The concept of land use (i.e., the way a particular piece of land is utilized by humans and other living organisms), seems at first glance a simple and straightforward subject on the surface. Humans use land to build cities where they live (residential land) and work (commercial land).....

This animation is of Acadia National Park in Maine. This animation was done as part of a series of animations to show Landsats view of our National Parks.

You will be farming several large fields. In order to plant and harvest you will need to use an animal of burden. Research the burden attributes of each animal and determine which would be best for your needs.

This animation on the Climate TimeLine (CTL) site depicts changes in land cover due to land use over the past 100 years. Data is based on census data, tax records, land surveys, and historical geography estimates. This visualization is the work of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM, Netherlands) and the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE, USA).

" Topics include productivity effects of health, private and social returns to education, education quality, education policy and market equilibrium, gender discrimination, public finance, decision making within families, firms and contracts, technology, labor and migration, land, and the markets for credit and savings."

Young students are introduced to the complex systems of the Earth through numerous lessons on the Earth's natural resources, processes, weather, climate and landforms. Key earth science topics include rocks, soils and minerals, water and natural resources, weather patterns and climatic regions, wind, erosion, landforms, and the harvesting of fossil fuels all presented from an engineering point-of-view. (See the Unit Overview section for a list of topics by lesson.) Through many hands-on activities, students build and test sand castles for construction strength, measure snow melt as a potential water source, use colored ice cubes and salt water to learn about ocean currents, make 3-D water catchment basins, make surface tension/surfactant-powered paper boats, build and use wind vanes, build and test model wind turbines, model and observe five types of erosion, model acid rain using chalk and kitchen supplies, build transportation systems across their own 3-D model landscapes, take core samples from a clay model of the Earth's crust, read and create graphs and charts as they learn about international oil production and consumption, act as engineers by specifying the power plants to build for communities, given scenarios with budgets, energy needs and environmental impacts. They learn the steps of the engineering design process as they hypothesize ways engineers might obtain water for communities facing water crises.

Ten questions for you on environmental terms.

This case study provided by the Environmental Frontline organization is a summary of the 1872 general mining law reform. It includes background information, facts and figures, 'quotable quotables', and recent actions, as well as links to websites of key players, information sources, and relevant reports. Environmental Frontlines organization monitors current environmental issues and the groups involved with such issues. The Mining on Public Lands case study is part of that monitoring program.

Explores the foundations of policy making in developing countries. Goal is to spell out various policy options and to quantify the trade-offs between them. Special emphasis on education, health, gender, fertility, adoption of technological innovation, and the markets for land, credit, and labor.

" This course explores the foundations of policy making in developing countries. The goal is to spell out various policy options and to quantify the trade-offs between them. We will study the different facets of human development: education, health, gender, the family, land relations, risk, informal and formal norms and institutions. This is an empirical class. For each topic, we will study several concrete examples chosen from around the world. While studying each of these topics, we will ask: What determines the decisions of poor households in developing countries? What constraints are they subject to? Is there a scope for policy (by government, international organizations, or non-governmental organizations (NGOs))? What policies have been tried out? Have they been successful?"

Students will learn to identify and explain the four factors of production: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.

The purpose of the resource is to introduce students to Landsat images and how to identify the land cover types within those images.

This resource contains an organized database of resources that provide geoscience data and interpretations to the Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMA) that are basic to sound policy and land-stewardship practices. U.S. Forest Service (USFS) National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Area Management Plans for the Headwaters Province are in revision, with completion dates from 1999-2003. USFS Regions 1 and 4 have made National Priority Requests for Mineral Resources Program (MRP) to provide interim products that help them meet their planning cycles. MRP is to provide geologic maps and topical studies to meet longer range goals of integrating geoscience into decision making. This project will emphasize development of digital geoscience data, GIS analyses, and interpretations to ensure that data is available for GIS-based science integration and planning.

In this lesson, students will learn about types of land use by humans and evaluate the ways land is used in their local community. They will also consider the environmental effects of the different types of land use. Students will assume the role of community planning engineers and will create a future plan for their community. (Note: Teachers will need to check out the following book from the local or school library: Durell, Ann, Craighead George, Jean, and Paterson, Katherine. The Big Book For Our Planet, New York: Dutton Children's Books, 1993).

This resource contains various chapters and factsheets on land degradation in South Africa. A vast amount of data which was generated during the national review of land degradation in South Africa is also available in both GIS and Excel format.

This course in Land Restoration and Afforestation provides an introduction and overview of the scientific concepts underlying deforested lands and their renewal. The course contains questions for peer-directed learning and is supplemented with bibliographies and multimedia resources . All information within this course is based upon free and fully public sources.

Research News from Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Lisa Schulte, Iowa State University Landscape Ecologist, discusses her latest publication Homogenization of northern U.S. Great Lakes forests due to land use.

provides an overview of an exhibit which explains the historical role of transportation in visitors exploration of National Parks -- from the stagecoach to the automobile.

Students learn the components of the rock cycle and how rocks can change over time under the influence of weathering, erosion, pressure and heat. They learn about geotechnical engineering and the role these engineers play in the development of an area of land, the design and placement of new structures, and detection of natural disasters.