Explore some ways in which our economies are dependent on environmental services and resources.

Discuss ways in which policies are created, specifically those that pertain to environmental issues that impact the economy.

Explain how international issues such as oil spills, nuclear accidents or air pollutions are handled via policies by inter-governmental agencies.

Provide researched and current examples of policies and their impacts in your first posting.

Research two developing nations’ human population growth issues.

Address the following in your first posting:

a) Do you think that all of today’s developing nations will complete the demographic transition and come to enjoy a permanent state of low birth and death rates?

b) What are some ways in which developed nations can stabilize their population growth in a sustainable manner?

c) Do more affluent nations have responsibility to help under developed nations stabilize their population growth? What are some steps that European and North American nations may take to assist the demographic transition of developing nations?

d) Provide current research that exemplify and support your analysis into this week’s exploration of population growth and transition issues.

People in developed nations are fond of warning people in developing nations to stop destroying rainforest. People of developing nations often respond that this is hypocritical, because the developed nations became wealthy by deforesting their land and exploiting its resources in the past. What would you say to the president of a developing nation, such as Indonesia, in which a great deal of forest is being cleared?

Describe some environmental health hazards that you think you may be living with indoors. How do you think you may have been affected by indoor or outdoor hazards in the past? How could you best deal with these hazards in the future?

Read the Central Case Study – Mining for …Cell Phone? in Chapter 11 of your course textbook. Explore the implications of the excessive demands for resources from Western nations. Share other newsworthy cases of conflict minerals and how these are extracted from the earth in order to create the products that are purchased by citizens from affluent nations. In your research, explain why the mineral in question is deemed a “conflict mineral” and address the issues that are created socially, economically and environmentally when these raw minerals are extracted. Share some possible solutions to alleviate the damage done to the environment and the people who are directly impacted by the extraction of conflict minerals.

In this discussion, let’s explore traditional energy sources versus alternative, renewable energy sources.

What impacts might you expect on your lifestyle once our society arrives at peak oil?

What steps do you think we should take to avoid energy shortages in a post-peak-oil future?

Which type of alternative energy sources should our nation consider and promote? Is it possible to transition to purely renewable energy sources? What are the implications and hidden costs of using renewable energy sources?

Research at least 2 different energy sources that the USA have successfully implemented and share the pros and cons of these energy sources. How can the USA improve on the technology to harness and deliver these energy sources on a national level and reduce dependency on traditional energy sources?

How much waste do you generate? Look into your waste bin at the end of the day, and categorize and measure the waste there. List all other waste you may have generated in other places throughout the day. How much of this waste could you have avoided generating? How much could have been reused or recycled?