Introduction to Sustainability

Videos

Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APBiology

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Khan Academy

Open Resource

What it is

This video defines sustainability and discusses various environmental indicators that can be used to assess the health of ecosystems.
The examples of sustainability in agriculture and fishing are specifically highlighted, and there is an interactive quiz included on the topic.

Teaching tips

Positives

This video introduces sustainability clearly and concisely by defining the concept and providing multiple examples.
This is a great video that connects certain activities to many environmental side effects.
This is a great introduction to the concept of sustainability and environmental science.

Prerequisites

Students should be familiar with ecosystems and the basics of ecology.

Differentiation & Implementation

After watching this video, students can research environmental indicators that are used in their area to monitor the health of ecosystems and determine if current practices are sustainable.
Teachers can use this video as an introduction to the problems threatening sustainability in agriculture and fishing and task students with proposing potential solutions to alleviate the stress on affected ecosystems.
Cross-curricular connections can be made with economics by discussing the costs and trade-offs of using sustainable practices in sectors like agriculture and fishing.
This video may pair well with the game Lakeland, which allows students to explore the effects of agriculture on lake ecosystems.
Teachers can expand on the topic of sustainability with the video The Sustainability Compass.

From the scientist review

This resource is a primer on the principle of sustainability, how to identify it, and how to apply it to our practices. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Subjects: Biology
Other types: Assessments, Activity - Classroom, Interactive Media
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: Khan Academy
Authors: Khan Academy
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2 + 6 more

Core

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

HS-LS2-6.Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
HS-LS2-7.Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
HS-ESS3-3.Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
HS-ESS3-6.Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
HS-LS2-A.Ecosystems have carrying capacities, which are limits to the numbers of organisms and populations they can support. These limits result from such factors as the availability of living and nonliving resources and from such challenges such as predation, competition, and disease. Organisms would have the capacity to produce populations of great size were it not for the fact that environments and resources are finite. This fundamental tension affects the abundance (number of individuals) of species in any given ecosystem. (HS-LS2-1), (HS-LS2-2)
HS-LS2-C.2.Moreover, anthropogenic changes (induced by human activity) in the environment—including habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, overexploitation, and climate change—can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species. (HS-LS2-7)

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