ANSWER EACH QUESTION IN 170 WORDS
Unit I Discussion Board Question
Research some of the minerals mined in your local area. What are the most common? What type of process is used to mine this mineral?
What are some of the safety or environmental concerns associated with this type of mining? In your comments to another student, discuss whether you think the economic benefits outweigh the safety or environmental concerns.
Unit II Discussion Board Question
It is predicted that clean water will one day be more valuable than oil. Do you think this is plausible? Why or why not? Summarize some of the threats to clean water.
Contrast this to your local water source. Do you know the source of your drinking water (local river, aquifer, or reservoir?). What are possible contaminates where you live?
In your response to another student, compare the water challenges in your area with the ones discussed by another student in his/her post. Does your area suffer from droughts? Floods? Contamination? You might also share an experience where you have had limited water resource and explain what that was like.
Unit III Discussion Board Question
Pick ONE of these two questions to respond to:
Have you, or someone you know, personally experienced an earthquake? Describe the moment just before the earthquake. What was the earthquake itself like? How was your life and the local population affected?
Or:
Imagine that your city was hit by a major earthquake. What kind of damage would you see? For example, are there dams upstream of your city that might burst and release floodwaters? Are there any major pipelines that would be vulnerable, leading to fires? Are you near a coast? Is there a threat of tsunamis? Do you think your city's building codes are enough to withstand a major earthquake?
Unit I Discussion Board Question
What factors do you take into account when you are choosing which of your wants you will try to satisfy, and how will you go about satisfying them as you consider Albert Einstein's quote, "Sometimes one pays the most for things one gets for nothing," and the Russian proverb, "The only place you find free cheese is in a mousetrap."
Do you agree with these statements? Why, or Why not? Include in your discussion answer at least two of the following topics from Chapter 1 of the textbook: rational self-interest, choice requires time and information, or economic analysis is marginal analysis.
Unit II Discussion Board Question
Examine the following variables that could affect the price of oil:
a. Tax credits were offered for expenditures on home insulation.
b. The Alaskan pipeline was completed.
c. A supposed ceiling on the price of oil was removed.
d. A new, very large deposit of oil was discovered.
e. Buyers in large numbers all of the sudden started driving large sport utility vehicles.
f. The use of nuclear power suddenly decreased.
Choose any two of the above variables, and describe how your selections would affect oil prices based on the supply and demand analysis.
Unit III Discussion Board Question
Trace through the circular flow model in Chapter 6. What is the point of the circular flow model, what are some leakages and injections into the circular flow model, and how are the leakages and injections related to the circular flow?