Teacher's Guide

Episode 8: "THE STATE OF THE PLANET "

Overview

“The State of the Planet” takes a brief look at four different environmental topics: water issues, the threat of food shortages, human population growth, and global warming.  These issues are likely to have a significant impact on the future well-being of Earth’s environment and the people who depend on it for their needs and wants.  At the root of these issues is a dramatic human population growth rate that is putting ever-increasing pressure on the Earth’s resources and natural systems.  Most of this growth is occurring in the world’s poorer countries, putting enormous strains on their water supplies and ability to feed their citizens.  “State of the Planet” discusses how food and water problems are threatening the future of developing countries.

But environmental problems are also affecting the United States; for example, “The State of the Planet” illustrates how water shortages are threatening agriculture in the United States.  Population growth is also increasing in the United States, and this is of major global significance because U.S. citizens, on average, use far more energy and natural resources than people elsewhere.  Our energy consumption, chiefly our burning of the fossil fuels coal and oil, is the main cause of human-created global warming.  As our numbers increase so will our environmental impact.  At present, global warming presents perhaps the most difficult and serious environmental issue confronting the world today.

Yet, increasingly, people are focusing their commitment and ingenuity on solving environmental issues, and “The State of the Planet” takes a look at some of these.  These examples serve as a beacon of hope that ultimately we will learn to live in harmony with the planet’s natural systems and ensure a bountiful future for us and for future generations.

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Pre-Viewing Activities

1. Introduce the following key terms to students:

   • Aquifer: An underground source of water
   • Developing World:  Regions and countries of the world where people have little money or economic opportunity and where living conditions are inadequately providing for people’s needs and wants
   • Ecosystem:  How everything – plants, animals, soil, weather, etc. - in a certain place – a school yard, a park, a region, etc. – is interconnected
   • Fertility Rate:  The average number of children being born to women in a particular group
   • Floodplain:  Land that sometimes is covered by water from overflowing rivers, streams, and lakes
   • Fossil Fuel:  Fuels, such as coal and petroleum, that formed from ancient plants and animals
   • Fungicide:  A chemical that kills fungi
   • Genetic Engineering:  Changing the genes of living things so that the living things are somehow different
   • Global Economy:  The buying and selling of goods and services around the world
   • Life Expectancy:  The average lifespan of a group of people
   • Malnourished:  Not having enough of the nutrients needed for good health
   • Non-profit Organizations (NGOs):  Organizations that are primarily trying to help society, not make money
   • No-till Farming:  Planting crops without plowing the soil first
   • Renewable Resource: A natural resource that can replace itself, such as trees and fish
   • Wastewater:  Water that carries the wastes from human activity, including wastes from industries, households, and the surfaces of streets and sidewalks

 

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Post-Viewing Discussion

Threats Concerning Human Population Growth

• How rapidly is our population increasing today?  (Answer: Roughly 78 million people/year or 10,000 children being born during the time this show was on the air)

• Many people and organizations believe it is crucial for the future well-being of people and the environment to slow down the rate at which human populations have been increasing.  Is progress being made?  (Answer:  Yes, the rate of human population growth has slowed significantly in recent years.  Today people predict that population numbers will increase to 9.5 billion and then begin to slowly decrease.)

• Most population growth is occurring in developing countries.  What are the chances a baby born today lives in the United States or another rich country such as Japan, Canada, Australia, or a European country?  (Answer:  Over five out of six people on Earth live in poor countries.  If you happen to live in a rich country, you are in a true minority.  Statistically, you were much more likely to be born in a poor country!)

• The population of the United States, however, is also growing.  Why does the film say that this is significant? (Answer:  Americans use far more natural resources and energy than anybody else.  As our numbers increase, we will therefore use up more and more of the planet’s resources, which will have major human and environmental consequences.  For instance, we burn far more coal and oil per capita to meet our energy needs.  This is thought to be the main cause of global warming.  With more of us, we will burn more coal and make global warming more severe, if we keep behaving the way we do today.)

Threats Concerning Water

• What are three water problems that are affecting people in developing countries? (Answer: water shortages, water pollution, and water-related diseases)

• What water problem is afflicting farmers in the United States?  (Answer: water shortages) 

Threats Concerning Food

• According to the film, what is the main food-production problem afflicting the world today? (Answer:  Food distribution, not food production.   We are growing enough food to feed the world’s billions, but we are not always successful at getting the food to the people who need it.)

• Why does the example of China give us hope about feeding the world? (Answer: Until recently, China used to experience severe famines that killed millions of her citizens.  Now very few go hungry, even though China has to feed over 1.2 billion people.)  What might be threatening China’s success? (Answer:  Economic pressure is causing China to expand industrial production, so factories are taking over good farmland, and skilled farmers are leaving their fields to work in them.)

Threats Concerning Global Warming

• According to the film, what are four types of evidence that global warming is occurring? (Answer: 1. receding glaciers; 2. species of plants and animals appearing in places where they have been unknown; 3. rising sea levels; 4. severe heat waves)

Confronting Environmental Threats: New Ideas

• The film shows several innovative measures that people are implementing to better manage our environment.  What are they, and what problems are they addressing?  (Answer: 1. no-till farming that reduces soil erosion; 2. plant breeding that will enable farmers to grow more crops in difficult environments like deserts; 3. wind generators that can reduce our dependence on fossils fuels, which contribute to global warming)

After viewing the film, are you more or less worried about your future?  What worries you the most, if anything?  What do you think we need to do to ensure that you and the planet’s environment have a healthy future?  What do you think we need to change?