Monday, September 23. 2019

Today's schedule is A-AG-BCD

A Block Physical Geography - Today you’ll look at tectonics and plate boundaries. You’ll have to take down a few notes on divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries along with hot spots and then you'll need to work on two questions on geothermal energy and the effects of the Juan de Fuca plate and ridge just off our shores. While you're doing this we'll watch:



 For more on Plate Tectonics check out:
Earth Floor: Plate Tectonics
UCal Berkeley Plate Tectonics animated Gifs
NASA: Our Restless Planet animation library
Plate Tectonics Earth View
Plate Tectonics animations - University of Kentucky
UCAR - University of Michigan - Plate Tectonics
Essentials of Geology textbook Plate Tectonics animations


B Block Human Geography - Today is the last day in the learning commons/library looking at the 2018 World Population Data (using both the PRB Interactive Map and the pdf data sheet) to see current trends and numbers in world population.

C & D Blocks Environmental & Social Sciences - The Colorado River Basin covers an area of over 252,000 square miles (652,677 square kilometers), travelling 1,450-miles (2334 km) from source to mouth. The river supplies water to over 40 million people and irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres of farm land. Twenty two federally recognized tribes (indigenous nations), seven National Wildlife Refuges, eleven National Parks, and four National Recreation Areas also rely on the Colorado River. In addition to this more than 4,200 megawatts of electricity is generated on the river. It created the Grand Canyon (one of the Eight Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and is an economic driver of the American southwest:

1. The Colorado River supports $1.4 trillion in annual economic activity and 16 million jobs in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming - that’s equivalent to about 1/12 of the total U.S. domestic product, meaning the Colorado River’s contribution is important to the national economy as well
2. For each of these western states, the river accounts for at least half of its gross economic product. The total is much higher for some state economies, including 65% in New Mexico and 87% in Nevada. 
3. If just 10% of the river’s water were unavailable for people, we would see a loss of $143 billion in economic activity and 1.6 million jobs in just one year.
4. The resulting economic hit would be delivered across the board, with the largest effects in real estate, healthcare and social services, retail, technical services and finance.

As famous as the Colorado may be, it’s equally infamous for the stresses placed upon it due to over-allocation, overuse, and more than a century of manipulation. The Colorado River Water Compact drafted in 1922 to divide water between upper and lower basin states was based on analysis of one of the wettest 10-year periods in history, establishing a permanent deficit. The battery of threats facing the natural masterpiece the river has carved through the Grand Canyon have earned that segment the number one spot on American Rivers’ Most Endangered Rivers report in 2015. About two-thirds of the water flowing in the Colorado River and its tributaries is used for irrigation, and the other one-third supplies urban areas, evaporates into the atmosphere, or provides water to riparian (streamside) vegetation. Without Colorado River water, the region would support few crops, and major cities such as Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona, would not have grown so rapidly.

So this week Benton and I will work with you on the mighty Colorado. Today we'll try to figure out what the Colorado River was like pre-colonization? We'll do some geography seeing where is it in on the continent? (Google Earth tour) and we'll fill in a blank map of the basin together when we look at a slide show of the river. We'll try to see what are some major characteristics and climates in the basin today? Finally we'll introduce our round table discussion activity for Friday and maybe establish groups and field any questions you may have.