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Consumption and Ecological Footprint
Here is a list of recommended resources for teaching and learning about consumption and ecological footprint, including topics such as material wealth, living lightly, and the life cycles of goods. Below each resource you will find links to related Facing the Future lessons. View the criteria used to select these resources.
High School Resources
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Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic
John De Graaf
This 288-page book uses the metaphor of a disease to tackle a serious subject: the damage done to our health, our families, our communities, and our environment by the obsessive quest for material gain.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9781576753576 | $
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Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Jared Diamond
In this 592-page book, Jared Diamond examines how ancient and modern societies have collapsed due in large part to overconsumption of resources and population growth.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9780143036555 | $
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The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World
Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson
This 384-page book uses vivid examples and personal stories to describe the values and lifestyles that make the "Cultural Creatives" subculture distinctive.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 0609604678 | $
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Hope: Human and Wild - True Stories of Living Lightly on the Earth
Bill McKibben
This 232-page book provides a vision for a sustainable society, in which wealth is measured less by material productivity or resource consumption and more by spiritual richness and the extent to which we live in harmony with the natural world.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9781571313003 | $
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A New Green History of the World
Clive Ponting
Using the Roman empire as its central example, this 464-page book shows how overexpansion and the exhaustion of available natural resources have played key roles in the collapse of great cultures in human history.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9780143038986 | $
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Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth
Jim Merkel
This 288-page book guides readers to a personal sustainability goal, offering a process to monitor progress to a lifestyle that is equitable for all people, species, and generations.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9780865714731 | $
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When Corporations Rule the World
David C Korten
In this 385-page book, David Korten takes on the task of blaming large international corporations for many of the social and environmental problems confronting people all over the world.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9781887208048 | $
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Carbon Footprint Calculator: What's My Carbon Footprint?
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy's carbon calculator starts with an average carbon footprint and subtracts carbon dioxide emissions for actions that reduce emissions.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Interactive Technology | Free
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Affluenza
John de Graaf
This 56-minute humorous documentary details the history and effects of consumption and a growing movement to live simply and consume less.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Video | UPC 1594581320 | $
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The Cost of Cool: Youth Consumption and the Environment
Michael Tobias
This 27-minute video, hosted by Alexandra Paul, shows teenagers grappling with what it takes to be "cool" and the environmental price we pay to have the most trendy stuff.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Video | $
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Escape from Affleunza
John de Graaf
This 56-minute sequel to Affluenza is a humorous documentary on the history and effects of consumption and a growing movement to live simply and consume less.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Video | UPC 1594581339 | $
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Advancing the Science of Sustainability
Global Footprint Network
Global Footprint Network supports a sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological Footprint, a measurement and management tool that makes the reality of planetary limits relevant to decision-makers around the world.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Website | Free
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Middle School Resources
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The Life Cycle of Everyday Stuff
Mike Reese and Shirley Watt Ireton
Using common products like the telephone, this lively 95-page book helps students learn about the flow of energy and matter through Earth’s system.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9780873551878 | $
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Material World: A Global Family Portrait
Peter Menzel
In this 256-page book, award-winning photojournalist Peter Menzel brings together 16 of the world's leading photographers to create a visual portrait of life in 30 nations.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9780871564306 | $
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Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things
John C. Ryan and Alan Thein Durning
This 88-page book follows a typical day in the life of a fictional, middle-class, North American girl, tracking her daily consumption patterns.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Book | ISBN 9781886093041 | $
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Carbon Counter
The Climate Trust
Find out how much carbon dioxide you use through daily activities and how you can greatly reduce your carbon footprint on the planet.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Interactive Technology | Free
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Good Stuff? - A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Things We Buy
The World Watch Institute
This online report contains tips, facts, and links to help you make more informed purchases that benefit your health and the environment.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Online Report | Free
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The Living Planet Report
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
The Living Planet Report is WWF's periodic update on the state of the world's ecosystems. It describes the changing state of global biodiversity and the pressure on the biosphere arising from human consumption of natural resources.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Online Report | Free
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The Ecological Footprint: Accounting for a Small Planet
Global Footprint Network
In this 30-minute documentary, Mathis Wackernagel introduces the Ecological Footprint and provides examples of how governments, communities, and businesses are using the Ecological Footprint to improve their ecological performance.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Video | ISBN 1594582920 | $
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Global Warming: It's All About Carbon
Robert Krulwich
These five short films explain the role of carbon in climate change in simple yet humorous ways. Topics range from "Making Carbon Bonds" to "What Do We Do?"
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Online Video | Free
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Climate Classroom
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation's online Climate Classroom features resources such as their slideshow, "What's Up with Global Warming?"
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Website | Free
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Elementary School Resources
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Teaching Resources
EarthCARE
EarthCARE's action-oriented, curriculum-aligned program focuses on energy conservation, waste reduction, and water conservation.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Curriculum | Free
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Adventures with Bobby Bigfoot
Earth Day Network
Designed for elementary students, this footprint calculator shows how everyday choices impact the planet. Students discover their impact on the earth by selecting the choices that most represent their daily actions.
Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:
Interactive Technology | Free
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Please contact us if you would like to suggest a resource or comment on any of these resources.
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