Project Timeline

A BRAVE NEW WORLD

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

  Five million years have passed on Planet Earth since the present day. During those five million years, the planet has undergone some drastic changes.  Plate tectonics, continental drift, and global warming have all caused the face of the planet to change.   Sea levels have risen dramatically so that the only landforms above the water’s surface are islands.  These islands are scattered throughout the Earth's hemispheres. The kinds and types of organisms that are found on these islands are much the same as the ones that existed in the first part of the 20th century. Human populations have also survived, but numbers are greatly reduced and are spread throughout the islands of the planet.

As inhabitants of one of these islands, your group must be able to utilize your island and it's resources in order to support the human population. However, since the island's ecosystems must be sustained in order to keep the level of resources at an optimum, the impact that the human population makes on the island is critical in terms of survival for all inhabitants, including you.

Your group will conduct an investigation of the natural aspects of your island in order to develop a plan for human use and impact that promotes sustainability. The investigation and study results will be presented both visually and in the written form.

In order to assist your group in its investigation, the physical features, ecosystems and natural resources of your island will mirror a 20th century country. The rest of the characteristics of your island will change to mirror what your group decides is best in order to reach a sustainable system. Your group will be assigned one of the following countries:

DIRECTIONS

Using a foam base board and 2 three-panel display boards, complete the following:

PART I - THE MAP

Create a large scale map of your island, as you wish it to appear, on a piece of foam board that fits inside the base of your display boards. Your map must provide visual representations of:

A.       major physical features/relief (these must reflect the true nature of the     original  but can be located differently)

B.    major ecosystems (these must be representative of the original country/island)

Your map must include:

q       a key for the physical features relief

q       a color key for ecosystems

q       the title/name of your island country

q       a scale

q       a compass direction

q       use of color

PART II - THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

On the left panel of your first display board, provide the following:

A.   visual representations of your island's nutrient cycles:

q       water cycle

q       nitrogen cycle

q       carbon cycle

(*these cycles should reflect your island's natural state)

B.       A species list and visuals of key flora and fauna within each of the ecosystems of your island  (include water ecosystems!)

C.       A representative food chain for each of the ecosystems on your island  (include water ecosystems!)

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PART III – RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABILITY

On the right panel of your first display board, provide the following:

A.     a map which indicates the natural resources available to sustain your islands population. These resources should accurately reflect the resources natural to the original country/island.

Remember to provide a color key, a title, a scale, compass directions, and color on your map

B.     provide visual illustrations of the natural resources available on your island.

      C.  provide a bar graph or pictograph which shows the amounts of each of the

main natural resources available on your island.

PART IV - THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

On the center portion of one of your first display board provide the following:

A.     the name of your island country and its flag (these can reflect your own creativity, they do not have to be the originals)

            B.   a map which includes the following:

                  1.   your groups choice of natural resource use

2.      your groups choice of how you will deal with the following                                                                            aspects of the island's infrastructure

q       human settlements (population centers) coded to show population size

q       food production and distribution

q       major industries

q       power sources

q       fresh potable water sources and distribution

q       transportation links (e.g. ports, railways, pipelines, etc.) 

q       sewage treatment and disposal

q       recreational facilities (designate the type of recreation – e.g.  hiking trails, sports fields, etc.)

C.     a representation which explains how your group chooses to have your island  answers the three basic economic questions:

q             what to produce

q             how to produce

q             for whom to produce

D.     a representation of your island’s sustainable system by creating a graph on a coordinate plane comparing the rate of production to the rate of consumption.

E.      a demonstration of you island's chosen economic system (choose between traditional, free-market, planned, or mixed)

F.            a demonstration of your island’s chosen political system (choose between autocracy, oligarchy and democracy)

PART V –CULTURAL & LANGUAGE

On the center panel of the second display board, provide the following:

A.           Name, describe and provide information on the ethnic group(s)/culture(s) among the people of your island.

B.     Describe/provide visual representations of your countries customs and                    traditions.

C.     Describe what holidays your culture(s) observe

D.    What are the traditional foods of your culture(s)?  

         Provide visual representations.

On the left panel of your second display board, provide the following:

For the Spanish-speaking traveler, create a visual vocabulary list that                            

      provides key words and phrases that are relevant or unique to your island. 

PART VI – HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

On the right hand panel of the second display boards, complete the following:

q      

Part VII:  THE HUMAN IMPACT REPORT

In order to achieve a sustainable society on your island, you must write a report on the human impact on your island. Each section of your human impact report must have subtitles as follows: 

TITLE: The Political System

This section should be one typed page and must include:

q                   the reasons for selecting your chosen political system

q                   how your government will maintain social order

q                   what public services your government will provide, including the monetary cost to society

q                   how your government will provide for national security

q                   how your government will make economic decisions (government regulation, taxation, etc.)

TITLE: The Economic System

This section should be one typed page and must include:

q                   the reasons for selecting your chosen economic system

q                   an explanation for why you answered the three economic questions as you did

q                   provide at least one opportunity cost for each of the economic questions you answered; give numerical data to substantiate your choice of production

q                   research showing the per capita rate of consumption of the produced goods

TITLE: The Natural Environment

This section should be one typed page and must include:

q                   how the use of your natural resources will impact the ecosystems of your island in terms of species of flora and fauna and the food chains.

q                   how the use of your natural resources will impact the ecosystems of your island in terms of the 3 nutrient cycles.

q                   Research showing the per capita rate of consumption of natural resources.

  TITLE: The Sustainable System

This section should be one typed page and must reflect the graph of Section IV.D. tin order to create the policies your government will enact in order to keep the following aspects of your island sustainable:

q       the resources

q       the human population

q       the population of other species

q       the nutrient cycles

q       the ecosystems themselves

TITLE:  Culture & Language

 This section should be one page typed and must include:

q       a description of the components of your island’s culture(s) 

q       an explanation of how mutual respect for different cultures will be achieved and maintained

q       an explanation of how your island will work with other cultures from other islands in order to have your needs met should you import and/or export goods and services.

q       an explanation of how your culture impacts your environment and it’s resources

TITLE: Maintaining Healthy Communities

q       Realizing that you have limited space on an island for food production, describe the benefits and drawbacks of a purely vegan diet vs. a diet that includes meat.  Include the nutritional implications of each, the economic impacts of each and the production advantages and disadvantages.

q       Describe how your island will handle human effluent and how they will monitor the spread of water borne diseases.

q       Many people living in close proximity provide the potential for violence and conflict due to overcrowding issues.  Describe how your island will address conflict resolution.

q       Describe how your community will cope with the lack of space to bury or otherwise deal with the remains of the deceased from your island and still fit it’s practices into the religious and ethical beliefs of your people? 

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