resources (water) challenge
TRANSCRIPT
Entry Task • What resources are abundant in Africa? • What resources are scare in Africa? • How have both types of resources
affected African people?
Objective: • The students will be able to analyze the
affect of abundant and scare resources on African society and livelihood.
Resources (water) – Challenge
CRISIS! • https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRTk7aSbyd0
WHY DO HUMANS NEED WATER?
• Drinking water: our bodies need to stay hydrated in order to function properly
• For cleanliness: Poor sanitation can lead to disease
• To grow food: Many people depend on farming for survival
Remember, only 3% of the water on earth is freshwater…
…we cannot use saltwater for drinking or watering crops
What does that mean?
• There is very little freshwater to go around
• High Demand + Low Supply = High Value
• Water is incredibly valuable in areas such as Northern & Eastern Africa
So here’s the dilemma…
You need fresh water
There are limited places to get fresh water
How do you get it?
First let’s take a look at some physical features
Rivers
• Many rivers were the site of early civilizations
• Egyptians depended on the yearly Nile flooding for survival
So back to our original question
Given the landscape of North & Eastern Africa how do you think people get the water they need?
Aquifers
• One solution is to pump water out of aquifers– An aquifer is water that is stored in underground
layers• Problems with aquifers– Not all locations have great sources of
groundwater that are easy to access– Groundwater can be contaminated by bad soil– If water is removed faster than nature replaces it,
the aquifers run dry
Building Dams
• Building a dam on a major river can allow water to collect, and be redirected to another location
• Problems with building dams– It takes away water that would flow to other
countries– Can cause conflict among those countries
Desalinization
• Treating saltwater to remove salts and minerals, makes it drinkable
• Very expensive process, so poor countries do not have this option, and still have shortages
• Oil rich countries have developed plants, making Southwest Asia the leader in the process
So what is the right answer?
• There are pros and cons to each option
• Is there a right answer? Is there a way to make everyone happy, and get everyone the water they need to survive?
• What do you think is the best solution to this challenge?
Living on Water
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_W-SZtjnKE
Water Wars in Kenya & Ethiopia
• http://pulitzercenter.org/video/focus-water-wars
• What do you think the filmmaker's purpose is in creating this documentary?
• Why some countries have more water than others?
“Drought Spurs Resource Wars”
• Read the article “Drought Spurs Resource Wars.”
• http://pulitzercenter.org/articles/drought-spurs-resource-wars
• Complete the “Drought Spurs Resource Wars” Questions (located on Google Classroom).