Course Content
Environmental Issues in South America
Contemporary Issues in South America, By Jenny Pettit, Caroline Starbird
Guidelines for developing a new dilemma for the MJT
A) The dilemma

should deal with the story of a fictitious person who is very likely to
exist in real; s/he should have a name;

it should be clear from the beginning that there is a difficulty ahead
(title of the story; first sentence)

should contain a clear decision under time pressure; an evasion of
the decision or postponing it should not be an option.

should be short and easily understandable (not too technical
language) at least for first semester students and still demanding
enough to arouse interest in well-experienced students;

should appeal to people with high moral ideals (Kohlbergian Stages 5
and 6), but also to people with lower ideals;

should appeal equally to people who agree with the decision of the
protagonist as to people who disagree.
B) The arguments

should be as short as possible (only one sentence, not too complex),
and not too technically worded;

should represent each of the Six Kohlbergian Stages as close as
possible;

should not sound ironical, joking, or in any way depreciating;

should match for the Stages (that is, the pro and contra argument on
the same stage should be somehow equivalent, yet not
contradictory);

should not double up the arguments of the standard MJT.
1. Introduction to Geography: navigation skills on land & at sea, map reading,
directions, using a compass, determining a location’s latitude and longitude, relative
& exact location.

Interactive physical map of South America
2. Weather and Climate: advection, anti-cyclone, cardinal directions, cold front,
condensation, currents, cyclone, front, gyre, high pressure, and low pressure
systems latitude, longitude, marine west coast climate (Cfb, Cfc), midlatitude cyclone,
midlatitude low pressure zone, trade winds, warm front, winds (types), wind direction.
Climate Change

NASA Global Climate Change Web site

NASA Study Links Severe Storm Increases, Global Warming

The Greenhouse Effect: It’s Mostly About Water

Water Vapor Confirmed as Major Player in Climate Change

The Present Day Climate of Patagonia
3. Landforms: alluvial fan, alpine glacier, volcanism, convergent plate boundary,
delta, divergent plate boundary, drainage basin, earthquake, fault, floodplain, glacier,
igneous rocks, karst, lava, loess, longshore current, longshsore transport, magma,
mantle, mechanical weathering, metamorphic rocks, moraine, outwash plain,
overland flow, plate tectonics theory, seafloor spreading, sedimentary rocks, seismic
waves, soil creep, surface erosion, tectonic plate, terminal moraine, transform plate
boundary, tsunami, volcano, weathering.
Plate Tectonics and Volcanism

Geology.com (Chaién Volcano (Chile):
http://geology.com/events/chaiten-volcano/

Global Map of Plate Boundaries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg

Regional context for Chaitén volcano:
http://clasticdetritus.com/2008/05/10/sea-floor-sunday-18regional-context-for-chaiten-volcano/

Chaitén Volcano (Chile) - John Seach, Scientist
http://www.volcanolive.com/chaiten.html
Slopes and Streams
Glaciers, Wind, and Waves
Floods, Earthquakes, and Landslides
5. Population, Population Increase, and Migration: birth/death rates,
carrying capacity, immigration/emmigration, pull & push factors, total fertility rate
6. Cultural Geography
9. Earth's Resources and Environmental Protection: natural resources;
distribution, uses, depletion, and substitution of minerals; types of air pollution,
their causes, and the chemical content of each type; water pollution and its
consequences; and the uses and management of forests.
11. A World of States: bloc, boundary dispute resolution, Military alliances
(Spain & England), Military strategies.
12. National Paths to Economic Growth and 13. The Globalization of
Economics and Politics: bloc, capitalist system, common market, economic
development, economies of scale, European Union (EU), free trade area, gross
domestic product (GDP), gross national income (GNI), Marshall Plan,
multinational corporation, nationalized, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
NATO, post industrial society, preindustrial society, superimposed boundaries,
supranational organization, transnational corporation.
Climate Change and Global Issues
Learn about global environmental, climate, and political problems. This is your source for background
information and environmental and cultural geography.
1. Green Revolution
Learn all about the Green Revolution from this overview and history of the Green Revolution.
2. Globalization
An overview of globalization and its positive and negative impacts on culture and society.
3. An Overview of Global Warming
A comprehensive overview of global warming - its causes, its effects, its future, and what we
can do about it.
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Global Warming
Guide to Geography provides a listing of the significant advantages and disadvantages of
global warming.
5. A Discordant Sea: Global Warming and its Effect on Marine Populations
An overview of the impact of global warming on our oceans and the life within them, from
contributing writer Nicole Lindell of Geography at About.com
6. Drought: Its Causes, Stages, and Problems
A comprehensive overview of drought. Provides the definition of drought, the causes of
drought, economic effects of drought, and how drought can be controlled.
7. El Nino - El Nino and La Nina Overview
An understandable overview of El Nino and La Nina and its effects on the world climate.
8. Deserts and Desertification
The desertification of our arid lands is a serious issue.
Culminating Scenario Review Process
Students will be responsible for reviewing and commenting on three project papers by
other students.
After reading papers of three other students,

Determine which of the following four assessment levels best describes your overall
assessment of this student’s paper.

Then – as a REPLY to each of the three student’s papers – write one or two
paragraphs that detail the specific strengths and weaknesses of the paper.
Concentrate on the content, commenting on mechanics and delivery only if they
impede understanding content.
____The paper demonstrates excellent development of each idea and focuses on relevant
details. Clearly explained examples support the claims and the topic is thoroughly
researched.
____The paper contains adequate evidence to support its claims, but will benefit from more
research, more thorough interpretation of quotations, or from more specific development of
relevant points.
____The paper has some development but lacks sufficient evidence or contains irrelevant
details that do not yet develop a clear sense of purpose.
____The paper needs more details on every level (main ideas, related ideas, and specific
ideas).