Students at this level should be continuing their studies of the world's environmental problems and the factors that contribute to these problems, as well as learning about and hypothesizing potential solutions. In this lesson, students will research environmental problems facing the world's oceans and will think about how the art of photography can help solve these problems, using David Doubilet's photography as an example.

Geography, earth science

Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"

Two to three hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Writing materials

Students will

• list human activities in the ocean and the animal species that are threatened by these activities;
• research and answer questions about specific environmental problems occurring in the world's oceans;
• discuss the ways in which the photography of David Doubilet might contribute to ocean conservation; and
• plan their own expeditions to photograph threatened ocean ecosystems.

Read to the class this statement by David Doubilet: "The great white shark is powerful, but it is delicate. It dominates its world, but is threatened by ours." Ask them to think about and discuss the ways in which the shark and other marine species are threatened by the human world.

Make a two-column chart on the board, and ask students to make the same chart on their own paper. Label the left-hand column "Human Activities" and the right-hand column "Threatened Species." Ask students to contribute ideas to place in each side of the chart with regard to the world's oceans. Which human activities are harming the oceans, and what species are threatened by these activities?

Have students conduct research, either individually or in small groups, on threats to the world's oceans. They should go to the Web sites below and use any other Web or print resources they can find to answer these questions:

• What human activities pose a threat to the oceans?
• What ocean animals are endangered or threatened?
• What specific ocean-related issues are conservation groups addressing?

National Geographic: Monterey Bay
National Geographic: Wild World—The Bering Sea
National Geographic: Wild World—Sulu-Sulawesi Seas
Coral Reef Protection
Learning About Coral Reefs
Ocean Planet: Oceans in Peril
Sea Turtle Restoration Project
World Wildlife Fund: Oceans

Have students add human activities and animal species to the class chart, based on their research findings.

Have students look at some of David Doubilet's photographs. Ask them to think about the ways in which these photographs and others might contribute to ocean conservation efforts. Might they convince people to think carefully about the future of the oceans, and how to preserve them? Discuss their ideas as a class.

Have students pretend they are photographers who are interested in ocean conservation. They have been given a grant to travel to two or three places and take photographs that will aid ocean conservation. Have them continue their research to figure out how they would go about doing this, and ask them to write up plans for their expeditions. The plans should include the following components:

• A list of the places they will go and an explanation as to why they have chosen these places.
• A description of the things they will expect to see in these places.
• A description of the difficulties they might encounter, both in trying to locate and photograph the marine animals and in other trip logistics.
• A plan for how they will use their photographs once they return home. What purposes will the photos serve, and what will people learn from them?

• Ask students to write paragraphs discussing what they think is the most serious threat to the world's oceans, which species are the most at risk, and how photographers such as Doubilet can help with this problem.
  
  
• Have students think about how other types of photography, such as wildlife photography or photojournalism, might be used to help solve the world's environmental problems. Have they seen any photographs that they think might have an impact? Do they think photographers serve as positive role models? Have students search Internet and/or print resources to find examples of photographs they think could be influential. Ask them to write paragraphs explaining how these photographs could be used in conservation efforts and what role photographers can play in the environmental movement.
  
  
• Have students write short paragraphs describing the types of things they would photograph if they were given a camera and film and asked to use it to promote a local environmental cause.
  
  
• Have students return to one of the Web sites they've visited in this lesson. Ask them to write paragraphs describing the photographs available at this site and explaining their ideas for additional photographs that could be taken to provide support for the site's "cause."

Coral Reef Protection
Learning About Coral Reefs
National Geographic: Geography Action! 2003—Habitats
National Geographic: Monterey Bay
National Geographic: Wild World—Sulu-Sulawesi Seas
National Geographic: Wild World—The Bering Sea
Ocean Planet: Oceans in Peril
Sea Turtle Restoration Project
World Wildlife Fund: Oceans