Week 3: Critical Global Environmental Sustainability Challenges and Issues, Part 2

Kara Ghobhainn Smith; David D. Plain; Frank Rennie, Gareth Davies, UHI, Thu Le; Clinton Beckford, Loretta Sbrocca; ShiJing Xu, Chenkai Chi, Yuhan Deng, University of Windsor, Canada

Week 3: Critical Global Environmental Sustainability Challenges and Issues, Part 2

Introduction

During this two-part unit, students will gain knowledge of the far-reaching effects of climate change and pollution as they pertain to the world’s ecosystems, weather patterns, and food security. Students will gain significant insight into the ever-evolving realm of global conferences and climate accords. Through critical analysis of successes and failures, progress and decline, students will predict the next steps in tackling climate change and pollution on a global scale.

This Week, You Will Be Expected to:

Explore and trace how a typical, everyday activity (eating) contributes to one of the most challenging issues facing the sustainability of our planet: pollution.
Recognize the effects that billions of these small, everyday activities have on global sustainability.
Reflect on how to work towards improving our relationships with and connections to our physical and natural world each time we eat.

Questions to Consider Throughout this Week

Is pollution a necessary evil?
How can an individual get ahead of pollution?
How can a region or nation get ahead of pollution?
How does pollution tie into global sustainability?

Readings and Content

Pollution of Rivers, Seas, and Oceans
- Villagers Swap Plastic Rubbish for Rice
- Drinking-Water Contamination
Overfishing
- Overfishing and Nutrient Pollution Interact with Temperature to Disrupt Coral Reefs Down to Microbial Scales

3. Groundwater Contamination

- Government of Canada/Environment and natural resources/Natural resources/Water and the Environment/Water pollution: Causes and effects/Groundwater contamination [Webpage]
- Sorensen, J. P. R., Lapworth, D. J., Nkhuwa, D. C. W., Stuart, M. E., Gooddy, D. C., Bell, R. A., … & Pedley, S. (2015). Emerging contaminants in urban groundwater sources in Africa. Water Research, 72, 51-63.

4. Deforestation

- Large Air Quality and Public Health Impacts due to Amazonian Deforestation Fires in 2019
- Mapulanga, A. M., & Naito, H. (2019). Effect of deforestation on access to clean drinking water. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(17), 8249-8254.

5. The World Trash Crisis