GUIDELINESS FOR THE ORAL EVALUATION

Preparing and presenting the final oral evaluation

PREPARING THE EVALUATION:
1. Organize teams of three people (or continue in the teams you have been working).
2. Read the texts Your environmental footprint what it means and what you can do and
What is an Ecological Footprint? and Needs versus luxuries.
3. Prepare a 3 minutes report of the topic.
PRESENTING THE EVALUATION:
The final evaluation will be carried out applying the next methodology:
Each participant reports what he/she knows about one of the topics.
After each participants report, the other students in his/her group ask questions to clarify or to
widen information on the topic, as well as look for reflective and critical thinking.
SOME EXAMPLES TO STATE QUESTIONS:

What issues did you identify in the text?

Which of those issues called your attention?

What other people are concerned about X issue?

How does it affect your local area?

Has this issue affected your own physical or emotional well-being?

What is the meaning of this issue in your own life?
What exactly needs to be changed?
. What would it take for you to participate in the change?
How can you get others to a meeting to work on this issue?
The evaluators ask some questions to each participant in order to verify comprehension on the
topic exposed, as well as reflective and critical thinking.
The evaluators will appreciate: topic management and communicative competence exhibited in
students monologue and conversation, with special attention on the next criteria:
CAN DO STATEMENTS:

Can develop an argument well enough to be followed without difficulty most of the time.
Can give detailed accounts of the topic, describing facts, feelings and reactions.
Can maintain a conversation or discussion, interacting communicatively.
Can use a range of vocabulary to talk about a variety of everyday topics and
issues.

Can use language forms (verb tenses, adjectives, quantities, conditional forms, etc
according to the topic)

What is an Ecological Footprint?

With global warming and other ecological issues in the forefront of the news and conversation,
the term ecological footprint is often used. Do you know what an ecological footprint is?
The ecological footprint is a resource management tool that is used to measure how much land
and water area a human population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to
absorb its waste under prevailing technology. Every human that lives has an ecological
footprint. You should ask yourself how big your footprint is.
Are you wasting energy? Are you wasting fuel? Are you polluting the environment? Are you
careful to recycle? All these are important in determining your ecological footprint.
Footprint is now widely employed around the globe as an indicator of environmental efficiency.
Every action we take impacts the planets ecosystem in some way or another. This really has
not been a big concern as long as our use of resources does not exceed what our planet can
renew. The big question on the minds of many is: are we taking more than we should?. This is
where ecological footprint comes in to play.
Currently our ecological footprint is over 23% larger than what the Earth can renew. It now
takes over a year and a half the regenerate what we use in a single year. Using the ecological
footprint of a population we can measure our overuse, which will help us manage our
ecological assets more carefully.
The idea of an ecological footprint was developed by William Reese, a Canadian ecologist in
1992. He believed that finding a yardstick to measure our consumption of the Earth's resources
would help illustrate the problems caused by increasing population and the increased
consumption that follows. He used data collected all over the world; he showed that at our
present rate of consumption could result in a serious global problem in a relatively short time.
One of the main ways to resolve your ecological footprint is to change the way you use energy.
You can purchase energy efficient light bulbs and turning off electrical devices you are not
using. If you own an electric stove consider replacing it with a gas one. Use of an energy
efficient fridge, an on-demand water heater can also help greatly. If you want to help in a big
way you can seek out alternative energy sources like solar panels and windmills.
Making your ecological footprint smaller can also be done by the three R's: reduce, recycle and
reuse. Try to reduce the amount of resources you use by purchasing items with minimal
packaging. Recycle unwanted items, either at curbside recycling or in the form of donations to
thrift stores. Finally, reuse empty containers, take advantage of thrift stores, and try and find
creative ways to use old belongings.

Alan Bell.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/145090/do_you_know_what_your_ecological_footpri
nt.html?cat=47

YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT WHAT IT MEANS AND WHAT YOU CAN DO

Undoubtedly youve heard the expression 'your environmental footprint', but do you
actually know what it means? In essence, your environmental or 'ecological' footprint is a
measure of the demand you put on the earths resources or, how fast you consume them.
It is officially an accounting term measured in Global Hectares (gha), but it aptly represents
the way we as a population consume resources.

In 2007, sadly the population of the world consumed 1.5x more resources than the earth
was able to renew them. That is, we are literally consuming the world faster than it can
renew itself. What is even worse however is in Australia within 2008, Australia's Ecological
Footprint in the Living Planet Report was reported at 7.8 gha per person almost 2.8
times the worldwide average!

When you stop to think about this, the consequences are dire. Sure, we may be
consuming some natural resources at a rate slower than they replenish, but inevitably, we
will use one to extinction then turn to others till they too are extinct. Something needs to be
done.

HOW YOU CAN REDUCE YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

By now you may have concluded that irrespective of what you do, your actions will have
an impact on the environment. If you have, you are 100% correct. However, it is not all
doom and gloom, there are distinctive steps you can take to help ensure that you minimise
the impact you have on the environment.
BUY LOCAL
There is an expression often used in marketing circles, and that is Think global, act local.
This saying ironically, holds true in terms of how you can help the environment. Sure you
may be inspired by global fashion trends, or the latest recipes out of France, or in drinking
glacial water, however as often as not, there is no need to buy the imported version, as
there are excellent locally produced alternatives available.
By not buying items imported from overseas, you are effectively lowering your footprint as
locally produced items do not have the same significant carbon emissions associated with
shipping, and refrigeration or similar.
USE ENERGY EFFICIENT MACHINERY
Ever since the first Star Rating system was introduced to show you how efficient white
goods were with their use of water/electricity, you have probably been aware you should
look to buy equipment which doesnt guzzle energy unnecessarily. Perhaps youve already
bought equipment under this criteria or perhaps not. Either way, into the future, if you do
want to minimize your environmental footprint and consumption, look to buy items with
strong efficiency ratings.
TRANSPORT CHANGES
Do you drive to work or to the corner store to get milk? If there are times you take the car
when you really dont need to, perhaps you need to start considering alternative means of
getting there. Whether you chose to participate in 'Walk to work day' for the first time, or
will consider riding to work more often, the difference it can make to your environmental
footprint is significant when added together.
If driving is your only real option, then keep your footprint as low as possible by carpooling
or at the very least, ensuring your car is regularly serviced and therefore running efficiently.
CHANGE YOUR CLEANING CHEMICALS
Once upon a time, using environmentally friendly products would have had people calling
you a hippy or something similar. Today however, environmentally friendly cleaning

products are available almost everywhere, are not more expensive than 'regular' items,
and are much better for the environment and ecosystem. Additionally they are often
manufactured using sustainable energy resources, the perfect combination!
RECYCLE MORE
It may seem obvious to state recycling is a key initiative for reducing your footprint, but do
you know why? Not only does recycling mean we dont need to use new natural resources
to produce new items (eg aluminium for cans), but recycling items is far more energy
efficient. For example recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to power a TV
for 3 hours.
These are just a few of the tips you can easily undertake to reduce the ecological damage
you are having on a day-to-day basis. There are of course significantly more - why not
share your favorite with us, as we would love to know how you are taking steps to 'clean
up'.

Tags: Community Education

Author: VeoliaANZ

NEEDS VERSUS LUXURIES

All life, and human life in particular, requires food & water, air, shelter and energy. All these
needs can be reduced to a footprint on the surface of the earth: an ecological footprint. An
ecological footprint is the amount of biologically productive land required to produce and
dispose of some object, or to sustain an activity for an individual or a population for a
period of one year. The portion of that footprint that results from the need for carbon
sequestration of the burning of fossil fuels is the carbon footprint for that object or activity.
Humans use many resources for things that are not needed for life. We may use them for
recreation, convenience or simply pleasure. From a biological standpoint, anything not
necessary for life is a luxury. Some uses of our resources may pose possible health risks.
For example, soda can cause cavities, weight gain, and hyperactivity. Given that soda pop
is mostly water, we could hydrate more efficiently and cheaper from a drinking fountain!
Add to this the issue of bottle disposal or recycling. Today many of us consider cell phones
a necessity, but they too cause a disposal problem with their short lives and the potential

for leaching of toxic substances into the environment. Cell phones contain both metals and
plastic that can be recycled and reused. In 2009, only about 8% of 141 million mobile
devices at the end of their life cycle were recycled.
http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/projects/biomath/PDF/Footprint_SE.pdf