substituted for, and that its use does not Generation sustainability is about damage the environment. How many and what kinds Sustainability means that we meet our own needs making choices as of resources are used for wind energy, and what kind of without limiting the ability of people in the future to an individual. The Image: David Horsey cartoon published in the Seattle P-I, Friday, March 22, 2002. waste is created? How does its use impact ecosystems? meet their needs. The “seventh generation” viewpoint choices we make as of the Native American Iroquois Confederacy is a Next let’s examine the economic sustainability of wind individuals influence the choices that we make as good example of what sustainability is all about. This energy. If wind energy is economically sustainable, a society. And the choices we make as a society can Activity viewpoint requires that tribal leaders consider the effects it will have a positive impact on economic systems. have a global impact. v Send a letter to your U.S. senator of their actions on their descendants through the next Is it affordable? Does it create meaningful work and Eating foods grown closer to home can reduce carbon telling him or her about your seven generations. contribute to a community’s economic development? emissions from transporting food long distances. climate change concerns. Ask him Finding Sustainable Solutions Finally, let’s consider if wind energy is socially Using buses, trains and bicycles to get where you need or her to take a specific action sustainable. Being socially sustainable means that it to go rather than using a car can also reduce your (such as signing a climate treaty for Climate Change will not harm cultural and traditional resources and it contributions to climate change. Recycling helps, too: or supporting development of Sustainable solutions to problems that people are facing will not benefit certain people while harming others. It takes less energy to make an aluminum can, plastic energy sources that do not emit today not only deal with present challenges, but also Does use of wind energy improve quality of life for all bottle or piece of paper* from recycled materials than greenhouse gases). To find your consider the well-being of future generations. The key people? Does it preserve the cultural traditions or social from raw materials. senator’s name and address, visit to sustainability is first knowing what is necessary for a institutions of present or future generations? www.senate.gov/general/contact_ good life, and then figuring out how most people can It’s About All of Us! information/senators_cfm.cfm. have that and how future generations can have it as well. Two Types of Solutions Structural solutions occur primarily through government Throughout this series we will explore some “personal decisions and policies. All governments, regardless of Sustainable solutions to climate change must consider solutions” that individuals can take to bring about a their type, create policies and laws that encourage or Take Action! three broad areas: environment, economy, and society more sustainable world. We will also discuss “structural discourage certain economic and social behaviors in v Visit www.facingthefuture.org and — each of which must be healthy and viable over time. solutions” that address the underlying causes of problems their populations and in other nations. Policies designed click on Fast Facts & Quick Actions Let’s look at a possible solution for climate change and and often require action by governments, nations and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute under Latest News from Facing the whether or not it can be considered sustainable. large organizations. to climate change have been created at all levels of Future. Click on Climate Change, government, both in the United States and abroad. Wind energy can be used in many places to provide Both types of solutions are important because the then choose one quick action and electricity without releasing the greenhouse gases that solutions to many of the issues facing us today are Some schools have even gotten involved in structural get started. Be sure to tell your cause temperatures on Earth to rise. For wind energy to interconnected. For example, you may not be able solutions. Redmond High School and other schools are friends and family how you are be a sustainable solution that will benefit us for many to recycle (a personal solution that can reduce your working to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as taking action on climate change, generations, it must be environmentally, economically greenhouse gas emissions) if recycling services are part of the Cool Schools program. They set targets each and get them involved. and socially sustainable. Does wind energy provide a not available in your community. You can, however, year to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced way to meet our needs today in such a way that future encourage local governments to offer recycling in your by their school and then measure the progress of their generations can also meet their energy needs? community (a structural solution). energy conservation and recycling efforts.

* Guy Dauncey and Patrick Mazza, “Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change” (Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2001).

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: Environment & each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Ecological Footprint for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 3 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control Ecological Footprints vary tremendously with each water area needed to absorb our our appetites.” person’s lifestyle and resource consumption choices. carbon dioxide emissions. The good news is that there are some — William Ruckelshaus, first EPA Adminstrator Experts calculate that the average person in India has technologies — such as more a Footprint of about 2 acres. That means that 2 acres Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions effective farming techniques and People and the Planet of land are required to support the average person in to global issues are often interconnected as well. India, supplying that person’s food, shelter, energy, more energy-efficient appliances There are certainly many people on the planet right oxygen and waste disposal needs. By comparison, the — that allow people to consume now (about 6.6 billion, in fact!) — twice as many as average Footprint is 6.4 acres in Mexico, 13.8 acres in resources while lowering their Footprint. there were just 40 years ago and 78 million more than Activity France, and 23.7 acres in the United States. 2 This is an Of course we can also shrink our Footprint by reducing just one year ago. Even in the time it takes to read this v average, and some people in each of these countries have resource consumption. Some of this can be done by Measure your Ecological Footprint paragraph, about 80 more people will have been added Footprints that are bigger or smaller. understanding what we truly need and not consuming by visiting www.myfootprint.org, to the planet.1 and answer this question: If An acre is about the size of a football field. So now you more than we need. This means looking closely at how we That seems like a large amount of growth. But are everyone lived like you, how many can imagine the size of these people’s average Footprints live, including how much and what kind of food we eat, there too many people? Have we grown beyond Earth’s planets would we need? and see the differences between them. If everyone on how we get around, what we do for recreation, and what ability to support us all? Scientists use a term called we choose to buy. Earth had a Footprint the size of the average U.S. citizen v You can compare your Footprint “carrying capacity” to figure this out. Carrying capacity One challenge is that some people in the world (24 football fields apiece), it would takefive more planets to average Footprints around the refers to the maximum number of people the planet can 3 desperately need to increase their consumption of to support us all. world by viewing the National support (or “carry”) now, without using up resources resources. There are 1.2 billion people who live in extreme As population grows, the total human Footprint Footprint Results from the Global that future generations will need to support themselves. poverty around the world; they need more food, more on Earth grows too. If the average level of resource Footprint Network at www. In other words, carrying capacity is the number of education, more health care, and more fuel and energy consumption per person increases, the human Footprint footprintnetwork.org. people that is sustainable — not using resources faster resources. Only after their basic needs have been met and than the earth can reproduce them. on Earth also increases. If both population and resource consumption per person increase — as is the case today when they have economic options can these people make What’s Your Shoe Size? — the total human Footprint on Earth grows even choices about sustainable consumption. Take Action! Ultimately, the number of people Earth can support Because it’s difficult to determine Earth’s exact carrying faster. The size of our Ecological Footprint can affect v depends on the choices we make. Every day, each of Do a trash audit. Write down capacity, some scientists have developed another other species when we use environmental resources they us makes decisions about our lifestyle, our economic everything you throw away during way to study the impacts of human population and depend on. system, our values and what kind of world we want to the course of one day. Evaluate your consumption. They use a concept called “Ecological What Can We Do to Reduce live in. What kinds of choices can you make that will help list to see if any of the items you Footprint.” enhance Earth’s carrying capacity? threw away could be reused or Each person has an Ecological Footprint, the area of Our Footprint? recycled in your community. Share Earth’s productive surface that it takes to support that If more people means a bigger global Footprint, then your findings with your friends and person. This includes farmland, pasture and fishing stabilizing our population is one way to limit our 1 About 253 new people are born worldwide every minute. U.S. Census family members, and then get started Bureau, February 4, 2008, http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/pcwe. grounds to provide food, as well as forested area Footprint on the planet. If we reduced world population reducing and recycling your waste. to provide lumber and paper. It takes into account over time, we would have even more resources available 2 Based on 2003 data from Global Footprint Network, “Ecological for each person. Footprint and Biocapacity (2006 Edition),” http://www. freshwater resources such as lakes and rivers. It includes footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=global_footprint. all the area necessary to provide energy and jobs and Another way to shrink our global Footprint is through 3 Based on data from World Wildlife Fund (WWF), “Living Planet Report 2006.” dispose of wastes (including carbon dioxide). It also technology. Much of the human Footprint today is WWF International, Switzerland, 2006. http://assets.panda.org/downloads/ includes buildings, roads and recreational areas. taken up by the wastes we create, especially the land and living_planet_report.pdf

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: Energy in the each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Sustainability Puzzle for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents A measure of sustainability considers the areas of Global Issues and environment, economy, Sustainable Solutions and society. 4 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

Renewable Energy Sources renewable energy resources Energy in the Approximately one-third of all energy in the world is is to purchase “green power,” Sustainability Puzzle used for electricity in buildings, such as homes and or electricity generated from offices.1 While energy for use in buildings can be sustainable sources. Purchasing The largest component of the world’s Ecological obtained from nonrenewable sources such as oil or green power instead of Footprint is energy. As you may recall, an Ecological natural gas, it can also be obtained from renewable nonrenewable sources of Footprint is the area of land and sea required to sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and water energy reduces greenhouse support a particular human lifestyle. Energy is required resources. These energy sources are renewable because gas emissions and supports the development of Activity for everything we do! We need energy to cook, to they can be replenished when we use them. Because sustainable energy sources. Your household can v heat our homes and to travel from place to place. By they are renewable and produce far fewer greenhouse contact your local electricity provider to inquire Think of at least two ways that you can learning about the resources required for different gases than fossil fuels, these energy sources are more about purchasing green power. reduce your Ecological Footprint by types of energy use and the kinds of wastes produced, sustainable than nonrenewable energy sources. Conserving energy is another way that everyone altering your energy consumption and we can investigate the sustainability of our energy use. carbon dioxide emissions. Share your ideas Wind energy is an example of a growing source of can have a positive impact on the earth right now. Energy sources, or fuels, are often categorized as “Conservation” is the careful use and preservation with everyone in your home. If you work renewable energy. The U.S. Department of Energy together, you will have an even greater renewable or nonrenewable. Renewable sources can reports that wind captured from just 6 percent of of natural resources, such as forests and water. We provide us with energy indefinitely. For example, can conserve energy by making simple changes in impact (plus, you might get a little moral U.S. land area has the potential to supply more than support for trying something new)! solar energy is a renewable resource because it is 1.5 times the amount of energy currently used in the our lives at home and at school to reduce energy continuously created by the sun. Coal, on the other United States! Wind power is clean, abundant and use. Did you know that 5 percent or more of your hand, is a nonrenewable source of energy because it inexpensive. home’s electricity is “leaked” from appliances and can take millions of years for new coal to be produced. other electronics that are turned off but still plugged Take Action! Transportation accounts for almost 30 percent of in? 3 At home, turn off lights, computer equipment v Visit www.facingthefuture.org and click Nonrenewable Energy Sources worldwide energy use.2 Many renewable energy and appliances when you are not using them to save on Fast Facts & Quick Actions under Latest sources can help us get around. For example, gasoline- News from Facing the Future Fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum oil, are energy energy. . Click on electric hybrid cars rely partially on a gasoline engine Energy sources that are produced by the decomposition of , then choose one quick action and and partially on an electric motor. Biodiesel is a Your voice can be a powerful tool for creating prehistoric plants and animals. Burning fossil fuels has get started. fuel created from vegetable oil; it can be used as an change. You can teach others about the importance many environmental impacts, such as acid rain and alternative to petroleum-based diesel (a fossil fuel). of reducing energy use and using renewable energy v Don’t forget that next Tuesday is Earth smog. Also, when we burn fossil fuels, carbon dioxide Ethanol is an alcohol made from grains or other plant sources when possible. Just think: If you persuade Day; this is a perfect opportunity to and other gases are released into Earth’s atmosphere. materials; it can be mixed with gasoline to create a fuel just one other person to live more sustainably, you’ll celebrate and spread the word about the Carbon dioxide (CO ) is a greenhouse gas that 2 that produces less CO when it is burned. have twice the impact that you would alone! actions you are already taking through increases temperatures on Earth’s surface by trapping 2 this newspaper series. Stay tuned for more the sun’s heat. According to scientists from the You may already have guessed that human power is ideas on how you can make your school, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, climate also a renewable source of energy. You can get around 1 Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2004 and your life, more Earth-friendly in the change caused by greenhouse gases could lead to on your skateboard, bicycle or feet without polluting (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2004), p 32. weeks ahead! droughts, rising sea levels and extreme weather events. the air. 2 Worldwatch Institute, p 28. Burning fossil fuels is unsustainable not only because You Have the Power! of its effects on Earth’s atmosphere; fossil fuels are also 3 Michael Woods, “Pulling the Plug on Electricity nonrenewable resources. After we use them, they will We can all reduce our Ecological Footprint by using Leaks,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 8, 2005. not be replaced in our lifetime. sustainable sources of energy. One way to promote

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Water each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Next: for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 5 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“No single measure would do more to reduce disease and save Water from rivers, another important source of freshwater, for irrigation. lives in the developing world than bringing safe water and is replenished by precipitation and snowmelt. This water is Technologies adequate sanitation to all.” often diverted for uses such as dams for producing electricity such as drip and water for irrigation. Great rivers such as the Nile in irrigation and – UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Africa, the Ganges in India and the Huang He in China irrigating less Millennium Report have all been impacted by dams. The Colorado River in the often but with The fixed amount of water on Earth means that as population increases, United States often runs dry before reaching the sea because more precise the available water per person decreases. of reduced snow in the Rocky Mountains and increased timing can save How Much Water human demands for its water. up to 25 percent Is Available? of the water used to grow crops.3 Water Stress Another key to water conservation is growing food that Activity Imagine all the ways you use water each day: drinking, There are different causes of water stress in different places. requires less water to produce. It takes about 37 times more cooking and bathing. “Potable” water is clean and drinkable In some places, one community’s need for water may reduce water (1,260 gallons) to raise 500 calories-worth of beef v Test your water IQ. Go to http:// fresh water. What would your life be like if you did not have another community’s water supply. than it does to grow 500 calories-worth of corn.4 The cow savingwater.org/kids/ to explore easy access to potable water? the source of the water you use In other regions, water stress may be the result of climate itself doesn’t drink this much water, but most cattle today Water is a renewable resource because it can be replaced as change. Rivers and aquifers are both fed by rain and snowfall. are fed grains such as corn — and those grains require every day, and how you can use it is used — but there is a fixed amount of water on Earth. Climate change can cause weather patterns to shift, which water to irrigate them. If people around the world eat a diet water wisely. The following are some basic facts from the U.S. Geological sometimes means that rain and snow fall in smaller amounts of foods that require less water to produce, there will be Survey about water on Earth: or in different places. Snow is particularly important because more water available for other uses. • Of all water on Earth, 97% is salt water in the oceans it stores the water over time, gradually releasing it as the snow melts. What Can You Do? • Of the remaining 3% that is fresh water, approximately There are many international organizations committed to Take Action! 70% is frozen in the polar icecaps; the other 30% is Currently, 745 million people face water stress or water improving access to safe water supplies around the world. v Visit www.facingthefuture.org mostly present as soil moisture or in underground aquifers scarcity, which means they can’t get enough water throughout the year to meet their needs.1 In the next few decades, up to Other groups such as the Washington State Department and click on Fast Facts & Quick • Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water is readily accessible of Ecology are working to ensure availability of water Actions under Latest News from for human uses two-thirds of the world’s population will be affected by water scarcity.2 Many of the places experiencing water scarcity are locally. You can help preserve water resources through Facing the Future. Click on Water, water conservation measures. Water conservation can help Where Does Our Water Come From? also experiencing rapid population growth, which results in then choose one quick action and more people competing for access to water. Water scarcity address local and global water availability issues. How start tackling water issues today! Aquifers (large, underground lakes) are a major source of in many parts of the world has led to predictions that in this can you use less water at home? How could your school drinking water. Humans drill wells into aquifers in order century, wars will be fought over who has access to water. conserve water? to pump the water out. Some aquifers get recharged by Fortunately, there are many ways we can conserve water so rainwater draining into the ground. Others called “fossil 1 Population Action International, “People in the Balance” (Update 2006), http://216.146.209.72/ that more people can use this essential resource. aquifers” recharge extremely slowly, over millions of years, if Publications/Reports/People_in_the_Balance/Interactive/peopleinthebalance/pages/?s=2. at all. Once they’re pumped dry, the stored water is essentially 2 gone forever. Providing Enough Water Falkenmark, M., A. Berntell, A. Jagerskog, J. Lunquist, M. Matz and H. Tropp. “On the Verge of a for Everyone New Water Scarcity: A Call for Good Governance and Human The Ogallala Aquifer in the United States, for example, after Ingenuity.” SIWI Policy Brief. Stockholm International Water years of being used for farming, has fallen sharply in some Seventy percent of all freshwater is used for growing food and Institute, 2007. areas and run completely dry in others. As a result, farmers raising crops. Because agriculture requires a large amount of 3 in parts of the U.S. Great Plains have faced water shortages. water, one way to conserve water is to irrigate crops more WorldWatch Institute, State of the World 2004, New York: Some farmers have been forced to stop irrigating their land efficiently. Researchers have found that there are many ways W. W. Norton & Co, 2004. Pp 47 and 53. altogether. to grow the same amount of food while using less water 4 Ibid. P 54.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Next: Water for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 6 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

that enters the marine environment is known as “marine discharged into environments The Ocean Planet debris.” Some examples of trash found in the ocean include where these species did not Living in Washington, we are surrounded by water — Puget tires, fishing nets and plastic shopping bags. This debris can previously live. (Ballast tanks Sound, Hood Canal, the Columbia River, the Pacific Ocean. harm many kinds of animals, including whales, fish, seals, are large tanks of water Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions It also falls from the sky on a regular basis. With water all turtles, sea birds and corals. Animals can get tangled in that stabilize ships.) A local to global issues are often interconnected as well. around, it can be easy to take it for granted and not think marine debris or they may try to eat marine debris, mistaking example of an exotic species about how human actions can impact the waters that are so it for food. is the European green crab, much a part of this state and our lives. You can prevent nonpoint source pollution and marine which has been found in Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay Nearly 95 percent of all space available for life on the planet debris from entering ocean environments by disposing of on the Washington coast. The commercial Dungeness Activity is within the world’s oceans. Oceans dominate world weather crab fishery is important to the economy of Washington trash properly and not putting any waste in storm drains. v Visit the Surfrider Foundation’s systems. They function somewhat like the human circulatory You could even label storm drains so that other people will state. According to the Washington Department of Fish Web site to learn more about system, absorbing and redistributing heat around the globe know not to put garbage in them. If you have a pet, cleaning and Wildlife, European green crabs may beat out native nonpoint pollution and ways and watering Earth’s surfaces. Humans depend on the ocean up your pet’s waste will also help keep our waters clean. Dungeness crabs for food and habitat, which could harm for much of their oxygen, and also as a habitat for fish that the Dungeness crab fishery. you can help reduce it: www. surfrider.org/20_ways. are the main source of protein for 1 billion people.1 Fishing for the Future You can help to prevent nonnative species from entering Marine biodiversity (the variety of ocean life forms) is Washington state ecosystems and reducing local pdf. Based on the Surfrider Human Impacts on Ocean Health important for healthy ocean ecosystems. Maintaining biodiversity. Never release nonnative plants or animals Foundation’s suggestions, what The oceans are so big that it would seem like humans high ocean biodiversity supports marine food webs. into the wild. are two ways that YOU can couldn’t significantly impact their health. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, numerous species of fish are suffering from promote ocean health? the facts tell a different story. Many human activities cause overconsumption by humans. Between 1950 and 1994, Small Actions Can Make Big Waves damage to ocean ecosystems. The good news is that you have ocean fishers increased their catch 400 percent by doubling The immense size of the oceans and the time lag between the power to make positive contributions to ocean health. the number of boats and using more effective fishing gear. a damaging human action and its final impact on oceans Read on for ways you can help! In 1989, the world’s catch leveled off at just over 82 million may allow people to remain unaware of their impact on Take Action! metric tons of fish per year. That was almost 20 years ago, the world’s oceans. But the reality is that many of our v Marine Pollution and Solutions and we’re not catching any more fish than that today because actions can have a large effect on marine environments. Download a Seafood Watch You may have seen a storm drain on the street with a fish the oceans can’t produce more than that.2 It is important that we work to protect our “blue planet.” card from Monterey Bay stencil painted near it and the words “Dump No Waste: Aquarium: www.mbayaq. Sustain fish and shellfish populations by eating only Can you think of other ways that we can protect the Drains to Stream.” That stencil is there to remind us that org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp. sustainably harvested seafood. Find out which types of world’s oceans? much of the rain that falls on the ground ends up in the Carry this card with you and seafood are best to eat by visiting Monterey Bay Aquarium’s nearest body of water. That runoff takes with it whatever use it to determine which Seafood Watch Web site: www.montereybayaquarium.org/ 1 chemicals may be on the ground it washes over — oil that Shunji Sugiyama, et al., FAO Regional Office for Asia seafood is a good choice for cr/seafoodwatch.asp where you can download a seafood leaks from a car, or agricultural or lawn chemicals. These and the Pacific, “Status and Potential of Fisheries and maintaining healthy oceans. guide to carry with you. substances are a type of pollution called “nonpoint source Aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific,” 2004.http://www. pollution,” which is pollution that doesn’t come from one Exotic Species: Local Pests fao.org/docrep/007/ad514e/ad514e00.htm 2 specific place or source. Nonpoint source pollution includes Another threat to marine biodiversity is nonnative, or Monterey Bay Aquarium, “What’s Troubling Our Waters,” industrial chemicals and agricultural pesticides, as well as exotic, species. Eighty-four percent of the world’s coastal February 25, 2008. http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_ seafoodwatch/sfw_of.asp. nutrients such as fertilizers and animal waste. waters are affected by nonnative species.3 These species Trash that enters the ocean is a different kind of marine can be introduced to a new marine area when they 3 Andrew C. Revkin, “Human Shadows on the Seas,” New pollution. Any long-lasting man-made material (like plastic) are accidentally transported in ships’ ballast water and York Times, Feb. 26, 2008.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Next: Chapter locations vary and are posted online each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Resource Use for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 7 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“In making sure that other species survive, we will resource. Yet, some underground water reservoirs often shift to harvesting other fish species. be ensuring the survival of our own.” (or aquifers), such as the Ogallala Aquifer in the This tragedy of the commons can repeat southwestern United States, take over thousands of itself until many stocks are diminished or – Wangari Maathai (2004 Nobel Peace years to replenish. overfished. Prize Laureate and founder of the Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions Kenyan Green Belt Movement) The availability and use of renewable and 2 nonrenewable resources are important because A Success Story to global issues are often interconnected as well. they largely determine how many people the earth How can we avoid the tragedy of the The Source of Our Stuff can support now and into the future. commons with wild fisheries? Sustainable fisheries can preserve fish species and provide humans with Can you think of anything you use that doesn’t valuable protein. Alaskan fisheries are an example come from nature? Even man-made items such The Tragedy of the Commons Activity of sustainable management of the commons. The as laptop computers originally come from the “Commons” are those resources that all members v Create a web diagram of all the resources required management of Alaska’s major commercial species earth. Our clothes, food and homes are all made of of a community may use, without payment. to make your favorite item of clothing. Start by — salmon, pollock and cod — has been certified resources that the earth produces. The electricity Examples include rivers and lakes, the air we as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. drawing the item in the center of a large piece of we use to power our homes and the fuel we use breathe and the vast oceans that no one person can paper. Next, think about the different parts of the to power our cars, buses and airplanes also come own. What commons are you using right now? It wasn’t always that way. Alaskans learned about item. For example, jeans are usually made of cloth from Earth’s resources. sustainability the hard way when salmon were as well as a zipper or buttons. Write or draw those Garrett Hardin was a biologist who came up with overfished in the 1950s. Tough measures that How we use Earth’s resources affects the present parts surrounding your center picture. Think a concept to describe how humans tend to use the limited catches were put in place. Slowly, the and future supply of these resources — or their about where those materials come from. A zipper natural resources that we share: “The tragedy of salmon runs were built up to record levels that sustainability. Sustainability means using the is made of metal. Where did that metal come the commons.” Commons can be destroyed when have continued since the 1990s. resources we currently need without limiting the people use or pollute resources so heavily that they from? What resources or vehicles are required to ability of future generations to have the resources are no longer available for others to use. There As a result of these efforts, not all fishermen can obtain, process and transport the metal? Write they need. The natural environment is one are a number of examples of the tragedy of the get a permit or catch as much as they would like. all of the environmental resources used on your important component of sustainability. commons: pollution of the air and atmosphere, But many agree that the regulations have resulted web diagram. By the end of this activity, you will in stable catches, increased efficiency and lower Some of Earth’s resources are renewable, meaning deforestation and overfishing fish stocks in probably have a larger web diagram than you operating costs to fishermen, higher market they can be restored or replenished at basically the global waters. would have thought! value for fish and safer working conditions for same rate that we use them. Forests and fish fishermen. are examples of living resources that may be Fishy Business renewed through natural processes, careful Fish is a key food source in the world today. One The lesson from Alaska is that protecting common management and conservation. Wind, water, billion people rely on fish as their primary source resources ensures that they are available for future Take Action! tides and solar radiation are examples of nonliving of animal protein.1 generations. v Join Plant for the Planet’s “Billion Tree renewable resources. When there is no catch limit, a fisherman’s best Campaign,” and be part of a global reforestation effort. Visitwww.unep.org/treeplanting/ Other resources are nonrenewable, meaning short-term interest is to catch as many fish as 1 Shunji Sugiyama, et al., FAO Regional Office plantfortheplanet/ to learn more. they exist in fixed amounts and cannot be possible before others take home a larger share of for Asia and the Pacific, “Status and Potential of quickly renewed or restored by natural or human the total catch. As the total number of available Fisheries and Aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific,” processes. Nonrenewable resources include metals, fish gets smaller, fishermen compete even more 2004. http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ad514e/ minerals (including gold and silver) and fossil fuels intensively to pay for their salaries, boats and ad514e00.HTM. (such as oil, gas and coal). Resources such as soil fuel. Technology also plays a role as faster boats and water may be considered either nonrenewable and improved fishing technology speed this race 2 Information from the Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation (MCAF) or renewable, depending on circumstances. For to a point where the fish stocks become too low and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Personal example, water is often considered a renewable to support a fishery. At this point, fishermen Communication, September 12, 2007.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Next: Chapter locations vary and are posted online each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Resource Use for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 8 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

Beans, Birds and Biodiversity The dominant player in In the developing world, many farmers cultivate a the world coffee market is Earth’s Resources single cash crop such as coffee or cocoa rather than Starbucks, holding about 25 produce staple food crops. In the 1980s, to meet rising percent of the world market Earth produces everything that human beings need share. Since 1998, Starbucks worldwide demand for coffee, forests in Latin America Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions has developed programs to survive — food, water, shelter and energy — as and other developing regions were extensively cut and to global issues are often interconnected as well. well as the beauty and diversity of nature. Does this replaced with high-yield coffee trees that grow in the to lessen its environmental mean that we can expect our planet to keep meeting sun. This resulted in hillside erosion and habitat loss impact by promoting our needs forever, no matter how we use its resources? for many species, especially for birds like the western biodiversity and economic well-being. These practices Consider these facts: tanager that depend on the shade of the forest for include ecologically sound growing and harvesting, Activity reduction of emissions during roasting, use of recycled • During modern times, half of the planet’s tropical survival. Additionally, the extensive use of pesticides to v Learn more about coffee and materials for the storage and transport of beans rain forests have been destroyed or degraded maximize coffee tree yields often pollutes nearby rivers biodiversity by visiting www. and use of recycled paper coffee cups. A portion shadecoffee.org. Click on Shade • On average, three unique plant and animal species and the lungs of coffee workers. of Starbucks coffees are shade-grown varieties and Coffee, then FAQs and answer become extinct every hour1 Agriculture workers in the coffee industry often toil purchased at fair-trade prices. these questions: for long hours in difficult conditions, and many small Variety Is the Spice of Life! coffee farmers earn prices for their coffee that are less Many other coffee roasters and sellers are also • How does shade-grown coffee promoting sustainable coffee production. Some coffee support increased biodiversity? The health of the planet depends on the health of its than the costs of production. This perpetuates a cycle of poverty and debt, as farmers borrow money to get roasters have gone a step further than buying Fair • Why do you think biodiversity many ecosystems. An ecosystem is a community of Trade certified beans by directly purchasing the beans organisms (plants, animals, fungi and bacteria) that from one coffee season to the next. Thankfully, of the is important? 25 million coffee farmers in the world, approximately from coffee farmers rather than buying them from a function as a unit together with their environment. broker. This practice is called “direct trade.” The interdependence among diverse organisms and 1 million farming households in the Southern their environment defines and shapes an ecosystem. Hemisphere alone have already improved their living Purchasing a cup of coffee may seem like a small Take Action! When any species is taken out of an ecosystem, the conditions as a result of sustainable coffee production.4 choice, but consider the millions of cups of coffee v Take action to preserve the entire ecosystem is affected. The variety of life in all its The United States consumes about one-fifth of the consumed each day. All of our small choices have a world’s rainforests. Visit www. forms is called “biodiversity.” world’s coffee, more than any other single country. large collective impact. By making choices to sustain facingthefuture.org and click on Earth’s ecosystems, we can help the planet continue to Fast Facts & Quick Actions under Unfortunately, the world’s biodiversity is disappearing. Fortunately, people in the U.S. can now purchase “shade-grown,” “organically certified” and “fair meet basic human needs. Latest News from Facing the Future. Each year as many as 27,000 species of animals, Rainforests trade” coffee. Shade-grown coffee promotes higher Click on , then choose one plants, insects and microorganisms vanish forever.2 quick action and start making biodiversity than sun coffee because it can be grown 1 Mountain gorillas, giant pandas and snow leopards E. O. Wilson, “The Diversity of Life” (New York: W. W. a difference today! are just a few of the more well-known animal species without clearing forests. Organic coffee is grown Norton & Co., 1999). on the brink of extinction. Many scientists believe without the use of pesticides, which is a benefit to 2 Ibid. biodiversity and farmers’ health. that between 20 percent and 50 percent of all species 3 Louis Harris and Associates, “Biodiversity in the Next Millennium,” 1998 on Earth could disappear in the next 30 years.3 Loss Fair Trade certification assures consumers that a fair poll conducted on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History, of habitat is the main threat to terrestrial species that price is paid to coffee farmers. To become Fair Trade http://research.amnh.org/biodiversity/crisis/crisis.html. are classified as “threatened” or “endangered” by the certified, an importer must pay a minimum price per 4 International Institute for Sustainable Development, “IISD Brews Up International Union for Conservation of Nature and pound, provide credit to farmers and offer technical Sustainable Coffee Report,” September 18, 2003. http://www.iisd.org/ Natural Resources. assistance such as learning organic farming techniques. media/2003/sept_18_2003.asp

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Next: Chapter locations vary and are posted online each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Population for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents 8

7 Global Issues and 6 It took nearly all of human history – 5 about 50,000 years – for the global population to reach 1 billion, 4 Sustainable Solutions but it only took another 123 years 9 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the to reach 2 billion. 3 Billions of People classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 2 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13. 1

“When we try to pick out anything else in the universe, gatherers, early humans (about 50,000 years difference is the we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” ago) followed the migrations of animals and the increase in global – John Muir, Sierra Club Founder seasonal growth of plants. Population during population.2 The this time remained stable, with almost as many bottom line is that Populating people dying every year as were born. the human population grows whenever more people are born in a year than die. Activity About 10,000 years ago, that started to change. As population increases, exponential v View the 2007 World Population Data Human existence and population growth rates the Planet growth (a constant rate of growth applied Sheet on the Population Reference Bureau’s were radically altered as people learned to grow It might be argued that without the pressure of to a continuously growing base) can cause Web site at www.prb.org. Compare the plants and raise animals. Farming can produce up population, health and environment population growth, none of the issues facing population to increase faster and faster. humanity today would be large enough to qualify to 100 times as much food as will grow wild on statistics of the United States and two other countries and answer these questions: as global. Stabilizing population growth and the same amount of land. When food is plentiful, The fertility rate for a society is the average lowering the consumption rate of wealthy nations a population tends to grow. When people learned number of children born per woman. • How do life expectancy, rate of natural to grow their own food, regional populations Although many developing countries are increase, and carbon dioxide emissions are two interconnected and critical steps to per capita compare among these three addressing global issues. around the world grew rapidly and were currently experiencing high fertility rates, increasingly concentrated in towns and villages. worldwide fertility rates have come down, countries? About 50 years ago, there were 2.5 billion people The cycle of increased food supplies and growing from an average of five children per woman • What are some possible explanations for living on Earth. It took nearly all of human populations has continued throughout history. in 1950 to 2.8 children per woman in 2004. the trends that you observed? history — from prehistoric time until after World However, there are many more people of Can you find any articles in the newspaper that War II — for human population to reach that childbearing age today than ever before. It level. Now that number has more than doubled demonstrate the connections between food and Take Action! takes only a slight increase in fertility rates to v to 6.6 billion people, with about 80 million population today? 3 While the United States only has 5 percent significantly increase population. of the world’s population, we consume people added to the planet each year. That’s like By the early 1900s, the discovery that germs Tune in on Friday for a more in-depth look at 25 percent of the Earth’s resources. The adding another Germany every year or another cause disease led to improvements in medicine how exponential growth impacts population energy consumed in our homes and our San Francisco every three-and-a-half days. and sanitation. Better water and sewer systems size and Earth’s carrying capacity. We will also methods of transportation are the two Experts who study population growth project cut back the death toll from communicable biggest culprits. Make a pledge to reduce take a closer look at personal and structural that by 2050 there will be over 9 billion people diseases. The development of antibiotics and your impact in one of these areas for one solutions to this global issue. living in the area where 6.6 billion of us live now.1 vaccines controlled many diseases that had week. Share with your friends, family and The larger question surrounding population been fatal in the past. The seeds for a modern classmates the results of your efforts to 1 reduce your energy consumption. growth is not only the number of people living population explosion had been planted. Information from U.S. Census Bureau, on the planet, but also what their collective CIA World Factbook, and Population The Population Equation: Reference Bureau. impact is — whether positive or negative. It All Adds Up 2 Ibid. Planting the Population Seeds Population growth is affected by numbers of For most of human history, population growth births and deaths worldwide. About 139 million 3 “World in the Balance,” NOVA (video), occurred slowly. Living in small tribes as hunter- people are born each year and 60 million die; the WGBH Boston, http://www.wgbh.org.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Population for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 10 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13. How Many People Can the Footprint is another possible Earth Support? solution to population-related issues. Here are a few ideas How Are We An important concept in looking at population growth to get you started on shrinking is that of Earth’s “carrying capacity.” Carrying capacity your Footprint: Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions Growing? is the number of people the Earth can support without to global issues are often interconnected as well. Each year there are more and more people on Earth. using resources faster than the planet can reproduce • If you or your family is going to Population projections suggest that by 2050 there them. Experts disagree on this number because carrying buy a new car, consider getting will be over 9 billion people living in the area where capacity depends on a number of debatable factors: one that is fuel-efficient and minimally polluting. 6.6 billion of us live now. 1 How and where will the type and quantity of available resources; how these • Whenever you can, use your feet, a bicycle, Activity a skateboard or take a bus to get around. world population change? With almost half of the resources are distributed; how much of the resource v According to the U.S. Census Bureau, world’s population under age 25, world population each person uses; and people’s relative quality of life. • Eat one fewer meal including meat each week in 1950, the population of Seattle was will increase by several billion when those young Production of meat requires many more resources Another variable in determining carrying capacity is 467,591. Visit www.census.gov to people start families over the next few decades.2 than production of nonmeat protein sources. whether or not people believe that areas need to be left find out the population of Seattle in Currently 95 percent of all population growth occurs for plants and wildlife, in addition to providing for Can you think of other humane ways in which 2000. Calculate the rate of increase in developing countries. India is expected to soon humans and their immediate needs. individuals can personally address population growth from 1950 through 2000. Based on surpass China as the world’s most populous country. and carrying capacity issues? your findings, estimate the population Meanwhile, shrinking populations are predicted for in the year 2050. Then answer the Sustainable Solutions to the Structural Solutions some developed countries such as Japan, Russia and Population Puzzle following questions: the nations of Europe.3 Many structural actions can be taken to help stabilize • How will your life change as a Population growth and the associated demand for human population growth. One important step is result of increasing population? These population statistics and trends have important resources bring urgency to other pressing global consequences, especially when combined with other providing primary health care around the world in • In what ways do you think Seattle issues such as poverty, conflict and environmental order to lower infant and child mortality, increase global issues such as poverty. Of the 5.2 billion people degradation. Stabilizing population growth could allow will look different in 2050? living in developing countries, nearly 60 percent life expectancies and provide other essential services. humans to live within Earth’s carrying capacity and If families had access to basic health care — which do not have basic sanitation, and one-quarter lack improve quality of life for many people. Given that proper housing. Twenty percent do not have access prevents most childhood deaths — many families people in wealthier countries on average have large would have only the number of children that they Take Action! to modern health services, and 20 percent of children Ecological Footprints, reducing Footprints in these v Find alternative uses for materials do not attend school through grade five.4 Given ideally want. Reproductive health care is an important countries is another important way to live within the part of primary health care. currently being thrown in landfills these harsh realities, people in poorer countries may carrying capacity of the planet. (such as tires, cell phones and rely on large extended families to make a living and 1 computers) in your community. to care for the elderly. For example, in rural areas, Population Reference Bureau, “2007 World Population Data Personal Solutions Sheet,” http://www.prb.org/pdf07/07WPDS_Eng.pdf Develop a project to support the people need help to gather cooking fuel, carry water, reuse of at least one of these items in At some time in their lives, most people will need to 2 grow food and tend livestock. Yet because disease and U.N. Population Fund, “State of World Population 2003,” your home, school or community. make a decision about family size. Family planning http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2003/swpmain.htm. malnutrition (inadequate or unbalanced nutrition) kill is perhaps the most important personal solution to 3 U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “World many children before they grow up, large families are population growth and carrying capacity. often seen as a necessity. This tends to keep fertility Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision,”http://www.un.org/esa/ and population growth rates up, which can have the Because of relatively higher rates of consumption of population/publications/WPP2004/wpp2004.htm. effect of perpetuating poverty, illness and conflict over the average person in the United States compared to 4 U.N. Family Planning Association, “The State of World Population limited resources. many other parts of the world, reducing our Ecological 2001,” http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2001/english/ch01.html.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: Food each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 11 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” consumption of animal-based foods. In India, the Many organizations are dedicated – James Beard, American chef and food writer average person eats about 11 pounds of meat each year, to making sure that all people Horsey cartoon from June 14, 2001 – Uncle Sam super-sizing while an average person in the United States eats about have access to food. Some are 269 pounds.1 In fact, the consumption of food is so large intergovernmental organizations, such as the Food for All out of balance that more than 1 billion people, mostly United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Activity There are two big challenges to feeding the human in developed countries, are now overnourished to the which provides food for people in regions facing v Visit the United States Department of population. The first is ensuring that people can point of being overweight or obese.2 severe hunger and food shortages. WFP addresses the Agriculture’s food pyramid page at www. mypyramid.gov. Click on My Pyramid get the basic food they need and that our food root causes of hunger, such as poverty, population Yet, even in the United States, millions of people live Plan and armed conflict, through programs that boost and enter your information to see distribution systems work so that no one is seriously in households that experience hunger or the risk of your customized food pyramid. Then economic development, agricultural production and malnourished or starving. In this article, we will hunger. Here in Washington state, approximately answer the questions below: examine this challenge and some possible solutions. food security. 100,000 residents are chronically hungry. • How many servings of fruit The second challenge is to make sure that the way we A large number of nongovernmental organizations should you eat each day? produce food is sustainable so that the systems that Causes and Effects of Malnutrition (NGOs) are working on solutions to hunger. One • What kinds of vegetables are support all life on Earth are not damaged. Tune All of us have probably experienced some form of such organization is Heifer International, whose best for you? in on Friday to learn more about this challenge programs provide livestock and training in livestock hunger at some point in our lives. Can you remember a • What kinds of foods should be the and its solutions. time when you were very hungry? What did it feel like? care to people in need around the world. Donors largest portion of your diet? The United Nations reports that today more than Were you able to think about anything else? purchase gifts of domestic animals, such as goats, cows or chickens, for poor communities; residents 840 million people in the world — mostly women, Malnutrition is a lack of healthy foods in a person’s children and the elderly — are hungry. This isn’t are then trained to care for their animals and harvest Take Action! diet, which can negatively impact their growth and their milk or eggs. v because there’s not enough food to go around. In fact, development. Malnutrition can be caused not only Does your community have what it takes to help end food security problems? Find out there is now more food grown than ever before. by lack of food, but also by eating poor-quality food. Other groups are working to ensure greater access what kinds of foods are readily available in to food locally. Most schools provide free meals to Then Why Are People In developing countries, poor-quality food usually your neighborhood. Create a list of 10 foods lacks sufficient nutrients, but in wealthier developed students who might not be able to purchase lunch. that are part of a healthy diet. Think carefully Going Hungry? countries, poor-quality food is usually those items high Many food banks, including Second Harvest and about which foods are most healthy: fresh or Even though there is more than enough food for in fats, salts and sugars. Obesity, due to poor-quality Northwest Harvest, help to distribute healthy food processed fruits and vegetables, organic or everyone, the food is not distributed equally. In some food, is rapidly becoming a worldwide problem as to families in Washington. nonorganic dairy products, fish or beef, etc. cases, even if food is available, some people do not unhealthy Western foods — primarily fast foods — What measures can you take to help address food Visit the grocery store closest to your house and see if all 10 foods you listed are available. have the money to buy it. In other cases, a specific are becoming more popular. needs locally or globally? group of people may be prohibited from accessing If not, talk to the store manager about why food resources. In many cases, governments in poor you think he or she should sell those foods. Providing Food for Today 1 Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent, “New Consumers: Learn about other ways you can ensure countries sell the food they grow to other countries in and Tomorrow The Influence of Affluence on the Environment,” order to pay their debts instead of using it to feed their food security in your community at www. Over the past 50 years, food production has grown Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, people. Armed conflict also can lead to hunger when foodsecurity.org/what_you_can_do.pdf. faster than the rapidly growing population, and is April 15, 2003, http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/ farmers are forced to abandon their lands. full/100/8/4963/T3. predicted to keep growing faster than population People in wealthier or developed countries consume through 2030. Yet experts believe that people will still 2 Lester R. Brown, “Plan B Rescuing a Planet under Stress and much more food and calories than do people in go hungry in many parts of the world unless poverty a Civilization in Trouble,” Earth Policy Institute, 2003, developing countries. This is primarily due to a high and unequal food distribution systems are addressed. www.Earth-policy.org/Books/PlanB_ch5_socialdivide.pdf.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: Food and the each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Environment for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 12 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

Farming for the Future Eat Well A Growing The challenge we face now is to continue to grow Eating sustainably grown food is one enough food for everyone without continuing to way that you can make sure our planet Food Supply damage the systems that support all life on Earth. can continue to meet our needs now Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions Already, farmers around the world are using farming and into the future. To eat sustainably, to global issues are often interconnected as well. People have not always farmed. In fact, for thousands techniques that have been proven to protect the we have to learn about what we’re of years people lived as hunter-gatherers, following health of the soil and environment. This type of food eating. If you have ever grown your animal migrations and the seasonal growth of plants. production is often called “sustainable agriculture.” own food, you already know a lot about what goes During this time, population remained fairly stable into the food you eat. If you have never grown food, Activity Sustainable agriculture can reduce soil erosion as the number of people who died was about the you can ask your teacher or a parent if you can take v Learn about genetically modified (GM) foods through reduced tillage. In some cases, a crop may be same as the number of people who were born. a field trip to a nearby farm or dairy. You could also by visiting Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia. planted without first plowing the soil, which causes visit a community garden or talk to the vendors at a org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food. Read About 12,000 years ago, people began to grow their soil erosion. Crop rotation is another sustainable farmers market. the entry to learn what GM foods are grown own food, which allowed population to grow as agriculture technique. By not planting the same crop in the United States, and discuss the following well. Slowly, farming evolved to support growing year after year in the same ground, farmers are able When shopping for groceries, we can ask questions questions with another student in your class: civilizations around the world. to keep the soil full of nutrients and minerals for and learn more about ingredients. Requesting • Will food security be attained through Around the middle of the last century, agriculture future crops. A third sustainable farming technique sustainably grown food will encourage stores and the higher yield levels of genetically went through a transformation called the Green is to water crops more efficiently using techniques restaurants to provide more sustainable choices. Also, modified food technology, or will these Revolution. Fertilizers, pesticides, hybrid seeds, new like drip irrigation that use only enough water for the when we buy locally grown food, we reduce the new technologies compromise food security machinery and irrigation projects began to be used crops to grow. carbon emissions from transporting the food to us. by endangering the well-being of humans around the world. These new agricultural practices “Organic farming” is one form of sustainable If you’re wondering what locally grown organic food and ecosystems? and technologies dramatically increased crop yields, agriculture. Instead of killing weeds and pests with is all about, do a taste test. This summer, you could do • Should people focus on increasing food helping to feed a growing world population. By the man-made chemicals, organic farming uses other a taste test between a locally grown organic tomato or supplies by producing more genetically 1960s, monocultures (fields where only one crop is methods to fight pests. Some organic farmers work peach and one that has been grown using traditional modified foods, or should they focus on grown) and heavy dependence on chemical fertilizers, to increase numbers of predator insects like ladybugs methods and shipped from far away. Do you think limiting demand for food by controlling pesticides and herbicides had become the norm in that eat pest insects. Rather than using non-natural they will taste different? population growth and altering their diet? agricultural production worldwide. fertilizers, organic farmers often use decaying plant Sustainable, healthy and tasty food is making its way material (called “compost”) and animal manure to Many of the Green Revolution’s gains in food into school cafeterias. A chef in California started a provide important nutrients that plants need to grow. production have had an environmental cost. program called the “Edible Schoolyard,” which helps Take Action! v Visit www.facingthefuture.org and click on Converting forests, wetlands and prairies into Organic farming methods can reduce our students to grow, harvest and cook food at their Fast Facts & Quick Actions under Latest News farmland has resulted in a loss of valuable habitats contributions to climate change. Cattle raised school. If your school does not already have a garden from Facing the Future. Click on Hunger and for people and animals. Intensive irrigation (the organically on grass have been found to emit and you’d like to get your hands dirty, you may want choose one quick action to make an impact artificial application of water to farmland) has led to 40 percent less greenhouse gases than cattle raised to tell your principal and teachers about this! You on hunger solutions today. a buildup of small amounts of salt and other minerals on grain.1 By eating a natural diet of grass rather and your friends can create change that benefits the found in water over time. Eventually, these saltier than grain, cows actually release less methane, a entire school by encouraging your school or district to soils are not able to produce as much food. Also, greenhouse gas that leads to global warming. provide food choices that are sustainable and healthy. pesticides and fertilizers have been carried by water runoff into lakes, rivers and ground water, posing a These are just a few of the agricultural innovations danger to humans and other species. that are taking place. Now let’s talk about how you 1 Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2008, New York: W.W. Norton can contribute to the sustainable food movement. & Company, 2008, p 65.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Next: Poverty for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 13 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“Well-fed people have many problems; hungry people resources so they can continue to have access to food, One long-term solution to global have only one.” education, health care and safe neighborhoods. This poverty is to support fair trade, so — Chinese proverb dynamic can cause fear, tension, hostility and conflict that poor farmers receive fair rewards from both the “haves” and the “have-nots.” for their labor. Fair trade ensures that Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions Poverty in Numbers farmers are paid a decent wage for their to global issues are often interconnected as well. Nobody chooses to be poor. Yet many people in The Poverty Cycle product. For governments, this could our world live in poverty. According to the United Because the effects of poverty are also the causes of mean adopting fair trade agreements Nations Development Programme (UNDP), two out poverty, people often say that poverty is cyclical. Most with other nations. For individuals like you, it can of every five people on the planet (2.8 billion people) people living in poverty were born into poverty. This mean buying from companies that practice fair trade. Activity live on less than $2 per day, and one of every five makes it difficult for the poor to break the cycle. Another solution is to provide basic tools for people people (1.2 billion people) live on less than $1 per v Learn more about some of the organizations Many policies and systems in place at local, national who have nothing to lift themselves out of extreme day. Imagine what it is like to be Jyoti, a girl in India working to end global poverty by visiting and international levels can keep the cycle of poverty poverty. Heifer International is one organization that who lives in a mud house. Jyoti lives in poverty. Her these Web sites: going. For example, in some U.S. areas where schools does this. Heifer International provides poor people village has no electricity, running water or doctor. • Heifer International are funded by property taxes, schools in low-income with farm animals and training, so that they can begin She works all day instead of attending school. www.heifer.org districts receive less money while schools in high- to make enough money to support their families. While many poor people live in developing countries, income districts receive more money. This system can • The Grameen Foundation An international effort to end poverty is the United www.grameenfoundation.org poverty is also a problem in wealthy nations. Over prohibit students in low-income areas from receiving Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 12 percent of people in the United States live in the best possible education, which could help them In 2000, 189 leaders from around the world agreed • Oxfam America poverty, which is defined as an annual income of less break the poverty cycle. to complete the MDGs by 2015. The MDGs include www.oxfamamerica.org than $21,000 for a family of four.1 Consider Joan, a Some people think other systems such as agricultural eight specific targets for improving the lives of the After you research these three organizations, woman in her 40s who is a hostess at a restaurant in subsidies contribute to the cycle of poverty. Subsidies world’s poorest people, including eliminating extreme share what you learned by choosing your Florida. She lives in a van and showers in a friend’s are money paid by the government to farmers so that poverty and hunger. favorite organization and sending the link to motel room. Joan cannot afford to miss a day of work people can buy food at low prices while farmers still one or more of your friends. or see a doctor when she is sick. The UN argues that we now have the money, earn sufficient income. Because they receive money resources and technology to end poverty once and for The Haves and the Have-nots from the government, farmers can sell food such as all. Tune in on Friday to learn more about how you corn to countries outside the United States for less can join the movement to end world poverty. Poverty relates to how wealth is distributed around than it costs to grow the corn. How do you think this Take Action! the world. There is an extreme imbalance of wealth could affect U.S. farmers and those in other countries? v Visit www.facingthefuture.org and click on both in the U.S. and around the world. The wealth 1 DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor and Fast Facts & Quick Actions under Latest News of the world’s 200 richest people is equal to the Breaking the Cycle Cheryl Hill Lee, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population from Facing the Future. Click on Poverty and combined annual income of the world’s poorest Governments, organizations, companies and Reports, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage choose one quick action to help eliminate 2.5 billion people.2 The U.S. has the largest individuals all have important parts to play in in the United States: 2004, U.S. Government Printing extreme poverty. imbalance of wealth. In 2005, the wealthiest combating an issue as complex and common as Office, Washington, DC, 2005. 1 percent of Americans earned almost a quarter poverty. To address poverty, we must critically of all U.S. income.3 2 “Economics For Ever: Building Sustainability into analyze and adjust the systems we have in place: our Economic Policy,” PANOS Media Briefing No. 38, A community or region where poverty is present educational systems, international trade systems, March 2000. http://www.panos.org.uk/global/reportdownload.asp inevitably affects neighboring communities and economic models, political structures and health care ?type=report&id=1000&reportid=1006 countries. For example, those who “have not” tend systems. Simply giving money to those in need may to migrate in search of what they need to survive. address the tip of the iceberg but fails to tackle the 3 Greg Ip, “Income-Inequality Gap Widens,” The Wall Street Journal, Those who “have” often try to secure their land and problem at its roots. October 12, 2007.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Poverty Solutions for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 14 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

How we measure poverty and progress also out additional loans to expand their affects how we work toward reducing poverty and businesses — buying a second cow It’s Not Just increasing prosperity. Effective targets need to reflect to sell even more milk in their village human and ecological well-being. Most countries or building a simple hut with a tin Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions already measure the quantity of economic activity roof to house a store. to global issues are often interconnected as well. About Money generated by their citizens through indicators such The resulting income transforms Poverty is a problem that affects people all over the as average income or “gross domestic product.” borrowers’ lives, enabling better world, including people here in the United States. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total value of nutrition, education, housing and health. Successful Poverty affects every aspect of life and interconnects goods and services produced by a country. “GDP microcredit programs improve the economic well- with many other issues including migration, per capita” is the average amount of money a person being of whole communities. Women, who receive Activity conflict and violence, hunger, education, health and earns during one year. the majority of these loans, often use their earnings v Visit www.kiva.org, click on Lend and community well-being. How do you think poverty It is also important to examine the quality of to support their families and community projects read about three or more entrepreneurs affects the issues just listed? economic activities through indicators such as how such as schools. In a 1998 study, the World Bank and how they plan to use their loan When we think about poverty, we often look at long people are expected to live, how clean our air found that extreme poverty fell 70 percent within money. Then answer these two questions: economic factors such as the number of people and water are or how many people can read and five years among borrowers of the Grameen Bank’s • Do any of these projects surprise you? who live on less than $2 a day or how much money write. These indicators are missing from traditional microcredit program in Bangladesh.1 Microcredit people make in a year. But poverty is much more economic measures such as the GDP. Effective programs have branched out to reach rural and • How do you think these loan amounts than an issue of money (or the lack thereof). Being solutions to poverty must promote both economic urban borrowers on nearly every continent, as well compare to traditional loans for small poor means being deprived not just of food, shelter and social progress. as in the United States. businesses in the United States? or safe drinking water, but also of things such as the opportunity to learn and to engage in meaningful Microcredit: A Powerful Solution You Can Create Change work. Poverty is both an economic and a social issue. In 1976, an economics professor named Individuals can have a big impact on poverty. Here Take Action! Of course, economic growth is one key to reducing Muhammad Yunus was visiting very poor are a few actions you can take: v Help people in your community that poverty. Another key is improving people’s quality households in Bangladesh when he realized that • Vote with your dollars. Support businesses that are struggling with poverty by holding of life — ensuring that people have opportunities very small loans could lift people out of poverty. are environmentally sustainable and that provide a food drive. Consult with Northwest for long and healthy lives, education, a sufficient In 1983, Yunus helped found the Grameen Bank workers with fair wages, safe working conditions Harvest at www.northwestharvest.org income and the ability to make personal life to provide loans to poor Bangladeshis. Since the and benefits such as health insurance. to learn which foods are needed most decisions. Without tools of empowerment such Grameen Bank was founded, it has loaned money • Become familiar with the Millennium and to coordinate your food drive. You as health and education, an extra $2 per day may to more than 7 million people. Development Goals and support organizations can also download a Food Drive Kit provide an extra meal but may not break the cycle of This system of providing very small loans to poor that work to address poverty at its roots, both from their Web site. poverty and improve quality of life in a lasting way. people, often poor women, is called “microcredit.” locally and worldwide. Microcredit is a powerful tool for helping break the • Volunteer with homeless shelters, food banks and What Does Prosperity Look Like? cycle of poverty. As with any other form of credit, other social service organizations that work to borrowers pay back the loaned money, with interest. What do you think a world without poverty looks reduce the impact of poverty locally. like? While everyone may envision different details, A microcredit borrower might buy the materials to all people want an environment in which we can open a small store selling basic household supplies develop our full potential and lead productive lives or buy a pot and bulk ingredients for selling simple 1 RESULTS website, “Microcredit,” February 13, 2008, according to our needs and interests. snack foods on the street. Some borrowers take http://www.results.org/website/article.asp?id=244.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Next: Health for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 15 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope • 1.8 million children die each year from diarrhea They also recommend has everything.” increasing your intake One organization working to improve health around – Arabian proverb of fruits, vegetables, the world is Partners in Health. Dr. Paul Farmer is Source: World Health Organization, www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/data/en/ whole grains and low- one of the founders of Partners in Health. As a young (Accessed May 20, 2008.) fat dairy foods. A Global Checkup man, Farmer traveled to Haiti to cure people living Being healthy is something that everyone around the with tuberculosis (TB), a deadly but treatable infection world cares about. Without good health, other aspects of the lungs. In Haiti, he soon found that providing Global Health Challenges Activity of a good quality of life — sufficient income, a good medicine was not enough — his patients needed food, and Victories v Life expectancy is the average number education and time spent with friends and family — clean water and access to health providers. There are a growing number of health challenges in of years that a person born today are worth little. What current articles about health can In one Haitian community, Dr. Farmer witnessed the world. Some diseases, like malaria, have been would be expected to live if the current you find in today’s newspaper? people climbing down a steep hillside to get their water around for a long time, while new diseases, such as mortality rate stays the same — that from a reservoir of dirty, nonmoving water. Many the West Nile virus, have recently emerged. The is, if the conditions affecting life do Advances in medicine in the past 50 years have meant not change. that more people around the world are surviving past people in the village were suffering from diarrhea; the good news is that many people are working hard to childhood and the average life span is increasing. foul water was making them sick. After learning this, prevent, treat and even eliminate these diseases. Choose a country that you want to In fact, this has been one of the major reasons for a group of engineers devised a system to carry water to One disease that has spread to all types of people know more about. Visit the World population growth during the past 50 years. Yet many the village by pipes from a nearby river. This resulted in in all corners of the globe is AIDS. Human Health Organization (WHO) Web people struggle to meet the most basic human needs an immediate decrease in infant deaths. Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that site at www.who.int/countries/ of food, water, shelter and personal safety. causes AIDS, a condition that includes symptoms en/ to learn more about health in Basic Need #2: Food such as infections and/or cancers. According to your chosen country. Write three Life expectancy (the number of years a newborn is More than 30 percent of all childhood deaths are the World Health Organization, an estimated paragraphs about your country and expected to live) is significantly lower in the world’s caused by malnutrition, according to a report from the 33 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS. offer a possible explanation for its poorer countries than it is in wealthier countries. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Aga Khan The CDC estimates that over 1 million Americans average life expectancy. Share your Within wealthier countries there are also groups of University in Pakistan. This is largely a problem for have HIV/AIDS. findings with the rest of your class. people who have lower life expectancy. It is the women poor people who depend on basic food crops. and children, especially in poorer countries, who Most health experts agree that the HIV/AIDS suffer from illness and disease. Insufficient food and Yet, rich people are also affected by diet. Many people epidemic is the greatest threat to world health in Take Action! lack of clean drinking water are the main problems in wealthier countries suffer from overeating and terms of its proven potential for spreading. Although contributing to illness and disease. unhealthy diets. In the United States, poor eating habits HIV/AIDS has reduced the average life span in some v Be part of a global solution for HIV/ have led to increased rates of obesity, heart disease and regions, people in countries such as Thailand and AIDS. Visit www.facingthefuture. Basic Need #1: Water diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control Uganda have been successful in limiting AIDS by org and click on Fast Facts & Quick and Prevention (CDC), 33 percent of adults in the encouraging education about how to prevent the Actions under Latest News from Facing Lack of water can be fatal to those suffering from spread of HIV. Educating yourself and others about the Future. Click on HIV/AIDS and illnesses such as diarrhea, which causes people to U.S. are obese, and 17 percent of children and adolescents are overweight. HIV/AIDS and how to prevent its spread is one way choose one quick action to work on become dehydrated. Consider these statistics from that you can be part of a global solution. improving health around the world. WaterPartners International: Factors that contribute to being overweight or obese include nutrition and level of physical activity. The U.S. Stay tuned for an in-depth look at the connections • Approximately one in six people do not have access among health and other global issues in Friday’s to safe drinking water Department of Health and Human Services encourages us all to engage in physical activity, which includes Seattle P-I! • Water-related diseases are the leading cause of death playing sports, doing household chores and walking. for children under the age of five

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Health Connections for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 16 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

How can we improve the well-being of our poorest • Buy items produced close to citizens? While there are no easy answers, some your home. This reduces the What Is Good possible strategies include increasing child care and fossil fuels and air pollution educational services for people with low incomes. used to transport items from Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions far away. Health, Anyway? Asthma and African Dust to global issues are often interconnected as well. • Recycle and buy recycled What does good health mean to you? Many people Asthma is the most common chronic childhood products. Recycled products think of health as the absence of illness. A broader illness in the U.S. According to the American Lung such as aluminum cans and paper require less energy definition of health is provided by the World Health Association, 6.5 million children under 18 have (and therefore less fossil fuel) to produce. Activity Organization (WHO). WHO defines health as asthma. Asthma is a lung condition that can make v In addition to what organizations complete physical, mental and social well-being. it difficult to breathe; in severe cases it can lead to Educate Yourself are doing to address world health death. Asthma attacks can be caused by many things, Health is a global concern connected to many other You may never have thought about how education issues, there are actions you can including allergens like pollen from trees and irritants global issues such as poverty, the environment and impacts your overall health. As it turns out, education take for a healthy life. Determine like cigarette smoke and air pollution. education. Let’s examine some interconnections and has everything to do with health! There are examples all at least five factors that contribute ways you can improve health and well-being for What does climate change have to do with asthma? over the world of how educating women leads to better to your physical and mental yourself and others. This may seem like a strange question, but the answer health of their children and families. Some researchers health. Set goals for these five may be even more surprising! Northern African soils have also found that people who stay in school longer factors in your life. Economic Equality: A Needed are becoming drier and drier. This is due to several enjoy longer lives and better health during old age than reasons, including drought, the drying of Lake Chad, people with less education.2 Why do you think you Booster Shot? and overgrazing — all of which are intensified by might enjoy better health if you stay in school? One issue connected with health is economic climate change. Improve your health and the health of others by Take Action! inequality. Economic inequality, sometimes called the Much of the dust from Africa is carried by winds learning more about health issues and solutions. v Be a health ambassador: Learn rich-poor gap, refers to the difference between income across the Atlantic Ocean to Caribbean islands such For example, learning the signs of mental illness and teach other students about levels of very poor and very wealthy people. Some as Trinidad and Barbados. Asthma rates on these two (see the National Association on Mental Illness: good health habits. Visit Safe Kids research indicates that in wealthier countries there is islands are the highest in the world, and dust from www.nami.org) could help you, a friend or a family Worldwide, www.safekids.org, a connection between economic inequality and the Africa is thought to be one reason. Dust from Africa member. Also, practicing good hygiene habits the Washington State Department population’s health. has also reached Florida, where asthma rates have (see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: of Health, www.doh.wa.gov, and In 2005, the United States ranked 30th in life increased significantly over the last two decades.1 www.cdc.gov) could help you and others around the CDC, www.cdc.gov for health expectancy, despite spending more money on health This is a dramatic example of the impact that you avoid illness. and safety information. Then worldwide environmental and climate conditions create an awareness campaign care than any other country. Researchers at the What do you already know about good health habits, can have on human health. using posters, public service Population Health Forum, an organization founded at and what would you like to learn more about? the University of Washington, believe that one major Fortunately, we can improve this situation, since we announcements, articles for your Look through today’s newspaper to see what else school newspaper, or pamphlets. reason is our nation’s large rich-poor gap. All of the 29 already know some steps we can take to reduce climate you can discover. countries that have longer life expectancies also have change. Can you recall some of the actions you’ve read greater economic equality among their citizens. about in this series? Here are a few reminders: 1 Laurie J. Schmidt, “When the Dust Settles,” NASA Earth This raises some questions about the link between • Reduce your reliance on fossil fuels, which release Science Enterprise Data and Services: Features, May 18, economic equality and physical health. Why do you greenhouse gases that warm the earth. You can do this 2001. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Dust/. think a smaller gap between rich and poor citizens by unplugging electronics when you are not using 2 Gina Kolata, “A Surprising Secret to a Long Life: Stay in might be related to better health in some countries? them and traveling by bus or bike instead of by car. School,” The New York Times, January 3, 2007.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Consumerism for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 17 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

”We buy a wastebasket and take it home in a plastic bag. what we buy ends up in landfills. Manufacturing and It’s Up to All of Us transporting all the things we purchase pollutes the Then we take the wastebasket out of the bag, and put the Governments can help ensure air, water and soil with toxic chemicals, and releases bag in the wastebasket.” that the price of a product greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Like a mobile, global issues are interconnected. The solutions – Lily Tomlin, comedian includes the environmental cost Resources are being used up faster than they can to global issues are often interconnected as well. of producing and disposing of renew themselves — which means we are losing many Spending Spree it. They can do this by providing forests, natural areas and species of plants and animals. Picture all the things in your home, all the things economic rewards to companies that use renewable in your neighbor’s home and in your whole While the wealthiest global citizens are the main energy, efficient technology and clean production. Activity neighborhood. Here in the United States, many of us consumers, the environmental damage from this Governments can also require companies to put labels v Go to www.newdream.org/ are used to having a lot of stuff. We don’t even need consumption falls most severely on the poor. In both on products to inform consumers about their lifecycle walletbuddy.pdf and print out, cut and fold up “The New American very much money to be able to buy a lot of things or developed and developing countries, poor people are (how they were created and how people can dispose of Dream Wallet Buddy.” Read the eat as much as we want. It wasn’t always this way. the ones most exposed to pollution, hazardous wastes, them) and require companies to take back products at droughts, floods and deforestation. For example, the end of their useful life. Some businesses are creating 13 questions on the buddy and This purchase of goods and services is often landfills and power plants are usually located closer to alternatives to products that eventually end up as waste, highlight the questions that you called “consumption.” In the last century, world poor people than to their wealthier neighbors. by making products out of components that can be think are most important to consider when purchasing a new item. The consumption multiplied 16-fold, from $1.5 trillion reused again and again. in 1900 to $24 trillion in 1998.1 During the same The cycle of consumption is putting a strain on many next time you are about to buy something, first pull out your period, world population quadrupled; that means that people as well as the environment. In the United Governments can even affect our consumption of States, an increasing number of people are overweight, plastic bags. When we buy a plastic bag in the United wallet buddy and answer the overall consumption has increased four times as much questions you highlighted. as population has. People are buying a lot more stuff! overworked and just plain stressed. We have more States, we don’t pay for its disposal. This changed in material goods but less leisure time because we are Ireland, when their government put a tax on plastic For hundreds of millions of people, increased so busy making the money we need to support our bags in 2002. Now almost nobody uses plastic bags in consumption has meant more than just being able to lifestyle — and to buy more stuff! Ireland. Other countries and cities around the world Take Action! meet their basic needs for food, water and shelter. A have outlawed plastic bags entirely. v Visit www.facingthefuture.org and century ago, people could hardly have imagined many Does This Mean We Have to click on Fast Facts & Quick Actions Ultimately, it’s up to us to tell governments and of the things we now take for granted, like shopping Stop Consuming? under Latest News from Facing the malls, airplanes and houses with electricity. businesses what we like, and the kind of information Future. Click on Consumption, then Of course not! But if we want a sustainable planet — we want about the products we buy. What about the choose one quick action. Use what Not everyone has been part of the spending spree. one where future generations can enjoy plenty of products you buy — how much do you know about you learn to encourage your friends Over two billion people in the world survive on less resources and a healthy environment — we have to them? Do they make you healthier and happier? How and family to make consumption than $2 a day. People living in extreme poverty need think about what and how we are consuming. One do they affect our environment? Would you be willing choices they feel good about. to increase their consumption in order to meet their place to start is by not buying things we don’t need, to pay more for them if you had to pay their true cost — basic needs for survival. and by giving things we don’t use to others who including their disposal or recycling? might need them. We can buy things that are reused Consumption Costs or recycled (and make sure to reuse and recycle them Even in wealthier countries, the rise in consumption when we don’t want them anymore) and shop from 1 United Nations Development Programme, “Human Development has not been all good or equal for everyone. According companies that are committed to the health and Report 1998,” http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr1998/. to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most of well-being of their employees and the environment.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Consumption & Media Literacy for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 18 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have already As consumers, we benefit most from Information reached most countries. advertising when we think critically On the other hand, media corporations can about its message. Many ads suggest that Horsey cartoon from June 28, 2001 – advertising Overload? have a positive impact on culture when they we need a particular product to fit in, Everywhere you turn, you are likely to see enter countries controlled by corrupt political look beautiful or seem smart. However, and hear new information. “Mass media” systems or countries that have significant state there are things advertisements don’t tell Activity refers to all of the ways that we communicate us, such as how a particular product affects censorship over media. v Do an in-depth analysis of a news article using the “iceberg information (including television, radio and the environment. model.” Follow these steps to explore the facts, underlying the Internet) to large numbers of people. In Think about an ad that made you really want And Now a Word From patterns and root causes of a particular news story: fact, the newspaper in your hands right now is Our Sponsors … to buy a product. Why did the advertisement a form of mass media. In this era of high-speed appeal to you? Do you think the advertisement 1. Choose one article about a current event in today’s global connections, we can communicate with Many forms of media rely on advertising told the whole story, or do you want more newspaper. Summarize the story by writing one people across the globe through mass media. for financial support, and advertisers are information about that product? paragraph in your own words. Briefly, what happened? increasingly targeting youth. According to Where do you get information about current the American Psychological Association, the Putting the “Me” in Media! 2. Look through the newspaper to see if there are stories events and world news? about similar events that happened in different places, or average young person in the United States Media is like democracy — it requires watches over 100 television ads every day, think about other stories you have heard about that are Media, Democracy and Culture everyone’s participation. It’s important that we related to your article. Is the event in your article part of a plus many more online, in magazines, movies, not only know the events of the day, but that While there are many benefits of mass media, video games and on cell phones. larger, ongoing story or series of events? there are also some issues that have people we also consider how these events are related 3. Consider the root cause(s) of the event based on the talking. One concern has to do with the topic Many people may not think twice about to each other and what causes them. pattern you see. “Why” the event occurred may not be of “democratic debate.” Democratic debate advertising, but others have had enough. Communicating your ideas to others through included in the article, but try to think about the most means that all people can express their ideas São Paulo, Brazil, the seventh-largest city in blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos are all important reasons for this pattern of events. If you are and opinions. the world, banned most outdoor advertising ways you can make your voice heard and share altogether, citing “visual pollution.” In not sure, what information would help you to determine In the past, United States media rules limited information with others around the globe. the root cause(s)? Why do you think that information the United States, billboards are illegal in Plus, you can help other people make choices the number of news media outlets that one Vermont, Maine, Hawaii and Alaska. was not included in your article? company could own, so that a variety of news based on information that you provide. For sources were available to the public. Since Where do you think advertising should and example, you can rate and comment on the 1980s, however, media ownership rules should not be allowed? products, shopping Web sites, restaurants and Take Action! all sorts of things. have relaxed. Today the global media system Consumer Beware and Be Wise v Add your voice to the growing number of online customer is dominated by just five large companies, In many ways, each of us is a walking message, reviews. Choose a Web site (such as amazon.com or 1 Advertising is not necessarily bad or good. including Time Warner and Disney. Some expressing ourselves through what we wear, yelp.com) where you can review a product you have bought In many cases, advertising gives us information people worry that consumers may lose the how we live and what we say. Whether we or a restaurant where you have eaten, and write a short so that we can make better choices. variety of ideas that is essential to healthy wear designer brands or make our own clothes, review of your experience to help inform other consumers. democracies when the media are controlled by Commercial advertising helps potential or carry disposable or reusable cups, our choices such a small number of powerful corporations. customers learn about products. Advertising are likely to influence the choices that others can also be used noncommercially: Think of Another concern about the role of media has make. What message do you want to send? public service announcements about health, to do with Western popular culture replacing energy conservation or security. What public traditional languages, art, music, religious 1 service announcements can you find in World-Information.org, “The Big Five of Commercial Media,” March 14, 2008, practices and social values around the world. http://world-information.org/wio/infostructure/100437611795/100438659010 today’s newspaper? NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Quality of Life for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions 19 of Join us on Wednesdays and Fridays for Skills for Everyday Living, a series that goes beyond the classroom to prepare students for the many challenges of the real world. Our current topic is 20 Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions, developed by Facing the Future. Series ends June 13.

“The quality of life is determined by its activities.” Does Money Buy Happiness? Building the Happy Life in — Aristotle, Greek philosopher, 384-322 BCE For many people, happiness is one indicator of a Bogota, Colombia good quality of life. Sometimes it’s easy to think that Beginning in the late 1990s, Bogota Mayor Defining Needs we’d be a lot happier if only we had more money. Enrique Peñalosa initiated a bold campaign This is probably true for people who are very poor When we talk about sustainability, we’re talking to improve the quality of life in his city by Happiness means different things to different people. and still need to meet their basic needs. But beyond about meeting needs — both now and into the focusing on people and communities. In doing a certain level of income, more money does not future. What are some of your needs? so, he challenged the stereotype of Colombia seem to bring more happiness. While income levels as being overwhelmed by civil war, the cocaine trade Everyone has basic needs for food, water and some doubled in the United States between 1957 and and violence. Activity form of shelter. Once their basic needs are met, 2002, the percentage of people who reported being v What contributes most to your quality of people strive to meet additional needs such as “very happy” did not change.1 Immediately upon taking office, Peñalosa decided life? Write down five things that you think community, meaningful work and human rights. not to build a highway intended to carry increased The ability to buy the things we want is tied to are most important for a good quality of Meeting human needs depends on a healthy automobile traffic. Instead, the mayor expanded the making money, which is also tied to the amount of life. Ask at least one other student and one environment that can continue to provide resources city’s less-expensive bus system to carry more than time people spend working. No one in the world adult to do the same, and compare your for us and for our children. 700,000 passengers daily. The city of Bogota also “top five” lists. How do your lists differ? works more than in the United States, where the created or improved more than 1,000 parks, created average person: Do you think your vision of a good life How Do We Measure the Good Life? hundreds of miles of bike- and pedestrian-only paths, will change as you get older? How can you • Worked 199 hours more in 2000 than in 1973, and built new public buildings such as libraries and “Quality of life” refers to the well-being of an improve your quality of life? an increase of almost five weeks annually.2 schools. Said Peñalosa, “A city is successful not when individual or a group of people. It’s likely that each it’s rich but when its people are happy.” of us has a different idea of what exactly the good • Has 10 days of paid vacation each year, while 3 life looks like — and it is also likely that many of us European workers get at least 28 days. Good News about the Good Life Take Action! share similar ideas. What do you think a good life U.S. citizens work long hours to buy the things The goal for improving quality of life on Earth v “Human rights” are the basic rights and looks like? they want and need, and spend a great deal of time is relatively simple: to improve well-being in a freedoms to which all humans are entitled, Measuring quality of life for a community or commuting and watching television. According to sustainable way. This goal includes maintaining including the right to life and liberty a country can be a tricky thing. Often, health the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the main way a healthy economy, environment and society for and freedom of thought and expression. indicators such as how long an average person lives that people in the United States spend their leisure present and future generations. Protecting human rights is one way to or how many children die are used to determine how time is watching TV. ensure that everyone has the opportunity well a population is doing. Or we might look at how How do you want to spend your time and money? for a good life. Visit www.facingthefuture. many people can read, or how many people are living Key Ingredients Thinking about your answer to this question might org and click on Fast Facts & Quick Actions in poverty. get you — and all of us — a little closer to your idea under Latest News from Facing the Future. If increased income beyond a modest level does not of the good life. Economic indicators such as the gross domestic guarantee a better quality of life, what does? Click on Human Rights and choose one product (GDP, a nation’s total income), the rate of quick action; get started working on the Researchers have identified a number of key unemployment, and the stock market are common 1 David G. Myers, “Happiness,” in Psychology, 7th ed. (New York: human rights solution of your choice today! ingredients to happiness and well-being. Building ways to measure well-being in the United States. Worth Publishers, 2004). strong relationships with family, friends and Some things that most of us agree are part of a good 2 Five weeks of additional work is based on a 40-hour week. Juliet community often contributes to happiness. Read on life — access to open spaces, clean water, clean air, Schor, “The (Even More) Overworked U.S. Citizen,” in Take Back Your Time, to see how one city invested in their community to healthy food and personal safety — are missing from ed. John de Graaf (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003), p 7. improve quality of life. traditional economic indicators such as the GDP. 3 Joe Robinson, “The Incredible Shrinking Vacation,” in Take Back Your Time, p 21.

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Chapter locations vary and are posted online Next: each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register The Right to a Good Life for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org Seattle P-I Newspapers In Education Skills for Everyday Living presents A measure of sustainability considers the areas of Global Issues and environment, economy, Sustainable Solutions and society. 20 of Thanks for joining us these past months for Skills for Everyday Living, our series that ventured beyond the classroom to prepare students for real-world challenges. This chapter 20 was developed by Facing the Future, and wraps up our series.

If you are old enough to vote, you can register to Women in the United States The Right to vote at many places such as the county courthouse have many educational and or online at rockthevote.com. If you are not yet career opportunities. Yet, a Good Life old enough to vote, you can still make your voice despite overall increasing It may not seem like the quality of your life has much heard. Educate yourself about current issues and salaries during the past to do with your government. But think of all the encourage voters to get out there and vote for your century, women continue to services — schools, libraries and parks, for example — vision of the future! earn less than men. Why do that are run by government agencies and paid for by What are some other fundamental rights in the you think that is? Activity taxes from citizens. United States? How might your life be different What Do You See? without these protections? v Think of one fundamental right that The government is also involved in deciding what You might have heard before that rights come with people can do, or protecting people’s basic “rights.” is important for a good quality of life None for You, Girl! responsibilities. Rights are just ideas; they need people but that you know not everyone in Some rights may be so obvious that you don’t even to bring them to life. We have to stand up for rights think of them as rights — for example the freedom Some rights that we consider essential for a good your community has. Consider the quality of life are not guaranteed in all places. For that we think are important. Otherwise, some people following questions: to move around, or to think and express your may not get to enjoy those rights. own opinions. Yet these rights are not recognized example, many girls and women around the world • How do you envision a community by all governments. What would it feel like if the do not have equal opportunities to create a good life You are already part of many communities, including where everyone enjoys this right? for themselves. your school, your neighborhood and maybe even government decided that you could not hang out with • What steps can you take to move some online communities. You have just as much certain friends or listen to your favorite music? When there aren’t enough resources to go around, your own community towards power as anyone else to help shape your community somebody gets less. And whether the resource is this vision? The Right to Vote food, education, income or credit to borrow money, and create a future of your own choosing where people • What resources do you need, and One of our most cherished rights in the USA is it’s most often girls and women who get less:1 share certain rights and freedoms. who can you collaborate with? the right to vote. Many people consider active • Over half of primary school age children that are What do you think your community will look like in participation in local and national decisions to be not in school are girls 25 years? What will the environment be like? What an important part of a good quality of life. Yet voter • Two-thirds of all illiterate adults are women kinds of jobs will people have? What kinds of things turnout in past years has been relatively low. will people do for fun? Right now, stop reading and Take Action! • Women hold only 16 percent of all seats in close your eyes for a few minutes to think about v Visit www.facingthefuture.org and But things seem to be changing. Right now, more parliaments or equivalent elected positions. click on Fast Facts & Quick Actions young people than ever before are energized and these questions. Reversing this trend — supporting equal rights for under Latest News from Facing the engaged in politics. Voters aged 18 to 29 have Next, think about what you want your community women and investing in women’s education — is Future. Click on Women & Girls and shattered turnout records around the country during (and even the world) to look like. Is this a different essential for creating a sustainable future. Think choose one quick action to help this year’s presidential primary. Rock the Vote, an picture than what you think the future will be like? about how your family, your school and your city improve the lives of women and girls organization dedicated to involving youth in the If so, how can we make the future you want happen? would be different if women were not able to go to around the world. When women do political process, reports that 80 percent of young school or get good jobs. Improving the lives of What kinds of things do you think all people should better, everyone does better! people say they are likely to vote in the presidential women often results in improved quality of life for have the right to do? What kinds of things would elections this November. Since 20 percent of the entire entire communities. increase your quality of life and also improve the voting population is in this age group, young people well-being of others and the planet? have a real chance to shape the future of our country.

1 Information from Population Reference Bureau and Save the Children (2005).

NIE offers FREE and engaging school programs. Thanks for Reading: Chapter locations vary and are posted online Global Issues and each day at seattlepi.com/nie. To register Sustainable Solutions for NIE, visit us online or call 206/652-6289. Design courtesy of The Seattle Times Company. www.facingthefuture.org