THE ACTIVITIES
POLLUTION SOLUTIONS

Description: Students conduct environmental research and testing to determine the effects of pollutants and resource depletion on water systems.

GO DIRECTLY TO:

• Goals and Objectives
• Procedure and Teaching Suggestions
• Student Activity
• Extension
• Additional Internet Resources

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

	Materials and Equipment Research materials about water ecosystems and factors that contribute to their pollution or destruction Computer and Internet access Suggested readings: —Ocean Planet: Writings and Images of the Sea by Peter Bentley, Harry N. Abrams and Times Mirror Magazines in association with the Smithsonian Institution, 1995 —The Greenpeace Book of Water by Klaus Lanz. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1995

Within general science and ecology students will understands the following:

1. The interactions of science, technology and society
2. Technological solutions have intended benefits and unintended consequences; some consequences can be predicted, but others cannot
3. Basic features of the Earth
4. Processes involved in the water cycle (e.g., evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, percolation) and their effects on climate patterns.
5. Ways in which science and society influence one another (e.g., scientific knowledge and the procedures used by scientists influence the way many individuals in society think about themselves, others and the environment; societal challenges often inspire questions for scientific research; social priorities often influence research priorities through availability of funding for research)
6. Cycling of matter and flow of energy through the living environment
7. Energy is transferred through food webs in an ecosystem (e.g., energy enters ecosystems as sunlight and green plants transfer this energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis; this chemical energy is passed from organism to organism)
8. Matter is recycled within ecosystems (matter is transferred from one organism to another repeatedly and between organisms and their physical environment; the total amount of matter remains constant, even though its form and location change)
9. The nature of scientific knowledge
10. From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how the world works, but usually the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications of prior knowledge; change and continuity are persistent features of science

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PROCEDURE AND TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

Ask students to name some water ecosystems. (They might mention oceans, rivers, ponds, lakes, marshlands.)

Now ask them to mention any factors they know of that contribute to the pollution and/or destruction of water ecosystems. List their suggestions on the chalkboard, including the following: PCBs, DDT, methylmercury chloride, sewer sludge, thermal effluents, radioactive wastes, and destruction of marshlands and beach erosion.

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STUDENT ACTIVITY

"Smart growth" is not anti-growth. It advocates dense residential development than that which has been typical since World War II, interconnected streets designed for slower speeds, houses with front porches (to encourage community interaction), sidewalks and paths for walkability, and an end to the segregation of land by use. It is proposing a way of growing that reduces the consumption of land and saves taxpayers money by making public infrastructure improvements less expensive. —J. Myrick Howard Executive Director, Preservation North Carolina Smart Growth - and Even Smarter Growth, North Carolina Preservation, Number 113, Fall 1999

Divide the class into groups and have each group research one of the factors listed. Groups should focus their research on how their factor affects water ecosystems, particularly those in your area, if applicable, and the methods that are being employed to counter it.

When their research is complete, each group should choose one water ecosystem that has been affected by the factor they have researched and prepare an environmental impact statement about it. Each statement should include four elements:

1. A description of the current environmental status of the ecosystem
2. A description of the way or ways in which the factor affects the ecosystem
3. A description of the existing methods that are being used to combat the factor
4. Suggestions for future methods of combating the factor

When the statements are complete, invite groups to share their findings with the class.

Discussion questions may include:

• Discuss the relationship between population growth, advances in technology and ocean dumping
• Discuss the ways in which the traditional uses of the ocean are changing
• Explain how toxic substances such as DDT, PCBs and mercury enter the ocean and become incorporated into food chains
• Brainstorm "environmentally friendly" ways of generating electricity, cleaning up wastewater, producing fuel and developing land
• Discuss alternatives to ocean dumping to prevent further contamination of wildlife habitats and commercial seafood
• Discuss why there must be international cooperation concerning oil drilling, fishing and radioactive waste disposal for the ocean to be useful to the whole world

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EXTENSION

One Family's Trash
Collect the solid wastes that accumulate in your home during a given week, and then bring them into class. Divide the class into groups and give each group one bag of wastes. Ask each group to separate the wastes in their bag into separate categories and place them in new bags: one for all metals; one for glass; one for plastics and rubber; one for paper; and one for organic materials. Students should wear rubber gloves when handling the waste. When the trash has been sorted, weigh the collected materials in each category. Each group will combine its results with those of the other groups, and then determine the waste type per member of your household per day (weight of each bag/number of residents of the house/7). Students can then extrapolate to determine how much waste each member of your family generates in each category in a given year. Students can then analyze the data, creating a pie chart to illustrate what they've discovered. Which types of waste are most prominent and why? If there are 250 million United States residents, what is the total amount of waste generated nationwide in a year, assuming that your family is representative of the general population? Finally, challenge the students to develop a variety of alternative uses for these discarded "resources" — other than recycling. (Example: Sandals have been made from old rubber tire treads.)

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Web Links

Turning the Tide on Trash
A learning guide on marine debris maintained by the EPA.

Athena: Curriculum Oceans
Collections of activities and lessons on the ocean as well as on other science topics. Its goal is to promote an interest in science and technology.

Major Oceanic Surface Currents
An interesting site maintained by the Los Alamos National Laboratory that clearly identifies the ocean currents for student research.

Oceanlink
A great resource for teachers and students maintained by several Canadian marine facilities that includes lesson plans, current news and "ask a scientist" forums.

Bridge: Ocean Science Education Teacher Resource Center
A wealth of teacher resources and materials on marine science that is well organized and frequently updated by The Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Lesson plan developed by Lisa Lyle Wu, biology teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and freelance editor and writer for DiscoverySchool.com.

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