Sustainable Resource Management

Part 1: Engage (Anchoring Phenomenon)

As human populations grow, our demand for resources like energy and food increases. To meet these demands, we extract natural resources, develop land for agriculture, and build power plants. However, these actions can lead to pollution and the destruction of natural habitats, threatening the biodiversity of ecosystems. Over time, poor resource management can cause severe consequences, such as starvation, power blackouts, bankruptcy, and ecological collapse.

Consider a newly established society with a population of 10 million people. How can this society balance its need for energy and food while maintaining a healthy environment and preserving biodiversity over 50 years? What policies would lead to long-term sustainability?

Questions to Consider:

1. What resources does a population need to grow and thrive?
2. How might the methods we use to generate energy and produce food affect the environment?
3. What could happen to a population if its environment becomes highly polluted or its biodiversity collapses? _____

Part 2: Explore (Simulation Investigation)

Open the Sustainable Resource Management Simulator. The simulator allows you to control two main types of policies over time: Energy Generation and Land Management.

Controls:

• Energy Policy:
  • Coal Power: High energy, low cost. High pollution.
  • Natural Gas: Medium energy, medium cost. Moderate pollution.
  • Renewable (Solar/Wind): Low energy initially, high cost. Zero pollution.
• Land Management Policy:
  • Intensive Agriculture: High food yield. Destroys habitat (low biodiversity).
  • Balanced Zoning: Medium food yield. Preserves some habitat.
  • Strict Conservation: Low food yield. High biodiversity protection.

Metrics:

• Population: Measured in millions (M).
• Funds: The city’s budget, measured in billions ($B).
• Biodiversity: Measured as a percentage (%).
• Pollution: Measured as a percentage (%).

Investigation 1: Baseline Scenario (High Output, High Impact)

1. Set the Energy Generation to Coal Power.
2. Set the Land Management to Intensive Agriculture.
3. Click Start Sim and let the simulation run for exactly 50 years. You can click Pause Sim at any time.
4. Record the final metrics in the data table below. Also, note any warnings that appear on the dashboard.

Investigation 2: Max Conservation Scenario (Low Output, Low Impact)

1. Click Reset.
2. Set the Energy Generation to Renewable (Solar/Wind).
3. Set the Land Management to Strict Conservation.
4. Click Start Sim and let the simulation run for exactly 50 years.
5. Record your data and any warnings in the table.

Investigation 3: Balanced Approach (Student Choice)

1. Click Reset.
2. Experiment with different policy combinations over a 50-year period. You can change the policies during the simulation (for example, starting with Coal but switching to Renewable later as funds allow or technology improves).
3. Try to find a strategy that maximizes population growth while keeping Biodiversity high and Pollution low, without going bankrupt.
4. Record your final results in the table and describe the specific policy changes you made and in what years you made them. _____

Part 3: Explain (Sensemaking)

Using your data from the investigations, answer the following questions:

1. Analyzing the Baseline: In the Baseline Scenario (Coal + Intensive Ag), how did the population change over 50 years? What happened to the environment (Biodiversity and Pollution), and how did those environmental changes eventually affect the population? _____

2. Analyzing Conservation: In the Max Conservation Scenario (Renewable + Strict Conservation), did the environment stay healthy? Were the energy and food outputs sufficient to meet the demands of the population? Why or why not? _____

3. Technological Impact: In the simulation, the Renewable Energy policy starts with low energy output and high costs. If you run the simulation with Renewable Energy for many years, how do the cost and energy output change over time? How does this represent the real-world development of new technologies? _____

4. Feedback Loops: The simulation contains feedback loops. For example, if pollution gets too high, what happens to the economy (Funds) and the population’s growth rate? How does this demonstrate that the sustainability of a human society depends on the environment? _____

Part 4: Elaborate/Evaluate (Argumentation)

The Challenge: The mayor of your virtual city has asked you to propose a long-term policy plan for the next 100 years. Your goal is to support a thriving population (at least 25 Million people) without going bankrupt, while maintaining biodiversity above 50% and keeping pollution below 30%.

Your Task:

1. Run the simulation to test different policy combinations and timelines to achieve these specific goals at Year 100.
2. Write a scientific argument recommending a specific policy plan.

Your argument must include:

• Claim: State your recommended combination and timeline of Energy and Land Management policies.
• Evidence: Provide specific data from your successful simulation run (Population, Funds, Biodiversity, and Pollution at Year 100).
• Reasoning: Explain why these policies work together to balance human needs (food, energy, economy) with environmental sustainability. Discuss the trade-offs you had to make (e.g., accepting slower population growth initially to preserve biodiversity).

Teacher Notes

Alignment to NGSS Performance Expectation HS-ESS3-3: Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.

Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs):

• Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking: Students use a computational simulation to explore relationships between variables, testing how altering resource management policies (energy and land use) impacts system outcomes over time.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs):

• ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems: The task directly illustrates that the sustainability of human societies (preventing starvation, maintaining funds) and the biodiversity that supports them requires responsible management of natural resources.

Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs):

• Stability and Change: Students observe how rates of change in pollution and biodiversity affect the stability of the human population (e.g., feedback loops where high pollution destabilizes the economy and population growth).
• Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Students analyze how new technologies (renewables becoming cheaper and more efficient over time) impact society and the environment.
• Science is a Human Endeavor: Students make decisions about the use of knowledge, recognizing that science indicates what can happen in natural systems, while policy requires human decisions evaluating trade-offs.

Evidence Statements Addressed:

• Representation (1a.i-iv): The simulation contains representations of natural resources (food/energy), human sustainability (population/funds/deficits), biodiversity, and technology (renewables).
• Computational Modeling (2a-b): Students describe realistic relationships between variables (e.g., intensive agriculture increases food but decreases biodiversity; high pollution reduces population growth). The mathematical relationships are modeled (e.g., Renewables output increases over time).
• Analysis (3a.i-iii): Students alter components (policies) to illustrate effects on the system, identify the effects of technology, and identify feedbacks (e.g., pollution destabilizing the population/economy).