Key Message Three: Increasing Challenges Confront Food and Fiber Production in the Southwest
Overview
Educational Resources and Guiding Questions Aligned with the Regional Key Messages: Each Key Message in this Lesson features three guiding questions to help educators navigate these topics with students. Each guiding question includes example lessons and supporting videos. The lessons were taken from the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) educational resources database. The videos were selected from reputable sources to support the lessons.
Continuing drought and water scarcity will make it more difficult to raise food and fiber in the Southwest without major shifts to new strategies and technologies. Extreme heat events will increase animal stress and reduce crop quality and yield, thereby resulting in widespread economic impacts. Because people in the Southwest have adapted to drought impacts for millennia, incorporating Indigenous Knowledge with technological innovation can offer solutions to protect food security and sovereignty.
Guiding Question One
What are social and economic barriers to agricultural adaptation in the Southwest?
Example Lesson
American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture
Description: This set of five lessons addresses climate change impacts to agriculture and provides sustainable solutions. Lesson two covers the relationship between agriculture and local, national, and global economies. Lesson five covers the role that agriculture plays in society.
Instructional Time: Each lesson takes 60 minutes to complete
Grade Level: Ninth through twelfth
Supporting Video
Unrelenting drought leaves millions who rely on the Colorado River facing an uncertain future
PBS NewsHour
Description: The Colorado River is a critical resource for the western U.S. But a megadrought, one significantly exacerbated by climate change, is jeopardizing the river's future and threatening to upend how its water is used and longstanding agreements between states. Miles O'Brien reports as part of our coverage on how climate change is creating a "Tipping Point" for the U.S. and around the world.
Video Length: 7:21 minutes
Guiding Question Two
Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness.
Teaching Tips
- Providing learners with appropriate data sets for this or other regions will help them gain a quantitative handle on the topic of climate change and freshwater resources.
- Because of the length of the activity, it could be used as an entire unit on the Colorado River watershed or customized for other watersheds.
About the Content
- Students research the impact of climate change on the Colorado River Basin by analyzing snowpack data sets and satellite images of land and vegetation.
- Some data sets and images are presented to support the activity, source citations are not available.
- Comments from expert scientist: Addresses key issues of water quantity across Colorado River Basin and potential impact based on historical changes.
- Need to address potential water quality concerns as CRB also serve for drinking water supply.
About the Pedagogy
- This is a structured, problem-based learning module using the impact of climate change on the water levels in the Colorado River Basin and as a case study. The authentic final assessment asks students to use their research and analysis of data and images to suggest revisions to the 2007 Colorado Basin water allotment agreement.
- Activity provides background information and guiding questions for students to work through the data.
- Instructors may want to customize this activity for their own area of interest and assessment needs.
- This resource engages students in using scientific data.
See other data-rich activities
Technical Details/Ease of Use
- Teacher notes are not included because this is a college-level module and thus assumes the expertise of the professor. However, the four parts of the module are scaffolded enough to enable 11th and 12th grade students to successfully use the module.
Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN
for Part 3 Colorado River District video 'Colorado Water Supply' see http://www.coloradoriverdistrict.org/video-gallery/or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVot9tEG0aw
What are the challenges to distributing water equitably between urban and rural communities?
Example Lesson
Encyclopedia of Earth
Description: This activity addresses climate change impacts that affect all states that are part of the Colorado River Basin and are dependent on its water. Students examine available data, the possible consequences of changes to various user groups, and suggest solutions to adapt to these changes.
Instructional Time: Activity takes about one to two class periods and homework assignments.
Grade Level: Ninth through twelfth
Supporting Video
The Colorado River: Lifeblood for the American Southwest
9News
Description: The Southwest is tipping on the precipice of indecision. For more than 100 years the Colorado River's water has been split between seven states, Native American tribes and Mexico thanks to a compact that experts say was written using flawed data. There was never enough water to go around, and beneath the crushing weight of longer droughts and hotter weather, everyone is caught between the Law of the River and reality.
Video Length: 12:12 minutes
Guiding Question Three
Which new technologies and adaptive practices are likely to support agriculture in the Southwest through the impacts of climate change?
Example Lesson
Agriculture and Climate Change Learning Lab
The Climate Initiative
Description: This interactive learning lab will help students learn how climate change is affecting our ability to produce food, what sustainable agriculture looks like, how agriculture looks in different states, how snowpack in places like the Sierra Nevada mountains affects agriculture, and how people are affected by these changes and practices. Students will watch videos, read articles, view maps, and answer questions to broaden their understanding of the connections between agriculture and climate change.
Instructional Time: Six classroom periods
Grade Level: Seventh through twelfth
Supporting Video
Kiss the Ground for Schools
Big Picture Ranch
https://kissthegroundmovie.com/for-schools/
Description: This documentary explores the potential of regenerative agriculture to address climate change and restore ecosystems. Password: schools
Video Length: 46:26 minutes