Earth is just a little tiny speck in a enormous universe. It took billions of years for our planet to form enough just so that we could actually live here and survive. Only a fraction of that time was what we humans have and are living in right now. Eventually humans as an entire species will be wiped out, just as everything else in the universe shall.
Science Final
How has the Earth changed over time?
Page 61 (Birth of Earth), Page 56 (The Big Bang), Page 25 (Active accretion), Page 31 (Dynamic Earth), Page 34 (Lava Surfers), Page 35, 36, 37 (Earth history closing)
https://atmosfx.com/products/dinosaur-encounter - Dinosaur pictures
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/17/17467686/map-pangea-earth-antipodes-science-history-tools - Pangea
http://lunar.earth.northwestern.edu/courses/351/ - The space where Earth formed
https://www.space.com/40120-earth-moon-smashup-water.html - Moon forming picture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIF13tppRCs - Earth forming documentary
Dinosaurs
Pangea, the super continent
The space where Earth formed
The moon forming
Earth at the start of its life
Connection
The Earth forming is like many adolescents as they grow older. We constantly are growing and changing in more ways than one. Some are getting smarter, others stronger, others wider, but we are all changing in the ways that we think constantly forever until we take our last breath. That's where we relate to the Earth, it will be moving and changing until it gets destroyed. Another cool way of looking at it is that conflicts help people form as well, just like when the moon formed, it did also assist in the formation of Earth. People say that they don't like change, when everything is changing always.
Over billions of years the Earth has gone from the size of a small particle, to the size it is today, and maybe even bigger than today in the past. We can find the oldest rocks on Earth using stratigraphy, we now know that tectonic plates are driven by convection. The Earth has always been the Earth, just in many different forms and technically is still constantly changing as the days go by.
How do humans affect Earth's systems?
Page 46 (Carbon Cycle), Page 43 (Wolves and Whales), Page 42 (Earth Systems Feedback), Page 41 (Soil and the four spheres).
https://www.zmescience.com/science/air-pollution-diabetes-6239741/
https://www.clipartmax.com/middle/m2i8N4H7d3Z5m2G6_columbus-cartoon-christopher-columbus-png/ - columbus pic
https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-ecosystems_.html - Underwater habitat
https://sciencing.com/positive-effects-humans-ecosystem-5869462.html - image of planting
Humans affecting Earth's systems is just like how America was founded, because essentially that's what happened. There were indians in the soon to be thirteen colonies, and more civilized beings came and took control. We do that with more and more systems and ecosystems every day. We don't have to, but we impose more and more, affecting more and more, sometimes for the good, sometimes it's not for good purposes. That depends on who you ask.
Pollution
We affect everything, and we always have.
Humans cure diseases.
Someone planting to better the environment
example of a habitat
Humans do so much to the environment that in more ways than one you can remark that they sometimes make or break an environment. The four spheres of Earth all work together to make Earth the wonderful place that it is, biosphere being one of them. Examples of feedback recorded everywhere in the ecosystems. Humans and the environment go hand in hand and we should fix environment. Throughout the life of Earth the climate has changed drastically over time, but as of recent it has been rising faster than ever.
What is the Earth's place in the Universe?
Resources:
Notebook pages 63 (Space Closing), 61 (Tour the Solar System), 60 (Birth of Earth).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946 - Galaxy image
https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/facts/#?c=inspace&s=distance - Mars size compared to Earth
https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/09/big-picture-young-star/ - Young star
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/386/sun-emits-a-solstice-flare-and-cme/ - Sun image
Connection:
Our place in the universe is very similar to where a common person takes place in society. If you reach for the stars and push limits that have been seen as unbreakable than you may be able to make yourself know but hundreds, maybe even thousands or millions of other beings. With our universe, if there is life than our goal must be to find it, and to find other habitable planets and inhabit them, but first we must reach for the stars and soar to the heavens.
Images:
A star at the beginning of its life
NGC 6946, a distant galaxy
Surface of the Moon
Earth vs Mars size comparison
Our sun
Claim w/Evidence:
Is mining essential for modern life?
Resources
https://www.businesslive.co.za/fm/money-and-investing/2018-01-11-gold-what-the-crystal-ball-says/ - Gold, a good conductor of electricity picture
https://fossbytes.com/whats-inside-smartphone-depth-look-parts-powering-everyday-gadget/ - Cell phone detailed picture.
https://www.bigbustours.com/en/new-york/new-york-attractions-empire-state-building-tickets/ - Empire state bulding picture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_National_Bank_Building - Industrial National Bank Building
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f0Mz1mXvrM - Limestone picture
Page 13 (How do Earth materials change), Page 8 (How are Earth materials found), Page 7 (The Rock Cycle)
Images
Limestone
A smartphone piece by piece
Gold, a good conductor of electricity
Industrial National Bank Building
Empire State Building
Connections
A good way of thinking of this is thinking of it as if it's a sport. Do you need to draft new people to win? Probably. You don't have to draft new players to play though, just like how we don't need to mine to live, but to stay current and on top of things, we do have to keep mining all of the resources that we use to make technology and to make buildings.
Claim w/Evidence
If you want things to stay modern, then it's quite obvious that we'd need these kind of materials. On the other hand, is mining essential for L I F E, no not at all. Most of our buildings are made out of metals and minerals, same goes for our electronics, cars, planes, bicycles. These basic materials are what makes modern life modern, we wouldn't however need it to survive.
