THE ACTIVITIES
PANTHER IN PERIL

Description: Students will perform an Earth System Science (ESS) analysis of the impacts of the restoration of water level and flow to the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere of the Everglades ecosystem that lead to conclusions about the future of the Florida Panther.

GO DIRECTLY TO:

• Goals and Objectives
• Procedure and Teaching Suggestions
• Student Activity
• Extension
• Additional Internet Resources

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

	Materials and Equipment Computers with Internet access Worksheets linked to http://www.cotf.edu/ete/main.html

Students will learn how to conduct an Earth System Science analysis. Then they will make predictions, based on the results of the ESS analysis, concerning the future of the Florida Panther.

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PROCEDURE AND TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

Introduce students to the following background information:

• The habitat of the Florida Panther, which once ranged throughout the southeastern United States, has been in steady decline. Currently, the Florida Panther seeks shelter within the Florida Everglades. Today only 50 to 70 adult panthers remain in southwest Florida. They are among the most endangered animals in the world.
• During the last century, farming and urban sprawl in South Florida have dramatically altered the character of the historic Everglades. It is half its original size. Its water supply has been diverted and controlled for uses like crop irrigation, city water supplies, and flood control.
• Over the past few decades, people have begun to notice the negative environmental impacts caused by removing the water from the Everglades' ecosystem. Private and government agencies have begun to fight for the protection of the Everglades, and people are taking an interest in preserving and restoring this unique wetlands ecosystem. The "Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park" (Mod Waters) project was authorized by the Everglades national Park Expansion and Protection Act of 1989. This act sanctioned the restoration of the natural cycle of water flow and level through the Florida Everglades. In 1994, the Everglades Forever Act was passed. It provides for a comprehensive clean up and restoration plan that addresses problems with the quality, quantity and timing of restored water flow and level.
• However, preserving and restoring the Florida Everglades may not be as simple as opening a floodgate or pumping water back into the area. Restoring the flow of water to these wetlands has had both positive and negative consequences. Several complicated issues have caused controversy. For instance, the Everglades Wildlife Refuge is worried that the restoration of the natural flow and level of water through the Everglades could further endanger the Florida Panther.

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STUDENT ACTIVITY

The Everglades Wildlife Refuge has asked you to help them address their concern for the Florida Panther. You are being asked to perform an Earth System Science (ESS) analysis of the impacts of the restoration of water level and flow to the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere of the Everglades ecosystem. From this you will make predictions about the future of the Florida Panther.

First, you will do an Earth System Science analysis. Then you will make predictions, based on the results of the ESS analysis, concerning the future of the Florida Panther.

Ask the students to manipulate the data module so that it shows different world population and water data for four different years: 1950, 1995, 2025, and 2050. Have them examine the data, then answer the questions on the handout. You may have the students work on the handouts individually, in pairs, or in small groups, as your computer availability and time frame allows.

Have students discuss their answers as a class. Were the hypotheses concerning the relationship between water availability and population confirmed? Why or why not?

Next, ask students to look at the population and water data for the United States. Tell them that the data module they've been looking at took its data from this Web site. Ask them to write down the numbers for population and per capita availability for 1950, 1995 and 2025 (UN medium projection) and 2050 (UN medium projection) for the United States. Then ask students to use the data they have copied from the site to create a bar graph indicating the relationship between population growth and water scarcity in the United States. As on the data module, the x-axis of the bar graph should be labeled with the years 1950, 1995, 2025 and 2050 — students should write the appropriate population figure beneath each year. The y-axis will represent per capita water availability (rounded to the nearest 100 or 500).

Ask students to analyze the graphs they have created. Do they notice any resemblance between their graphs and the graph on the data module? Which parts look the same? Which parts, if any, look different?

Divide the class into pairs. Assign each pair one of the following U. S. cities (or others that you know have imminent water shortage and quality situations): Washington, DC, New York City, NY, Raleigh, NC, Daytona Beach, FL, West Palm Beach, FL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, or Orlando, FL. These cities have been ranked as some of the most sprawl threatened cities in the country, suffering from water shortages and quality, as well as other sprawl-related problems.

An important part of Smart Growth is using the land more efficiently and preserving environmentally sensitive land. —"Smart Growth: Building Better Places to Live, Work and Play" National Association of Home Builders Smart Growth: Myth and Fact, Washington, DC: ULI-Urban Land Institute, 1999

Next, tell your students that they're going to research their assigned city and create a "water action plan" for their assigned city. Their action plans should include the following information:

1. A water population bar graph for their assigned city, using the parameters outlined in Step 4 above. Perform a Google search under Smart Growth, Water Quality in U. S. Cities, Water Pollution in U. S. Cities, etc. Also try the Web site Water Science for Schools.
2. A history of the city and how unsustainable growth and population have impacted water resources over several decades
3. Current issues and problems facing water quality and availability in the city
4. Potential solutions that have been proposed by scientists, city planners, politicians, private civil engineering firms, etc.
5. Steps students think their assigned city should take to help its water situation. Students should list as many ideas as they can think of (e.g., reduce or stop building), then choose one idea and make suggestions as to how the city can act on it (e.g., implement a moratorium on building permits, water rationing for lawns, etc.)

When students' action plans are complete, give them time to share their reports with the class, then lead an in-depth discussion about their practical water shortage solutions they came up with. Which ideas might be easy to implement and why? Which would be more difficult — or more expensive? If applicable, what can students do themselves to ease water shortages in their own towns or cities? How might a lack of water affect the future of people who live either in the cities they researched or their own city/town?

Evaluation
You can evaluate groups using the following three-point rubric:

• Three Points: completes handout exercise; conducts in-depth research on selected U. S. city; presents full presentation on their research (full grasp of issues, comprehensive interpretation and development of potential solutions).
• Two Points: completes most of the handout; produces adequate research on their selected city; presents fairly informative/interpretive presentation;
• One point: answers only a few of the questions, etc.

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EXTENSION

Getting the Big Picture
The United Nations has recently reevaluated its projections for population growth over the next few decades. This is discussed on the Sustaining Water, Easing Scarcity: A Second Update page. Explain this change in its predictions to the class, then hold a discussion about how changes in population growth rate might affect changes in water availability predictions.

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ADDITIONAL INTERNET RESOURCES

Web Links

• Water Science for Schools
• Population Action International
  
• Cadillac Desert
  
• "What's It Like Where You Live?"
  
• Sustaining Water, Easing Scarcity: a Second Update
  
• World Factbook
  

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Lesson plan developed by Betsy Hedberg, former middle school teacher and current freelance curriculum writer and consultant with DiscoverySchool.com.

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