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Team,

We meet this week Wednesday and Friday. Here's what we'd like to cover each day, and your assignment for each:

For Wednesday, please read chapter 14 in the text on pesticides and bioaccumulation. Your online HW assignment is here:

Please complete this before class on Friday.

Mr. Emmons has found a good video on soils called "dirt" here:

Please check it out for class on Friday.

Here are questions to be turned in before class on the Dirt movie:

DIRT! The Movie

follow-up questions

1. How do most Americans react to the idea of children playing in dirt? Why do you think they react that way?

2. Several people in the film indicate that working in dirt is calming or satisfying. In your experience, is this true? If so, why?

3. What is your reaction to hearing about the number of farmer suicides in rural India over the past decade? (The film reports there were 200,000.) If such a thing occurred in this country, what do you think would happen?

4. Is it possible to reconcile food sovereignty and globalization? In other words, how can people retain and exercise their right to produce and control their own food resources in the face of international market forces?

5. In the film, mycologist Paul Stamets characterizes the human species as a virus because of the harmful effects our activities have had on the land. Do you accept his analogy? Why or why not?

6. How can humans “listen to nature” and bring their needs and activities into alignment with those of nature? Are there ways you can be more attentive to the natural world in your daily life? How?

7. Keeping in mind the hummingbird story told in the film, do you think doing the best you can is enough to preserve the health of the planet, even if millions of people do their best? What responsibility do governments have to help maintain a healthy planet for future generations?

8. What about business and industry? What power do people have to get businesses to make changes that would be less harmful to nature while still meeting human needs?

9. What feelings are you left with after seeing this film? Do you feel motivated or empowered to make changes — either personally or as part of a group effort — to keep Earth’s soil healthy? What part(s) of the film especially resonated with you?

I will post reading notes on chapter 14 here.

Please also read chapter 7 in the Barron's text, on land use, and email these questions before class Friday: