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Education resources for schools teachers and students - ABC Education

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ABC Education has 4000+ educational games, videos and teaching resources for schools and students. Free Primary and Secondary resources covering history, science, English, maths and more

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Engagement activity:
- collaborative interactive debate

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Indigenous rangers like Yugul Mangi senior women (from left to right) Edna Nelson, Cherry Daniels and Julie Roy, are crucial guardians of the outback environment. Emilie Ens, Author provided

Amid the questioning of government support for remote Aboriginal communities and what Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the " lifestyle choices " of those who live there, the growing role of Aboriginal management of large areas of remote Australia has been overlooked.

There are 1,200 small, discrete Indigenous communities in regional and remote Australia with various sources of income, including federal government " Working on Country" funding, as well as meagre and tightly regulated welfare payments. They fulfil a key role in populating large areas of outback Australia.

Altman and Markham 2014

Outback Australia has high biodiversity and would otherwise be unoccupied - and so open to a host of threats including intense and widespread wildfires and invasive species. There is also a long-standing recognition of outstations as important to maintaining the connection of remote-living Aboriginal people to their culture and customary responsibilities.

More than a third of Australia is recognised as Aboriginal owned and managed land, mainly in very remote regions. Given ancestral connections and Aboriginal people's customary obligations to Country (the land with its inherent natural, cultural and spiritual meaning), they are the best placed to look after it, it is a practice that can be very important to them.

As Cherry Wulumirr Daniels, Senior Ngandi Traditional Owner and founder of the Yugul Mangi Women Rangers in Ngukurr said:

Our ancestors were Rangers - we were Rangers for 40,000 years and are Rangers today. It's a responsibility for us to look after those things. I am owned by and have ownership of those things...ownership to a tree or stone or billabong. We are not doing this for ourselves we are doing this for our Country and for our people and for the sake of our culture, keeping our culture alive and strong.

Remote reserves

Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) represent a large and growing proportion of Australia's National Reserve System, especially in remote Australia, and are funded largely by the federal government. IPAs are declared voluntarily by Traditional Owners who commit to maintaining the biodiversity and cultural values within them. To achieve this, they also receive government support to establish and operate Indigenous ranger programs. Without remote communities, it is likely that many of these programs would collapse.

Ranger programs provide economic value and culturally meaningful jobs to Indigenous people, who in turn manage threats to Country, protecting ecosystems through management of fire and invasive species, and seeking to rehabilitate degraded lands.

As any farmer will tell you, you cannot just walk off the land and expect it to return to a pre-disturbance state. If you do that, feral animals and weeds spread, large destructive fires become the norm, and Australia's unique biodiversity is further threatened.

Indeed, the rapid and widespread declines of native mammals across the tropical north might well be due to past de-population and inadequate resourcing of remote communities and regions.

Boosting knowledge

Aboriginal people in remote communities are also collaborating with scientists to understand better the condition of biodiversity in remote Australia. This can benefit both conservation and socio-economic development.

One example is the Yugul Mangi Rangers, based in the remote community of Ngukurr, Southeast Arnhem Land, who are working with Macquarie University, the Atlas of Living Australia and the Australian National University to survey biodiversity in one of the least scientifically understood parts of Australia.

Similarly, in north-central Arnhem Land, the Djelk Rangers, together with the Maningrida School, have worked with scientists to identify 25 new species of tarantula, as well as milking spiders for anti-venom production. The school has also hosted a pilot Learning on Country program that has seen improved attendance for senior students considering a career in rangering.

Photo: Emilie Ens

Aboriginal Sea Rangers, also based in remote communities, are playing a key role in management of endangered sea turtles. Australia's northern coastline is monitored by more than 40 clan groups through the Ghostnets Australia alliance, which has recovered more than 13,000 discarded or lost fishing nets, which might otherwise have killed endangered marine life.

National benefits

Indigenous Protected Areas and ranger programs perform a vital public service of national and global conservation benefit. Though not without challenges, these programs are performing well above expectations and continue to grow with both Aboriginal community, government, private sector and philanthropic support. They enjoy considerable widespread support and acclaim.

So why would the Australian government consider undermining such rare and uncontested success? Rangers are not only important for Australia's ecological health, but these jobs also empower people and are one of the few culturally meaningful jobs on offer in remote communities.

Support for remote communities, which are often in hard-to-reach places with climates that many non-Indigenous Australians find unbearable, is crucial to maintaining this public service. Of course there are challenges in providing housing and infrastructure, education and health services in such remote places. Like remote pastoralists, some indigenous families make personal sacrifices to send children away from home for education or else ensure attendance in remote community schools.

Tony Abbott has asked the wrong question. What needs to be considered is not the the value to taxpayers in supporting so-called lifestyle choices, but rather how we, as a nation, can provide sustained support to Aboriginal people who take the hard decision to live "on-country" so as to meet their enduring cultural responsibilities and improve their livelihood prospects.

All over this continent, from the remotest deserts to the tropical savannas, Aboriginal people are committed to maintaining the environmental values of their lands for themselves and for all Australians. In different political circumstances they might be lauded as nation-builders and given the sort of praise and support that colonial frontiersmen have historically enjoyed.

At a time when governments of all persuasions are struggling to close the gap, it is sensible to recognise the opportunities that remote Indigenous communities give to their residents and the nation.

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Remote Indigenous communities are vital for our fragile ecosystems

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Amid the questioning of government support for remote Aboriginal communities and what Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the " lifestyle choices " of those who live there, the growing role of Aboriginal management of large areas of remote Australia has been overlooked.

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As much as 2bn tonnes of food are wasted every year - equivalent to 50% of all food produced - according to a report published today by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME)

The IME estimate that 30-50% (1.2-2bn tonnes) of all food produced is "lost before reaching a human stomach". Consumer affairs correspondent Rebecca Smithers writes today:

The UK's Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) blames the "staggering" new figures in its analysis on unnecessarily strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one free and Western consumer demand for cosmetically perfect food, along with "poor engineering and agricultural practices", inadequate infrastructure and poor storage facilities.

Major supermarkets have also been blamed for food waste by rejecting crops of edible fruit and vegetables which don't meet their exacting standards for their physical characteristics (such as size and colour). Up to 30% of the UK's vegetable crop is never harvested due to this type of practice the report claims.

The publication entitled 'Global food: waste not, want not' also aims to highlight the wastage of energy, land and water. Approximately 3.8tn cubic metres of water is used by humans annually with 70% being consumed by the global agriculture sector. The amount of water wasted globally in growing crops that never reach the consumer is estimated at 550bn cubic metres.

IME claim that water requirements to meet food demand in 2050 could reach between 10-13.5tn cubic metres per year - about triple the current amount used annually by humans.

Meat production requires a much higher amount of water than vegetables. IME state that to produce 1kg of meat requires between 5,000 and 20,000 litres of water whereas to produce 1kg of wheat requires between 500 and 4,000 litres of water.

The table below shows typical values for the volume of water required to produce common foodstuffs. Chocolate tops the list with 17,196 litres of water need to produce 1kg of the product. Beef, sheep and pork meat all require high volumes of water for production also. Tea, beer and wine use the least according to the list. Compared to the production of meat, vegetable foodstuffs require considerably less water - 1kg of potatoes for example uses 287 litres of water.

Look at the table below to see how much water is required to produce a selection of common foodstuffs. Also if you want to see how much water we consume indirectly through eating and drinking different foods, we have previously published a great interactive visualisation by Italian graphic design specialist Angela Morelli.

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How much water is needed to produce food and how much do we waste?

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As much as 2bn tonnes of food are wasted every year - equivalent to 50% of all food produced - according to a report published today by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) The IME estimate that 30-50% (1.2-2bn tonnes) of all food produced is "lost before reaching a human stomach".

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Our strength and unity across the Northern Territory is growing. Creative projects are blossoming, from a Frack Free Mural in Katherine, to an Call to Country art residency project joining artists from across the Territory.

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Geography - Curriculum - Victorian Curriculum

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Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

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- Curriculum links
- Big focus questions
- Draft some learning objectives
- Ideas for activities
- Case studies
- Ideas for assessment

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- Water in different industries (fashion, agriculture, mining etc)
- Interesting facts (water use to make 1 pair of jeans)
- Murray Darling recent news coverage
- Indigenous rights & relationship with the waterways
- Corporate interests vs government vs environmentalists vs student?

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Three years after contaminated drinking water exposed thousands of children to toxic lead in Flint, Michigan, the crisis still affects the city's residents in insidious ways. Scientists suggest that the elevated lead levels may be causing miscarriages, affecting infant health, and affecting reading levels among Flint third-graders.

But Flint isn't the only the US city where disasters prevent people from turning on their taps and where other bizarre water problems put residents at risk.
Take Action: Urge Governments And Businesses To Invest In Clean Water And Toilets
Worldwide, including IN parts of the US, access to clean water reflects inequalities based on income level, race, and ethnicity. Roughly 2 billion people don't have reliable sources of clean drinking water and one child every minute dies from preventable waterborne diarrheal disease.

That's why Global Citizen campaigns on ensuring everyone in the US and around the world has access to safe, healthy, and reliable drinking water. You can take action here.

While the residents of Flint continue to experience the effects of citywide lead contamination, these five cities face water debacles of their own.

1// DETROIT
PROBLEM: Poverty
In theory, the United Nations says, water is a universal human right. But in practice, even in the world's wealthiest country, water is out of reach for many low-income people.

Just ask thousands of Detroit residents who had their taps shut off over the past few years because they couldn't afford to pay the water bills.
Read More: This Doctor Could Become the First Muslim Governor in the US

Over the past 3 years, 100k Detroit families have had their water shut off. Luckily, Monica Lewis-Patrick is providing it to those in need. pic.twitter.com/OH1eUdP6fY
- Great Big Story (@greatbigstory) September 18, 2017

In 2017, more than 17,500 Detroit residents lost water access, the Detroit Free Press reported, and thousands more remain vulnerable to a practice the UN called "contrary to human rights."

"It is contrary to human rights to disconnect water from people who simply do not have the means to pay their bills," said UN Special Rapporteur Catarina de Albuquerque in 2014. "I heard testimonies from poor, African American residents of Detroit who were forced to make impossible choices - to pay the water bill or to pay their rent."

But four years later, the impossible choices continue.

2// MODESTO, CALIFORNIA
PROBLEM: Toxic chemicals
For years, Modesto has fought against industrial giants like Dow Chemical that manufacture toxic dry-cleaning chemicals threatening the city's water system. Dow and the other manufacturers knew that the chemical perchloroethylene - known as perc or PCE - was poisonous but still instructed cleaners to pour it down the sewer.

The city and state government routinely test Modesto's water and deem it safe for human consumption, but the chemical, which the Environmental Protection Agency regards as a " likely human carcinogen," still threatens to seep into wells.
Read More: Years Later, Flint's Water Crisis May Be Causing Miscarriages
Image: Narphorium/Flickr

Meanwhile, Modesto, home 212,000 people, also contends with uranium runoff, a problem for towns across the western US. In response, the city has installed equipment to detect uranium - a byproduct of irrigation and drought in many farming regions.

3// DALLAS, TEXAS
PROBLEM: Fracking

Has your water been tainted by fracking? Scientists who said it was safe now say they were censored - Dallas News https://t.co/pg1C9CwX1K pic.twitter.com/EfTHx6DBUm
- Berks Gas Truth (@BerksGasTruth) December 9, 2017

The 2012 film " Promised Land," starring clean-water champion Matt Damon and John Krasinski, shined a light on the threat to groundwater posed by hydraulic fracturing - or fracking.

But people in North Texas don't need Netflix to understand the problem. They experience it first-hand.

When a team of researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington studied private wells in the Dallas-area, they discovered dangerous levels of arsenic, which they attributed to fracking.

"We have cited different ways that arsenic could get into the drinking water," said Kevin Schug, a chemistry professor who led the team of researchers. "The closer you live to one of these drilling sites, the greater probability you have of having arsenic above the safe level."

4// MOROVIS, COAMO, AND TOWNS THROUGHOUT PUERTO RICO
PROBLEM: Devastated infrastructure
Four months after Hurricane Maria, more than 400,000 Puerto Ricans remain without power and running water. In towns like Coamo, residents depend on donations and Federal Emergency Management Administration relief to access clean water.

And in Morovis, a mountain town southwest of San Juan, residents face an uphill climb to fulfill their basic needs.

"I've lived here 44 years. All my life. Every day is very difficult. Getting water. Living. It's very hard," one resident told ABC News.
Read More: The Water Crisis in Puerto Rico Is Still Affecting Millions
Statements by FEMA about pulling out of the island territory in January prompted an outcry from Puerto Ricans and advocates around the world who understood that the crisis continues for those without reliable water.

They recalled the early days of the hurricane relief effort when many Puerto Ricans, stuck without potable water, turned to polluted streams as their drinking source. At least five people died from l eptospirosis, a disease carried in animal urine that contaminated Puerto Rican waterways after the storm.

5// SILICON VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
PROBLEM: Corporate Opportunism
Capitalizing on a vague distrust of municipal water supplies, Silicon Valley financiers are enabling consumers to purchase expensive, untreated water.

There's just one downside, public health experts say: You might die if you drink it
Read More: It's 2018 and People in the US Are Actually Drinking 'Raw Water' by Choice

To: Anybody who drinks or is considering drinking "raw water." From: Everybody who has ever died of cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, or tooth decay. Message: Do! Not! Be! A! F! -ing! Idiot! https://t.co/6HmYfgGbTb
- Laura Helmuth (@laurahelmuth) December 31, 2017

The US Centers for Disease and Control specifically warns against drinking untreated water because it could be contaminated with potentially fatal diseases like cholera and typhoid.

"While the water flowing in the streams and rivers of the backcountry may look pure, it can still be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other contaminants," CDC states on its website. "[D]rinking contaminated water can increase the risk of developing certain infectious diseases."

Nevertheless, some consumers say they want untreated water - despite the health risks - because they don't trust the fluoride and other chemicals added to their water by municipal treatment facilities.

"Tap water? You're drinking toilet water with birth control drugs in them," one man told the New York Times. "Chloramine, and on top of that they're putting in fluoride. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it's a mind-control drug."

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These 5 US Cities Have Their Own Water Crises To Deal With

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Three years after contaminated drinking water exposed thousands of children to toxic lead in Flint, Michigan, the crisis still affects the city's residents in insidious ways. Scientists suggest that the elevated lead levels may be causing miscarriages, affecting infant health, and affecting reading levels among Flint third-graders.