Sustainability and Natural Resources: Introduction

The video explores the historical abundance of natural resources in North America, such as dense forests and clean streams, and how these resources have been depleted over time due to human activities. It highlights the near extinction of the American Buffalo by 1892 and raises questions about the changes in natural resources, their current state, and how they can be sustained. The video aims to investigate sustainability and the choices we can make to preserve natural resources for the future.

What was one reason early North American explorers could travel from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River without touching the ground?

• There were many bridges.

• There were vast open fields.

• There were many rivers to cross.

• There were numerous trees.

Why is it no longer safe to drink from streams that were once pristine?

• The streams have dried up.

• The streams are too shallow.

• The streams are now polluted.

• The streams are too cold.

By what year was the American Buffalo nearly extinct?

• 1900

• 1800

• 1892

• 1850

What is one of the key questions posed about natural resources in the final section?

• How can we eliminate all natural resources?

• How can we increase the number of natural resources?

• How can natural resources be sustained over time?

• How can we ignore the changes in natural resources?

What is a potential action we can take to help sustain natural resources?

• Hunt more buffalo.

• Make informed choices.

• Pollute more streams.

• Increase deforestation.