Nature and the Economy - Economics and Business - Year 10

Teacher Content Information

It’s a strange thing that we can put a price on just about everything - from our phones and clothes, to our cars and houses, to our time and our economy - and yet we find it very hard to put a price on what the environment means to us.

Our environment provides us with all the goods and services that keep our lives and economies going. Yet very few of us think about the financial value of our environment: the value of the water, air, sunshine, soil, plants and animals that we depend upon to support all human life and economic structures on Earth.

People have tried to put a value on the benefits our environment provides, and the numbers are mind-boggling: between $42 trillion and $185 trillion!!! It turns out that our environment is worth more than double the global economy - that’s all the money that all the countries in the world make!

Teacher instructions

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes - Tune in: Cave-o-nomics
20 minutes - Find out: Economic indicators
20 minutes - Take action: Create a submission to the treasury

Tune in: Cave-o-nomics

Step 1. Watch:

Cave-o-nomics, Morgan Spurlock (https://bit.ly/1JI7akg).

Step 2.

As a class, define:

"The economy". The way in which goods and services are made, sold, and used in a country or area.

Step 3. Discuss:

Which goods and services that we produce and consume come from nature?
What would our economy look like without nature?
Are the raw materials and goods and services that nature supplies important to our economy or not?

Find out: Economic indicators

Step 1. Watch:

A Bee’s Invoice: The Hidden Value in Nature, Adrian Grenier (https://youtu.be/qcbDdId-6vw)

Step 2. Discuss:

What are some (traditional) ways we can tell our country has a 'strong' economy?
- Economic growth rates: Economic growth rate refers to the percentage increase in a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over a specific period, usually a year. Gross Domestic Product represents the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country's borders over a specific period, usually a year. A positive economic growth rate indicates that the economy is expanding, whereas a negative growth rate suggests that the economy is contracting.
- Unemployment trends: Unemployment trend is an economic indicator that shows the percentage of the workforce that is not employed but is actively seeking employment. It is an essential measure of the health of an economy and is used to assess the effectiveness of government policies aimed at creating job opportunities. A decrease in unemployment trends indicates that the economy is growing and creating more jobs, while an increase in unemployment suggests that the economy is struggling.
- Inflation rates: Inflation refers to the increase in the prices of goods and services over time, and inflation rate measures the percentage change in prices over a specific period. Inflation rate is an important economic indicator because it affects the purchasing power of consumers, as higher prices reduce the value of money. Central banks use inflation rates to guide monetary policy, aiming to maintain stable prices.
- Sustainability indexes: Sustainability indexes are measures of how sustainable a country's economic development is. They take into account factors such as environmental impact, social equity, and economic progress, among others. These indexes are designed to promote sustainable development by encouraging countries to adopt policies that are environmentally and socially responsible, as well as economically viable over the long term. Examples of sustainability indexes include the Global Sustainable Development Goals Index and the Environmental Performance Index.
What are some NON-economic indicators that our country is doing well? The aim of this discussion is for students to recognise that:
- Seeing nature in terms of its economic value is useful to help us understand how much we rely on nature and how much nature provides us.
- Seeing nature only in monetary terms doesn't give us the full story of what nature actually means to us.
- There are other ways to evaluate our standard of living, including potentially:
  - The health and happiness of its citizens
  - How healthy the environment is and what levels of environmental protection exist
  - How many people achieve a good level of education
  - Physical working conditions and work-life balance
  - How connected people are to their communities, families and friends.

Take action: Create a business

Step 1. Explain:

In the final activity of this lesson, ask students to think about how using money and the economy to measure a particular issue doesn't give us the complete picture of that issue. Students should understand that economics can provide us with just one side of the story of nature, and that we can measure the value of nature in several ways, including in economic terms, in personal terms, and in aesthetic terms.

Explain to students that the same can be true for many of the other things that exist in our society. Economic performance is often used as a measure of how well a society or country is performing; the stronger the economy of a country the higher the level of well-being among citizens is assumed to be. However, it is argued by some that economic performance only tells us a small part of a much bigger story of what’s happening within a society or country.

Step 2.

Independently, students answer the following questions:

Why do you think a more holistic understanding of a successful society is important?
Which of the measures above are most important to you and why?
What other measures would you add to the list and why?

Step 3.

Having drafted their thinking, students then write a proposal to the treasury in the form of a persuasive letter, with the aim of convincing the treasury that there are other ways of determining the strength of Australia's economy apart from things like GDP and unemployment rates. Students should make strong arguments about the value of nature beyond its economic value.

Check out our tips on how to use persuasive language and how to be persuasive.

Reflection

As a class, looking back at the concepts you covered in this lesson, discuss:

I used to think ...
But now I think ...

Nature and the Economy

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