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Segment A: Human Population Growth and Global Ecosystems

In this episode of Let's Go Enviro, we hear from the Atlanta Beltline's director of design, Kevin Burke. He's been working on this project since 2009 with the goal of bringing less pollution and healthier lifestyles to the city's population.

Segment A: Human Population Growth and Global Ecosystems

From Let's Go Enviro, Unit 5
Segment A: Human Population Growth and Global Ecosystems

In this episode of Let's Go Enviro, we hear from the Atlanta Beltline's director of design, Kevin Burke. He's been working on this project since 2009 with the goal of bringing less pollution and healthier lifestyles to the city's population.

Science

SEV5

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of human population growth on global ecosystems.

SEV5.a

Construct explanations about the relationship between the quality of life and human impact on the environment in terms of population growth, education, and gross national product.

Explain why it is important to consider the environment when building homes and businesses in a town or city.

Explain how can we co-exist with other living things and create sustainable environments?

Provide and discuss examples of sustainable community environments.

byproduct: something that is produced as a result of making something else, or something unexpected that happens as a result of something

carbon footprint: a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group, etc.

gross domestic product (GDP): measures the value of economic activity within a country; the sum of the market values, or prices, of all final goods and services produced in an economy during a period of time

gross national product (GNP): an estimate of the total value of all the final products and services turned out in a given period by the means of production owned by a country's residents; measures the output of a country's residents regardless of the location of the actual underlying economic activity

infant mortality rate: the probability of a child born in a specific year or period dying before reaching the age of one, expressed per 1,000 live births 

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): a green building certification program used worldwide

maternal mortality rate: the probability of a woman dying while pregnant or within one year of the end of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy

monoculture: the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time

net-zero: cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance

sustainable infrastructure: equipment and systems that are designed to meet the population's essential service needs — including roads, bridges, hydroelectric power stations, etc. — based on all-round environmentally-friendly principles

Let's Go Enviro Segments

Unit 5: Sustainable Infrastructures

Host Raiany Silva takes students on a journey to feature sustainable infrastructures like the Atlanta Beltline, Clayton County Wetlands, and The Ray Highway in LaGrange. In order to understand the effects of human population growth on ecosystems, Raiany also visits Arabia Mountain High School to learn about sustainable design from teachers and students. 

Bird's-eye view of a developing city with waterways and housing

Segment A: Human Population Growth and Global Ecosystems

Silhouette of heavy construction equipment.

Segment B: Building Sustainably

Segment C: Sustainable Design

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