Global Environmental Problems: Implications for U.S. Policy
Printed Curriculum [$20]
Downloadable Curriculum [$16]
Classroom Set [$9.75ea] (10 min)
Thirteenth edition. February 2009.
Overview
Until recently, concern about the environment revolved almost exclusively around local and national problems. In the past thirty years, scientists increasingly have focused attention on more far-reaching environmental threats that transcend national boundaries. A new concept - global environmental problems - has entered the public arena, especially in the area of foreign policy and economic matters.
Global Environmental Problems: Implications for U.S. Policy explores the relationship between public policy in the United States and the ecological health of the planet.
Global Environmental Problems: Implications for U.S. Policy is recommended by the National Science Teachers Association in NSTA Recommends.
Readings
The background reading in the teaching unit Global Environmental Problems: Implications for U.S. Policy prepares students to thoughtfully consider the policy choices facing the United States.
- Part I outlines the causes and effects of climate change, ozone depletion, acid rain and water pollution, deforestation and desertification, and the decline of biodiversity.
- Part II explains resources, their consumption, and how developed countries, the former Soviet bloc, newly-industrializing countries, and developing countries each pose distinct threats to the global environment.
- Part III discusses the environmental agenda of the international community and examines key components of the controversy over environmental policy in the United States.
- An optional reading introduces students to the science of climate change.
Framework of Policy Options
The four distinct policy directions, or options, at the core of the curriculum unit are central to the Choices approach. The options are designed to help students clarify their thoughts and, ultimately, articulate their own views. Each is grounded in a clearly defined philosophy about the U.S. relationship with the international community and the balance between environmental protection and economic health. By exploring a broad spectrum of alternatives, students gain a deeper understanding of the competing values and assumptions that frame the debate on U.S. policy toward global environmental problems.
Suggested Five-Day Lesson Plan
The Teacher's Resource Book accompanying Global Environmental Problems: Implications for U.S. Policy contains a day-by-day lesson plan and student activities.
- Day One introduces students to global environmental problems and explores the relationship between the local and the global.
- An alternative lesson adds significant depth to the Day One lesson by having students explore the Amazon Basin using Google Earth.
- Day Two engages students in a role play that delineates the contrasting perspectives of different regions of the world toward environmental issues.
- An optional lesson on environmental science examines humanity's impact on the global carbon cycle.
- Days Three and Four engage students in a simulation that considers divergent perspectives on U.S. environmental policy.
- Day Five asks students to apply what they have learned to developing their own recommendations for U.S. policy.