GROUP 1 HANDOUT: Watching the World Change

 

Directions:

• In your group, read the questions below, view the program segment, and then discuss the questions, using the responses to help you develop a cost/benefit analysis on the chart below. Use the existing lines and bubbles as a guide.
• Label each bubble as a cost or benefit as you record the content of the bubble.
• Transfer your chart to a large sheet of butcher paper and post it on the wall.
• Designate a spokesperson to present an overview of your group’s findings to the class.

 

 

Video Segment
This is Chapter One on the Web site. Total Time: 8:36 minutes
Enter after program introduction 3:00 minutes in with scenes of clouds and mountains.
Exit on Dr. Rajendra Pachauri's line, “… And I think the sooner we realize that, the better.”

 

Background
Melting Himalayan glaciers bring water to half of the world’s people. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that by 2035, 80 percent of the glaciers in the Himalayas and Tibet will be gone due to climate change. On your chart, record the costs and benefits to people who live on rivers fed by these glaciers and potentially to the world.

 

Discussion Questions

• Who will be affected positively and negatively by this loss of glacial water?
• What are the costs and benefits of rapid glacier melt to the people living downstream of the many rivers that flow from these regions?
• How might China’s loss of water affect its relations with other countries also dependent on that water?

 

Teacher’s Note: Download the Teacher’s Guide for complete set of handouts.