econlife - Fracking and India’s Guar Bean Bubble by Elaine Schwartz

Like me, you might have seen guar gum in the ingredients list of a pint of ice cream. Who knew it was crucial for fracking?

The Guar Bubble

Around Lordi, in India’s Rajasthani Desert, farmers grow the guar bean. For centuries it was a dietary staple. But then Western food processors and pharmaceutical companies realized that guar’s ability to absorb water could come in handy. (It’s the guar gum that keeps the ice cream thick.)

For fracking also, guar is a thickener. Because of guar, the water becomes stiff enough to shoot sand sideways through rock. Once the shale fractures, sand particles keep the cracks open for oil and gas to seep through.

We all know that fracking vastly increased U.S. oil and natural gas production. In addition, it spiked demand for guar and pushed prices skyward. However, with acreage increasing, substitutes emerging, and then fracking demand subsiding, after 2013 (see below) guar markets reversed:

It is rather amazing that more than 13,000 miles from the fracking fields, India’s guar bean farmers, traders and processors thrived like never before. FT called it a bean bubble. Farmers built stone houses and bought tractors. There was more money for trips, for dowries, for elaborate weddings.

Our Bottom Line; Supply and Demand

Like peanut butter and jelly, fracking and guar seeds have a complementary relationship. When the demand for peanut butter goes up, we want more jelly. So too, with fracking and guar seeds.

And as you would expect, when price popped, the supply side had the incentive to produce more and develop cheaper alternatives. Supply (and quantity supplied) increased, demand decreased and guar prices dropped. When oil prices crashed in 2014, the boom truly became a bust.

Now? Guar prices are rising again as fracking activity accelerates.

My sources and more: For all you could ever want to know about the guar bean, do go to the NY Times, here, and here, and to Quartz. Then, for the price update, Business Standard data is here and here. Perhaps most interesting though is seeing how guar’s ups and downs resemble fracking’s sand suppliers.

Ideal for the classroom, econlife.com reflects Elaine Schwartz's work as a teacher and a writer. As a teacher at the Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, she’s been an Endowed Chair in Economics and chaired the history department. She’s developed curricula, was a featured teacher in the Annenberg/CPB video project “The Economics Classroom,” and has written several books including Econ 101 ½ (Avon Books/Harper Collins). You can get econlife on a daily basis! Head to econlife.

econlife - Is Your Self-Driving Car Ethical Enough? by Elaine Schwartz

Assume for a moment that you are driving a car and suddenly see some debris in the road. If you veer to the side into a crowd of pedestrians, you can avoid injuring yourself.

Harm yourself or someone else? As the debris approaches, the decision is yours to make.

Where are we going? To self-driving cars that make decisions for us. 

AV Ethical Contradictions

In a survey on the most moral way to program AVs (autonomous vehicles), the results were somewhat inconsistent. When asked if in an emergency situation, the car should kill its occupant or 10 pedestrians, most respondents selected the passenger.

Similarly, many consistently selected minimizing casualties whenever the choice was the passengers or avoiding others outside the car.

All changed though when survey respondents were personally impacted. Then they would not buy a car that was programmed to sacrifice their safety or their family’s well-being.

As a result, autonomous vehicle designers will have philosophical decisions that have an economic impact. How they reconcile our aversion to self-harm with the need for “the greater good” will impact sales.

Out Bottom Line: Externalities

For AVs, ethical programming is far from abstract. Creating positive and negative externalities, the decisions that AV programmers make will affect pedestrians and passenger, regulators, insurance companies…the list is endless.

For now though, when you see one of Google’s self-driving cars, you can wonder whether it is ethical.

My sources…For a specific look at A.V. ethical dilemmas, these articles from the NY Times and  Science are ideal. Then, for the broader picture, Quartz takes us to robotic 

morality.

Ideal for the classroom, econlife.com reflects Elaine Schwartz's work as a teacher and a writer. As a teacher at the Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, she’s been an Endowed Chair in Economics and chaired the history department. She’s developed curricula, was a featured teacher in the Annenberg/CPB video project “The Economics Classroom,” and has written several books including Econ 101 ½ (Avon Books/Harper Collins). You can get econlife on a daily basis! Head to econlife.

econlife - Can a Hurricane Help an Economy? by Elaine Schwartz

First as a hurricane and then a tropical storm, Harvey is sure to affect more than the local Gulf Coast economy. With a path near almost one-third of U.S. refining capacity and one-fifth of its crude production, the storm already has shut down a hefty proportion of the industry.

Where are we going? To why hurricanes do not help an economy.

Step 1: A Supply Summary

First we should look at the supply chain that Harvey is hitting. Below, you can see the location of the Gulf’s refineries and where they send oil along the U.S. East Coast:

Step 2: Shipping

When Hurricane Harvey approached the Texas coast on Friday, immediately, some links in the gasoline shipping supply chain were eliminated.

You can see the dive to zero for departing vessels and maybe 1 for arrivals in Corpus Christi, Texas:

Step 3: Markets

Meanwhile, before the storm’s landfall, markets also had something to say. Because less gasoline could mean higher prices, we just needed to look at futures markets to see the weather prediction.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), last Friday’s ups and downs of futures for a gallon of unleaded gasoline corresponded to changes in the storm’s intensity. At first futures moved upward. But then they reversed when the weather prediction changed:

Now, with the storm’s impact spreading, we can ask about the aftermath.

Our Bottom Line:  The Broken Window Fallacy

Nineteenth century economist Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) said “destruction is not profitable” because disaster recovery replaces what was lost. So, although a clean-up could make the GDP surge, the spike reflects an increase in spending, not national wealth.

Bastiat questions the assumption that a broken window can be an economic blessing. He agrees that a glazier would receive, for example, six francs to fix it. However, he then says, “…if…you conclude…that it is good to break windows, that it helps to circulate money…I am obliged to cry out: That will never do! Your theory stops at what is seen. It does not take account of what is not seen.”

Bastiat wants us to recognize that the money given to the glazier would otherwise have been spent on new shoes or a book. Having been able to spend the six francs on a new pair of shoes, their owner would have had new shoes and the old, unbroken window.

So, whether looking at Corpus Christi’s port activity, gasoline futures, or the GDP, we can see the downside of hurricane economics.

My sources and more: Always excellent for unexpected detail, Vox had the economic perspective for Harvey. But if you want a firsthand look, do go to Corpus Christi port information. In addition,  EIA is a solid source as is this Marketwatch analysis of gasoline prices. Finally, econlib is always handy for bios and economic background information.

Please note that my description of the Broken Window Fallacy was published in a previous econlife post.

Ideal for the classroom, econlife.com reflects Elaine Schwartz's work as a teacher and a writer. As a teacher at the Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, she’s been an Endowed Chair in Economics and chaired the history department. She’s developed curricula, was a featured teacher in the Annenberg/CPB video project “The Economics Classroom,” and has written several books including Econ 101 ½ (Avon Books/Harper Collins). You can get econlife on a daily basis! Head to econlife.

Jumping to Conclusions by Andy Jobson

We live in an age dominated by sound bites and hashtags—simplistic thinking and immediate gratification. I like some parts of it, like being able to call up the next episode of a favorite TV show without having to wait for another week (or, in the case of shows I like, never having access to these obsolete shows), but I am deeply concerned about the trend.

This became more evident to me over the summer as I watched the responses to the news cycle, specifically to the deaths of two black men from police shootings in the course of just a few days. Both are undoubtedly tragedies, but in both cases, as with previous shootings, people rushed to judge the situation before having all the facts.  Without getting political, I want to encourage teachers to remember just how important it is to teach the process of gathering evidence, of considering alternative scenarios, and of waiting instead of “rushing to judgment” for something we hear about on social media or a news update.


I fear that many teachers are not emphasizing this important skill.  At the NEA Conference in July, I was helping izzit.org provide free DVDs.  Many teachers were quite excited to realize that the resources were indeed free to them (thanks to generous donors!), but I remember one who was looking at the “Raise the Wage” DVD.  I noted that the program tried to be as even-handed as possible but did indicate that maybe raising the wage was not such a great idea. 


Upon hearing this, she immediately huffed that that was a ridiculous idea, that she believed firmly in raising the minimum wage.  When I gently suggested that perhaps her students would benefit from hearing both sides, as she obviously felt strongly about the issue, she left pretty abruptly.  It’s a good reminder to me to be willing to listen to both sides and to encourage my students to do the same. This doesn’t mean I can’t determine who has the better answer, but I need to model the process of inquiry instead of immediacy.  Perhaps you will benefit from the reminder as well.

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also  been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.

Current Event Lessons Contest - For Teachers/Educators

Extra, extra, read all about it!!

Current events, that is. Our free current events service provides you with 2 different articles from a variety of news sources each day, complete with vocabulary words and higher-level discussion questions.

You’ll find something for a variety of classes, from health and science, technology, social studies, geography, economics...loads to choose from.

And if you log in to your account and access our current events, we’ll enter you in a random drawing to win a Bumpster Bluetooth wireless speaker.

For full rules, click here.

Is it an izzit day? by Elizabeth Harris

What do you read when you have no books and a high-school classroom full of struggling readers?

Nearly a decade ago I had to answer that very question as I began a new chapter in my career – teaching English and Academic Literacy at MacArthur High School in San Antonio, Texas. During the interview process, my principal challenged me both professionally and personally. She explained that my classes would be full of students who need a teacher to see beyond their well-documented disabilities and challenges. Enthusiasm for what you are teaching and respect for the students must be displayed every day. You must believe in them even when they don’t believe in themselves. Can you do that while teaching students who are struggling or resistant learners?

Challenge accepted.

The first week of school brought another challenge that I had not anticipated. My classroom was nearly empty. A few desks and small tables were scattered amidst four white walls, but there was not a single book in the classroom. No books, no bookshelves, not even a filing cabinet.

My search for high-interest, expository texts or current event-based materials began immediately.

During this time, I discovered izzit.org. I was thrilled to find an organization dedicated to providing quality teaching materials. Although the emphasis of the materials is primarily in the economic or government and business realm, the topics readily lend themselves to cross-curricular learning experiences.

In my Academic Literacy classroom, From Poop to Profits becomes a lesson about problem solving, innovation, and overcoming obstacles.

Bee the Change becomes a lesson about learning to take risks in the face of hardship, and the importance of being committed to follow through in order to effect change for your family and community.

Paradox of Progress becomes a lesson about facing change. When is change good? When is technology enough? Or too much? Who decides?

The Singing Revolution becomes a lesson about individual acts of heroism, the power of choice, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Each engaging izzit.org video depicts real people facing real challenges and demonstrates the importance of perseverance and individual choice. My students cheer whenever they see the izzit.org icon. “Is it an izzit day?” is a favorite question.

Whether teaching my struggling readers, students with learning disabilities, or second language learners, izzit.org provides excellent educational resources for teachers that can easily be adapted to teaching any level of secondary students. Teacher guides coupled with quality films and documentaries depicting real world situations provide students with authentic learning opportunities that extend beyond the classroom walls. In my classroom, videos frequently serve as springboards for student-driven, inquiry-based research projects. This type of learning promotes critical thinking, problem solving, and higher level processing as well as collaboration.

Several years ago after reading a current event article from izzit.org titled “Kidneys for Sale”, even my most apathetic student had an opinion. We paired this with a similar article and then viewed a segment of the video from the Drew Carey Project: Vol. 1. My students were engaged and did not stop talking about this topic even as we were ready to move on. So, I changed my lesson plans. Students continued generating meaningful questions and talking with their parents outside of class – about organ donors and organ transplants.

Their momentum carried us from learning about how to become an organ donor to learning which other organs can be successfully transplanted. As students questioned, we expanded our research. The culminating effect that year is that students began to learn why some people need organ donations. And they wanted to do something to help. One young lady challenged her family to begin eating more vegetables and become healthier so that they won’t need organ transplants. Others decided to raise awareness about how to become an organ donor.

Momentum continued and one final project brought all of my classes together in a collaborative effort. Students’ inquiry-based research led them to learn about several diseases such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). When students read an article about a young boy with DMD and learned it is a fatal childhood disease that affects boys, they wanted to do something. Their ideas flowed.

Students planned, developed, and carried out several events on campus and in the community to raise $1,500.00 dollars toward research for finding a cure. Through a grant proposal, students published a calendar outlining their journey and continuing efforts to raise awareness for their cause. Calendars were sent to principals, counselors, and librarians at each middle school and high school campus in our district.

Instead of focusing on their own challenges, this project provided a platform for students to realize their potential and celebrate their ability to impact the world around them. Participation at this level is empowering.

Curriculums may change and textbooks will come and go, but izzit.org current event updates and educational videos remain a constant in my classroom because they provide opportunities for students to grow and learn together

What's New at izzit.org

We are celebrating our 10th birthday and we want YOU to join the fun! We’ll be offering exciting new contests and giveaways each month, so remember to come back to izzit.org often for more chances to win! Remember, we want to hear from you, so be sure to Keep In Touch.

Streaming: Streaming is now available to everyone! No login required. Visit
izzit.org, click on a title and start streaming!

Download: For our members, we now offer free unlimited downloading of our
licensed videos straight into your classroom.

Resources: Log in to access the Teacher’s Guide, Table of Contents, Teaching Resources, and more.

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New Releases 2016-2017: We are releasing new titles this year! Be sure to Keep In Touch so we can notify you when they’re available.

• The Invisible Hand                 • Sustainable Oceans and Seas
• Morality in the Marketplace     • 3 Keys to Success

Current Events: One of our most popular features! These lessons are updated daily throughout the school year. Each lesson includes a recent news article and
discussion questions designed to promote critical thinking, challenge
assumptions, and stimulate classroom discussion.

Social Media: Visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Vimeo, and YouTube for more content, contests, giveaways, and much more!

Blogs: Check out our blog section! We’ve added The Teacher Zone blog where
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access to our Daily Current Events blog and izzit.org News blog.

Quizzes: We have great quizzes and we automatically score them for you! 

ESA: See how each video meets your state standards, or search for which of our videos meet a specific standard. We now include Common Core Standards.

Conferences: We’re going! Are you? Mark your calendar and be sure to stop by our booth to get an additional free DVD and other goodies.

1. Annual Middle Level Education Conference (AMLE), Austin, TX, Oct. 9-12, 2016
2. National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), Washington, D.C., Dec. 2-4, 2016
3. National Education Association (NEA), Boston, MA, June 30 – July 5, 2017

We’d love to hear from you! If you need assistance with any of the above items or have questions, our staff is available to help each weekday 8am-6pm (EST). 

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Current Events: 10/21/2015: World's 'Extremely Poor' to Fall Below 10 Percent of Global Population - It's Unsafe at Second, and Some Want New Rules for Slides

Today's Article: World's 'Extremely Poor' to Fall Below 10 Percent of Global Population (10.4)
From: Reuters

The number of people living in extreme poverty is likely to fall for the first time below 10 percent of the world's population in 2015...

Click here to view the entire article and classroom discussion questions:
http://www.izzit.org/events/index.php

Today's Alternate Article: It’s Unsafe at Second, and Some Want New Rules for Slides (6.8)

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

Current Events - Now FREE!

As of today our daily Current Events articles and discussion questions are now FREE to all registered izzit.org members!  For the past year we have charged $3.00 per year for access, but due to feedback from teachers and our desire to provide this useful resource to as many teachers and students as possible, we've decided to open it back up for free.  

All current izzit.org members who have a free account or a Current Events account have been sent an email explaining this change in more detail.  

You can access the daily Current Events by going to the "Current Events Lessons" section of our website.  Note:  you must be logged-in to view them.  On that page and on your "My Account" / "Edit Account" page you can also choose to receive daily emails with a summary of the day's articles.  If you have any questions about Current Events, please feel free to contact us at currentevents@izzit.org.  

We also still do offer the izzitPLUS membership for $9.95 per year which, along with the ability to order a new DVD every 30 days after leaving feedback and other benefits, includes access to the "Student Zone" where your students can get online to view the Current Events.  

We hope you all enjoy using the daily Current Events in your classroom!

Current Events Start Today!

Today we begin posting our daily Current Events articles and discussion questions.  If you haven't already signed up, visit www.izzit.org/Join, where for only $3 you can have access to Current Events for an entire year.

We are also now offering student access to the Current Events through our website for students of izzitPLUS members.  Add that to a FREE DVD every 30 days, 50% off in our Webstore, and a bunch of additional teaching resources, and you've got yourself a great deal for only $9.95.

Learn more about our different membership levels here.

Have a great start to the year!