(C) Poverty Line

Data sheet on the national poverty line: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml

Materialism and Family Stress worksheet from http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/.

(C) Life Cycle Assessment

Here's the questions to ask for a Life Cycle Assessment. Its purpose is to assist you with deciding if a purchase you are making is the most sustainable of multiple options. You might print this sheet and attach it to your journal somehow, or you might ignore it.

(C) The Story of Stuff

Here is today's worksheet (.doc), (.pdf) in case you lost yours, or you weren't in class.

(I) Introduction to Sustainability Final Prompts

2-4 paragraphs: Look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If we are to be concerned with our fellow humans, what should we focus on providing for others who are unable to provide for themselves? (i.e.: How far up the scale should we provide services as a society?)

Short essay: In writing, explain sustainability to a five-year-old with infinite attention span. (i.e.: what is sustainability? Explain it simply using your own words)

Essay: Choose one of the four authors we have discussed (Thoreau 2, DeWitt 920, Oliver 737, Guthrie 258) and explain what he or she would have to say* about one of the following issues using quotations from his or her writings in the anthology:
a) Solving the energy crisis.
b) Species extinction.
c) Social equality.

* Bonus points for attempting to write using the author’s style.

(I) Culture Introduction

Today in class we discussed culture. No, there's little you can do to make up discussion, unless you go talk with your study buddies, but for now, here's the written bits: Handout (x4): (.doc)

Definition:

M-W.com
Main Entry: 1cul•ture
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, cultivated land, cultivation, from Anglo-French, from Latin cultura, from cultus, past participle
Date: 15th century
1 : CULTIVATION, TILLAGE
2 : the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education
3 : expert care and training
4 a : enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training b : acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills
5 a : the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations b : the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time c : the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization <a corporate culture focused on the bottom line> d : the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic
6 : the act or process of cultivating living material (as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient media; also : a product of such cultivation



Dictionary.com

1. the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.
2. that which is excellent in the arts, manners, etc.
3. a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period: Greek culture.
4. development or improvement of the mind by education or training.
5. the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.
6. Anthropology. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.
7. Biology.
a. the cultivation of microorganisms, as bacteria, or of tissues, for scientific study, medicinal use, etc.
b. the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.

8. the act or practice of cultivating the soil; tillage.
9. the raising of plants or animals, esp. with a view to their improvement.
10. the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.

Questions:

So if that’s what culture IS, then what is your culture?
Then how is culture created?
How is culture changed?

(I) Maslow Introduction

Today in class we discussed Abraham Maslow. In case you wanted more time with the slideshow, or the handout, here they are, with apologies to wherever I got it all from.

Slideshow: .ppt; Handout: .doc

(I) Sustainability Definitions

In case you wanted them, here are the definitions from today's lecture:

Sustainability - M-W http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainability
Function: adjective
Date: circa 1727
1: capable of being sustained
2 a: of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged b: of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods

Sustain - Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sustainability
1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
2. to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
3. to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
4. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.
6. to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
7. to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
8. to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
9. to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it: The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
10. to confirm or corroborate, as a statement: Further investigation sustained my suspicions.

Here's the powerpoint: .ppt

Here are the journal prompts:

Intro: How does sustainability affect us? What does “living sustainably” mean? What does a sustainable life ask of us?

Outro: One word not on the three spheres is “responsibility”. Where would you place responsibility on the three spheres? In what ways are we responsible for making sustainable choices?

The Images: The three spheres of sustainability, and the Sustainability Wheel.

(I) Dragons of Eden - Cosmic Calendar

Look what I found online... a .pdf of The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan. The dates for the calendar can be found on page ten. I also have several copies of the book if you don't enjoy reading off of a screen.