In this Sustainable Development course, you will dive into a study of the Earth’s surface, the environments we live in, and the human impact on those environments. You will study population growth and how that leads to a global economy. In looking at the human impact, we will study the Earth’s freshwater sources and the impact that pollution has on those natural resources. You will take a closer look at Earth’s freshwater sources in studying lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands, floods, and groundwater.

After considering human impacts on natural resources, you will study how natural disasters shape the Earth’s surface and affect our natural environments. Hurricanes, wildfires, and other climatic disasters can lead to climate change. Climate change has an effect on our planet and everyday lives. Finally, in this course, you will study cultural geography and take a closer look at race, ethnicity, and languages. You will learn how those topics lead to international relationships and civil conflict. Overall, you will develop your knowledge of Geographic processes and how those concepts have shaped human understanding and the Earth’s surface.

Our Sustainable Development course is designed as the first course in the social studies sequence. It develops note-taking skills, teaches the basic elements of analytic writing, and introduces students to the close examination of primary documents.