Ecology

Lesson 2.6

2.6.1 Human Populations Introduction

“The key problem facing humanity in the coming century is how to bring a better quality of life -- for 8 billion or more people -- without wrecking the environment entirely in the attempt.”

 - Edward O. Wilson, scientist, Pulitzer prize winning author

Figure 2.6.1

All lined up and ready to go. Crowds of people await the release of the new iPhone in Geneva, Switzerland. Where were you in a huge crowd?Photo by David Roessli, 2008.

Learning Targets:

Get a hard copy of this table from your teacher. Below are the learning targets you will master during this lesson.

As a pre-assessment, before the lesson begins, please circle the number that describes your current understanding of the learning target.

Before the formative assessment for this lesson, please draw a triangle around the number that describes your understanding of the learning target.

Before the summative assessment, please draw a square around the number that describes your understanding of the learning target.

 Build your understanding of the objectives and how they apply to populations, ecosystems, and the environment.

Learning Targets for Lesson 2.6

My self-assessment

1 - I have never seen this learning target before.

2 - I have seen this learning target, but I don't know what it means.

3 - I have seen this learning target, and I think I know what it means

4 - I can explain this learning target to another student.

LT1: I can describe the historical changes of the global human population.

1

2

3

4

LT2: I can describe human population patterns for different countries today.

1

2

3

4

Scientist Spotlight - Wangari Maathai

 University of Nairobi, Kenya, etc.

Figure 2.6.2

Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) was the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for her "contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace". Maathai stood up courageously against the former oppressive regime in Kenya. Her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression—nationally and internationally. She has served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights and has especially encouraged women to better their situation.

She authored four books: The Green Belt Movement; Unbowed: A Memoir; The Challenge for Africa; and Replenishing the Earth. As well as having been featured in a number of books, she and the Green Belt Movement were the subject of a documentary film, Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai (Marlboro Productions, 2008). The Green Belt Movement encouraged the women to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood, and receive a small monetary token for their work. Maathai was an avid environmental and political activist as well as a prominent scientist.

Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, a rural area of Kenya (Africa), in 1940. She obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964), a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966), and pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, before obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi, where she also taught veterinary anatomy. The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region.