|
LESSON: THE LORAX
Lesson Summary:
Find out what happens in this Dr. Seuss classic when the Once-ler
begins chopping down Truffula Trees to make the wildly popular
Thneeds! The results are rather grim but could they have been
avoided?
Concept: Scarcity
Definition: Scarcity is the condition of
not being able to have all the goods and services that you want.
Scarcity forces people
to make choices.
Comprehension Questions
The Truffula Trees were scarce, valuable natural
resources. What made them valuable and scarce?
The trees had
beautiful soft, tufts that were like silk. They also had a sweet
smell of fresh butterfly milk. They could be used to produce
products.
Why did the Once-ler chop down the first Truffula Tree?
He
used the soft tuft to produce a scarce good a Thneed.
What benefit did the Thneed have for consumers?
It was very
useful as a shirt, a sock, a glove, and a hat. It also could be used
for carpet, pillows, sheets, curtains, or covers for bicycle seats.
The Lorax did not think anyone would want to purchase a
Thneed. Was he correct?
No! It was a scarce good and the
Once-ler sold the first Thneed he made immediately for $3.98. This
was evidently a very good price, since he called all his entire family and
asked them to join in the business.
What new capital resource did the Once-ler invent? How did
this help his business?
He invented a Super-Axe-Hacker. It
allowed the Once-ler to greatly increase his productivity. He was
able to cut down more trees in less time. Increasing
productivity - producing more goods and services with the same or
fewer productive resources - helps our economy minimize the effects of
scarcity.
Who was harmed as more and more Truffula Trees were chopped down and
they became more scarce?
Brown Bar-ba-loots lost their food
supply. The smog made the Swomee-Swans ill. The pollution
gummed up the gills of the Humming-fish.
Was it wise of the Once-ler to chop down all the
trees?
No! Not only did it harm other creatures, but it left
no future for his company. There was no more work to be
done. Consumers would no longer benefit from Thneeds that were no
longer produced.
In the story, all the trees were chopped down. In the modern
U.S. economy, why would this not happen?
In the United States (and
many other countries), many forests are privately owned. Wood
producers who own their forests, would rarely, if ever, chop down all
their trees. There would be no future for the company!
Producers replant trees as they cut them to ensure a future
supply. There are also certain government regulations that prohibit
certain kinds of tree cutting that would harm wild animals or threaten the
health of the forests. On government-owned lands there are specific
rules on how much wood can be cut.
What situation or condition would promote the cutting down of
all trees or the overuse of natural resources?
Overuse of natural
resources, such as trees, is a major problem in societies or situations
where property rights are not clearly defined. Since no one owns the
resources, people take advantage of the situation and use them first
before someone else uses them! Another example is over harvesting of
fish in the oceans. Since no one owns the wild fish, fishermen often
harvest as many as they can, which reduces the fish populations and
increases the scarcity of wild fish.
When a good, service, or natural resource becomes more and more
scarce, what happens to the price?
It goes up!
In the end, the Once-ler gave the boy the last seed and told him to
treat the Truffula forest with care and protect it from axes that
hack. Do you think this is good advice? Why or why
not?
It is certainly good advice to be a good steward of ones
resources, but probably not the best advice to refrain entirely
from cutting down the trees. In real life, a multitude of useful
products come from trees.
Other Concepts: Productivity,
Price,
spillover costs | 
