World Congress on Ecological Preservation of Kepler-186f

It’s an amazing day for science! Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered the first Earth-
size planet orbiting a star in the "habitable zone" -- the range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on
the surface of an orbiting planet. The discovery of Kepler-186f confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the
habitable zone of stars other than our sun.

For more information, read the following article: Kepler-186f

The colonization of Kepler 186f is inevitable. However, in a stunning move of cooperation, the various governments
of the world have decided to come together and enact a set of ecological laws protecting Kepler 186f from the
problems we have created on Earth. These laws will be ground-breaking!

You have been chosen as a delegate to this international coalition that has been tasked with proposing, debating, and
enacting the first ever Ecological Bill of Rights that will govern the colonization of Kepler - 186f. Knowing what you
know about the effect of human actions on ecology, you must come up with 5 laws that will protect this new planet
from our own actions.

Your Task
Part 1 (10 minutes-Individual):
Research the current ecological problems caused by human impact that we have discussed in class. You are expected
to be able to identify 5 problems and their causes in your research notes.

Part 2 (15 minutes-Partner):

Work together with your partner to create 5 laws that address the causes of the problems you each identified in your
research. These laws should be written in a way that addresses the problem identified but is not overly broad. (Ex.
You certainly wouldn’t think that a law is fair if it bans all television because some shows use obscene language.) In
addition to fairness, as you are drafting your laws, you will need to consider factors such as cost, feasibility, and
available technology.

Part 3 (50 minutes-Split the class in half)

You will work with other groups to come to a consensus on an Ecological Bill of Rights for Kepler 186f. Each group
will present each of their laws which will be debated among the group. As the particular law is presented, you will
also address the core problem the law is designed to address. There is no maximum number of rights contained in the
Ecological Bill of Rights. Rather, you need enough to prevent the problems caused by humanity.

Part 4 (10 minutes-Whole Class)

Each group will present their Ecological Bill of Rights to the class and a final vote to adopt one of the two versions
will be held.
Assessment (Homework or Classwork)
Students will write a blog post detailing their reasons why they voted for a particular set of laws and what problems
the laws still fail to address.