Using a Concept Map to link a Health Crisis and Environmental Problems

Concept (or mind) maps can be used as an effective method for organizing ideas and seeing links that are not
initially obvious. One of the underlying themes in this course has been to make connections among the many
environmental issues that we have been considering. When searching for solutions, it can be helpful to look for
unusual or unexpected patterns: are there common causes or consequences among apparently unrelated
issues? So it can help to organize the information in a different way. One technique is to use a concept map to
bring ideas together in a new way so that connections can be seen from a different perspective.
Concept maps have been shown in some of the lectures presented in this course including:
(1) Module 2-Synchronous Lecture on Human Impacts (population) – slide 15
(2) Module 2-Asynchronous Lecture on Human Impacts (consumption): Video 3 – slide 9
The purpose of this Assignment is to give students an opportunity to think about two very different problems (in
fact “crises”) to look for links that may provide interesting insights for understanding both problems that the
world is facing in 2020.
Students are asked to develop a concept map to show the connections between the “Covid-19 pandemic” and
the environmental issues examined in this course (including air, water, and land issues (e.g. pollution), impacts
of agriculture, fisheries, mining), energy issues, climate change, etc.). Think about how human activities and
the resulting environmental problems are linked to the pandemic and how the pandemic has impacted
environmental problems.
(1) Do an online search to find information (published in 2020) that examines environmental issues and the
pandemic; use academically reliable sources (e.g. websites from universities and other educational sources,
government and credible news agencies, etc.); do not use Wikipedia as a source.
(2) Find resources that consider the following aspects:
(i) the effect of the pandemic on environmental issues (either positive or negative) around the world; aim for 5
online sources (provide the links)
(ii) the consequences of human activities on the environment, which have contributed to the pandemic; aim for
5 online sources (provide the links)
(3) Develop a mind map that shows some possible connections between these two crises. It is up to each
student to decide how to draw their “map” and show the connections, since their ‘design’ will depend on the
information gathered. The concept map should be prepared in Word or as a PDF.
(4) To complete the concept map, be sure to include the resources used (for this assignment, you can use links
to the online sources – make sure the links are active so your sources can be verified). Then submit your
concept map according to the submission instructions below.