Population iEARN Learning Circle Places and Perspectives Spring 2013 University Prep 6 th Grade Seattle, WA, US

Major Themes  Population has increased significantly in the last 50 years in all but one of our Learning Circle regions  Increasing total population has significant impacts on the environment  Increasing population density has significant impacts on quality of life

Population Growth Seattle 1960 City: 557,087 Region: 935,014 Grodno ,000 Starye Dorogi ,000 Seattle 2010 City: 620,778 Region: 3,439,809 Grodno ,800 Starye Dorogi ,100

Population Growth Ventura ,964 Pop density: 31 per sq. mile Lida ,000 Moscow Ventura ,514 Pop density: 105 per sq. mile Lida ,744 Moscow Pop density: per sq km

Population Growth – or not! Campbellton ,385 Campbellton ,384

Environment: Impacts of Population Growth  Moscow: Air pollution: due to motor transport - more cars for more people - Plan for reduction of emissions from cars - Will take a long time for plan to make a difference Water use and pollution: - over 100 small rivers have disappeared in the city - Snow dumping in Moskva River has been stopped - Treatment now of wastewater runoff Waste Products: recycling - New recycling factories

Environment: Impacts of Population Growth  Starye Dorogi: air and water pollution have increased, but beautiful forests nearby  Campbellton: the exception! - clean air and water - with decline in population, less garbage and sewage

Environment: Impacts of Population Growth  Ventura: Land Use Issues  Agriculture  Housing  Increased population density Air Quality  Has decreased, but geographic location makes a positive difference – sea breezes bring clean air Water Quality  Oil runoff  Pollutants  Toxins  Drought

Environment: Impacts of Population Growth  Lida - Air pollution the major problem - Industrial waste - Chemical discharge into waterways - Sewage treatment - Terrible traffic - Waste recycling needs improvement - Noise level is bad for human health - Forests are disappearing - Lessons not learned from Chernobyl  Grodno - Population has tripled in 50 years! - Air and water quality have deteriorated - More factories and more cars create more pollution

Environment: Impacts of Population Growth  Seattle - City boundaries limit the population growth within the city itself - But this is misleading as the region’s population has quadrupled in 50 years! - Highways were designed 50 years ago and cannot accommodate all the cars - Traffic is frustrating for people and bad for the economy - Huge sprawling suburbs – much less farmland

Quality of Life: Impacts of Population Growth  Rivers cannot be used for recreation in Moscow  Forests are being cleared in Belarus  Less natural and recreational space in Ventura; with more people, more trash and more land is used for landfills  Air and water quality issues in Moscow  Population density hurting quality of life in Seattle – loud, crowded, lots of traffic

Hopeful Signs  Cleanup of Lake Washington in Seattle – once was highly polluted, now you can swim in it  River Neman in Lida, BLR, is clean and clear  Green Zones in Belarus  Recycling in Seattle is very well-developed and effective; recycled materials are picked up at the same time as garbage

More Hopeful Signs  Government in Grodno focuses on improving ecology of region  Community effort to save and reclaim water in Ventura  Quality of life in Campbellton is very attractive  Forests are preserved in Starye Dorogi – helped by clean air and water  Effective recycling program in Ventura  Monorail electric trains in Moscow will reduce pollution

Hopeful Conclusion  In many areas, population growth rates are declining.  It is clear that we all care about our communities a great deal.  We are all willing to work hard and sacrifice to make them better.  We observe that the smaller communities in our Learning Circle – Starye Dorogi and Campbellton – are more successful in preserving quality of life.  It may be more difficult in areas with larger populations, but we can learn from the examples of smaller communities.

Thank You!!!  We are inspired by the collaboration in our Learning Circle this spring and are grateful for your thoughtful work and contributions.  We wish you the very best and hope our paths will cross again.  We hope you will join us in making a pledge to do the little things that make our communities better, our water cleaner, and our landscapes more attractive.  Each action adds up to make it a better world. From the 6 th Graders of University Prep Seattle, WA, US