Making Connections

 The connection:  When malnutrition affects many people, it is called a famine.  Taking it further:  Both terms deal with lack of nutrition.  Malnutrition can affect an individual.  Famine affects a large population.

 The connection:  There are 1,000 calories in 1 Calorie.  Taking it further:  We measure the energy in food in calories.  A calorie is very small, so to avoid large numbers, we refer to kilocalories as Calories.

 The connection:  A healthy diet includes the right mix of nutrients, minerals and vitamins.  Taking it further:  Nutrients include carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins and are part of your diet.

 The connection:  Efficiency measures energy and resources consumed to produce a given yield.  Taking it further:  Yield is the amount of food you harvest.  Efficiency compares yield to how much effort, water, land, and other resources were used.

 The connection:  Most subsistence farmers live in poverty.  Taking it further:  Subsistence farmers grow enough food to continue to manage to survive or subsist.  If they are lucky, they may have some left to sell.  They are usually very poor or live in poverty.

 The connection:  Urban land is expanding into arable land.  Taking it further:  Arable land is the 10% of earth’s surface that is useable for growing crops (farmland).  Urban land is the 3% of earth’s land surface with large human populations (cities).  Arable land is being destroyed by urb.an land

 The connection:  While traditional farming relied heavily on man and animal power, modern farming methods rely on fossil fuels and chemical fertilizers and pesticides  Taking it further:  Traditional refers to older farming methods.  Modern refers to current methods used today.

 The connection:  Land degradation occurs where land has been irresponsibly farmed.  Taking it further:  If topsoil is not managed properly, it can be lost through erosion, degrading (damaging) the land.

 The connection:  Contour plowing and no-till farming are both methods of soil conservation.  Taking it further:  Contour plowing uses the shape of the land to minimize damage.  No till farming does not turn over the soil.

 The connection:  Compost is a type of fertilizer.  Taking it further:  Compost is partially decomposed organic material and a great source of nutrients for plants.

 The connection:  Pesticides are chemicals that kill pests.  Taking it further:  Pesticides are not the only method of pest control.

 The connection:  Persistent chemicals can damage human health for a long time.  Taking it further:  Persistence is a characteristic of chemicals that break down slowly such as Dichloro-Diphenyl- Trichloroethane (DDT).

 The connection:  X-rays and pheromones are both methods of disrupting insect breeding.  Taking it further:  X-rays are radiation used to sterilize insects, making them unable to breed.  Pheromones are chemicals that confuse insects and cause them to attempt to breed at the wrong time.

 The connection:  No fishing zones are an attempt to recover from the damage done by overharvesting  Taking it further:  Overharvesting is removing organisms faster than they can replenish their numbers.  No fishing zones are areas designed to let the populations recover.

 The connection:  Aquaculture often drains the water from local wetlands.  Taking it further:  Aquaculture is raising aquatic organisms for human use.  It requires large amounts of fresh water and produces a lot of waste.

 The connection:  Masai herders and Hindus both use cows for milk.  Taking it further:  Cows are used differently throughout the world.  Hindus view cattle as sacred and only use the for milk and dung for fuel.  Traditional Maasai herders drink the milk and blood of their cows.