1. A few years back National Geographic identified some of the most polluted places on Earth. Read the article and pick two of the ten places to look at more closely. Answer these questions: Why did the places you picked make the article list? Who should be held responsible for the pollution? Are the given responsible parties fixing the problem? If so, how? If not,what steps would need to happen in order to fix the environment?

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/pollution-pictures/photo5.html

2. What are the most important issues of environmental quality where you live? Has environmental quality improved or deteriorated in the past 30 years? Share your evidence.

3. How do political, cultural, technologic and economic factors determine whether substances in the environment become valuable resources? How do renewable and nonrenewable resources play into these factors?

4. How does your diet differ from that of your parents or grandparents? Compare the amount of meat or fish you eat. How much more processed is the food you buy? What are the consequences of these changes, if any?

5. Why do rich countries subsidize agriculture? What effect does this have on the urban population of rich countries, and what effect does it have on the farmers in poor countries?

6. Describe how culture, environment, and location affect how we define and understand the world.