Dr.

Seuss The Lorax

The LORAX is a fictional story about a man whose activities abused the environment and about what he
learned from the experience. The story was written in 1971 and yet it contains many common components
found in the environmental problems and issues facing humans around the world today. The LORAX also
contains many of the components associated with sustainable development. Sustainable development is a tricky
idea. It suggests that humans "sustain" the environment by preserving, protecting, and conserving. Yet,
economic development is still necessary in all countries, regardless of their current economic status. Many
experts believe that this apparent conflict between outcomes is the key to the quality of future human life on the
planet and that economic development using environmentally-friendly technology can help promote economic
development that sustains the environment. The central focus of sustainable development is to balance quality
of life with quality of the environment. Questions
Name: Jacob C Werley__________________________
1. The Once-ler used the lands natural resource to start a business which made and sold a product. What was
the product? How was it used by buyers? The Once-lers Product: _Thneed ________________________ The
Products Uses: _______a shirt, sock, glove, hat, carpets, pillows, curtains _____________________________
2. The product was made out of what natural resource? _Truffula trees
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3. The use of technology often requires the use of natural resources. This utilization of natural resources can
have an effect on the environment. How did the production of thneeds affect important natural resource(s) in the
story? __
He cut down all the trees so the animals started to leave and everything dies without the trees
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4. Often, technological production creates byproducts. For example, a byproduct of sawing wood is sawdust.
Sometimes the byproducts of technology are unwanted or dangerous (ex: poisonous chemicals). Name two
byproducts that resulted from making thneeds.
Byproduct 1: ___oil pollution ____________________________________________
Byproduct 2: ___air pollution ____________________________________________
Were these two byproducts helpful or harmful to the environment?
Byproduct 1: __polluted the lake ______________________________________________
Byproduct 2: __bad air because no more trees to make oxygen
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6. The Once-lers business failed. Why did it fail? What could he have done to prevent this? _____Because
there were no more trees in the valley
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Now, think about the building materials used in your own home. List two of these building materials. Then list
the byproducts of production and the by products of use.
Building material #1: ____wood ________________________________________________
Production byproduct: ____building walls _________________________________________
Use byproduct: ______Killing trees to make the wood
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Building material #3: ____Mulch ________________________________________________
Production byproduct: _______bark, old rubber many other materials
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Use byproduct: ______killing trees and cutting up tires
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At the end of the movie, the Lorax hints that we are doomed unless. Unless what?
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful a lot, nothing is going to get better its not.

Name two things you can do to improve or offset the impact of your house on the local environment.
Buy recycled materials, use Xeriscaping but do not destroy land to get the rock from the land