CONTENT STATEMENT
Human societies use a variety of strategies to adapt to the opportunities and constraints presented by the physical environment (e.g., farming in flood plains and terraced farming, building hydroelectric plants by waterfalls and constructing hydroelectric dams, using solar panels as a heat source and using extra insulation to retain heat).
CONTENT ELABORATION
Societies can use their physical environments provide to address societal wants (e.g., drilling for petroleum in available reserves) or to develop alternative strategies to overcome limitations presented by their physical environments (e.g., trading goods to obtain petroleum if petroleum reserves are unavailable).
Different societies use unique approaches when addressing the opportunities and constraints posed by their physical environments. For example, Iceland and China have sought to avoid burning coal for the production of power. While Iceland has turned to geothermal sources of power, China has invested in a series of dams, including the Three Gorges Dam.
EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING
Compare how different societies adapt to the opportunities or constraints presented by their physical environments when attempting to address a common task.