Kenneth P. Rogers
Word Bank
Environmental Definitions
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Environment
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Ecology
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Conservation
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Pollution
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Energy
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Fossil Fuel
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Nuclear Fuel
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Toxins
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Acid Rain
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Erosion
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Ecosystem
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Contaminate
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Insecticide
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Pesticide
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Herbicide
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Solid Waste
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Recycle
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Interdependence
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Habitat
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Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide Relationship
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Organism
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Endangered
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Biodegradable
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Ozone
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Acid Rain
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Nature
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Lead
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Radon
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Global Warming
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Environmental Stewardship
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Carcinogen
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Chemical
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Nature
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Wilderness
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1. An inert gas formed by the radioactive decay of radium is ______________________.
2. _____________ are poisonous chemicals.
3. Any solid material that is thrown away can be called __________________________.
4. A type of air pollution that is formed when oxides of sulfur and nitrogen combine with atmospheric moisture that sulfuric and nitric acids is called _____________________.
5. Living things that are faced with extinction is known as _______________________.
6. The _________________is the area or environment in which an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.
7. Things that are harmful to living things by the addition of waste matter is called __________________.
8. __________________ means to make impure or unclean by contact or mixture.
9. A ________________ is a chemical used to kill pest, especially insects.
10. A blue gaseous allotrope of oxygen or pure fresh air is called the ________________.
11. A soft bluish-gray, malleable metal that is toxic to humans is ___________________.
12. An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit is called an ___________________.
13. ___________________ is a substance produced by or used in a chemical process.
14. The process of being worn away destroyed gradually is called __________________.
15. An__________________ is a living being.
16. __________________ means to reprocess and use again
17. _____________________________ is an increase in the earth's temperature due to the use of fossils fuels and other fuels that produces carbon dioxide, methane and other chemicals.
18. Being mutually dependent upon one another is called ________________________.
19. The act of managing the environment and all of its affairs is called __________________________________.
20. The relationship between the amount of the oxygen and the amount of carbon dioxide on a planetary scale is called the ____________________.
21. A _________________ is a cancer causing substance or agent.
22. A substance used to kill insects is an __________________________.
23. The capacity of matter to perform work is called ______________________.
24. The capacity of being decomposed by natural processes is called _______________________.
25. An _________________________ is a chemical substance used to destroy plants.
26. The circumstances or conditions that surround one is called the _____________.
27. The controlled use and systematic protection of natural resources is known as __________________________.
28. __________________________ is the kind of fuel used to create a nuclear reaction to produce work.
29. The world of living things and the outdoors is called _____________________.
30. _______________________ is an area or region left in its natural state.
The answers for the previous fill-in blank sentences.
1. radon 2. Toxins 3. solid waste 4. acid rain 5. endangered 6. habitat 7. pollution 8. Contaminate 9. pesticide 10. Ozone 11. Lead 12. Ecosystem 12. Chemical 14. Erosion 15. Organisms 16. Recycle 17. Global Warming 18. interdependence 19. Environmental Stewardship 20. Oxygen/carbon dioxide Relationship 21. Carcinogen 22. Insecticide 23. Energy 24. Biodegradable 25. Herbicide 26. Environment 27. Conservation 28. Nuclear fuel 29. nature 30. Wilderness
The second week is the application of identifying some of the present day problems concerning the environment. This can include but is not limited to the ozone problem, oil spills or the deformation of the frogs around the world. These are just some examples and could be adapted to whatever present day problems exist at the time of the presentation. Some research may have to be done ahead of time but material is always available every day, whether it is from a weekly newsmagazine like Time or Newsweek or a daily newspaper or a website such as the Environmental Protection Agency or other similar kind of agency.
In the next week, the problems in the area of air pollution should be examined and discussed. This should include but should not be limited to acid rain and where it comes from. The student should be presented with some of the ways that can be used to prevent its occurrence. It is very important that the student realizes what some of the problems that may arise if the problem is not addressed such as trees dying or crops that may be affected or human health or buildings or statues, such as the Statue of Liberty, that may be corroded. It should be determined who is responsible for the acid rain and how the problem can be addressed. Of course, what does it cost and who is going to pay to correct the problem should also be a subject of inquiry. It should be easy to use two plants of identical species and growth and health. Perform an experiment using normal water and a solution of acidic rain (made slightly more acidic than normal rain which is between 5.0 and 5.6 on the pH scale) at about 4.0 pH. This experiment should be started in the first week of the course and the class should be directed to make careful observations and notes in a journal each day. Special attention should be given to describing the qualities of the plant's leaves, its color and its strength. The pH of the water used on both of the plants should be tested and observed and recorded. It is important that this is done, otherwise the student will not understand the significance of the experiment.
The fourth week should be spent examining land pollution. Some figures on landfills should be presented. There are always new figures being updated continuously. The scars left by strip mining should be a topic of discussion. Recycling, why and how it works, is an activity that is of great importance. It should not be difficult to find out about the recycling program of the community and see how it may compare to the surrounding communities. The student should be able to identify where the landfills are in their community and what condition they are in. They may want to find out if there are any communities that do not recycle and why not. An observation on how recycling works and why it is important may be an issue that is part of each groups discussion and report.
The problem facing New York City can be easily used as an example for classroom discussion and how to make wise decisions about what to do about an environmental problem. There are a lot of materials available about the dilemma that the city faced and the teacher may want to compare the choices made by the City of New York and the students in the classroom.
The fifth week should deal with water pollution. The closing of some of the beaches on Long Island Sound during the summer at the peak of the swimming season is an example of how water pollution can affect our every day living. The focus here should be on how the waters became polluted and how it can be prevented. They may also ask what kind of pollution affected the water. How did it affect the shellfish that live in the area? What was done to correct the situation?
In the sixth, seventh and eighth week application should be applied to case studies in each of the three kinds of pollution.
The first area that was discussed in the third week was that of air pollution. Here is a good situation for the class to look at real facts and materials. This is a good opportunity for the class to do some research into how much of the nitrogen oxide that is introduced into the atmosphere is caused by motor vehicles. Another of the activities that they may get involved in could be finding out what kind of laws have been passed by congress to make sure that the manufactures of automobiles follow the guidelines and meet the standards that have been set by the law makers. The students may also want to find out what some of the car manufacturers have been doing to meet those standards including changing the way the automobiles are powered and what some of the alternative sources may be. The class may want to find out how much of the cost of the production of alternative powered cars will be absorbed by the manufacturer and how much the consumer will take out of his pocket for that car to be developed. In this particular instance, they may was to look at some of the new cars that have been developed with multiple sources of power.
The seventh week should be applied to case studies involving land pollution. This is a great opportunity to have the class investigate whether or not their community recycles or not. If not, why don't they or better yet why should they. If the community does recycle, how is it done and where are the landfills and what are the conditions they are in. Have the class decide in small groups what they will do when the landfills that they are using are full. What kinds of alternatives are available to them could be one of the questions that the small group may decide. It may be a good idea for them to get in contact with community leaders to find out what they have planned for the future concerning landfills. They may also want to consider the packaging of products as to whether or not they may have been 'overpackaged' and whether or not there is something that can be done to have the manufacturer use a more simple packaging approach.
The eighth week should be dedicated to water pollution. This is a good chance to set up the classroom into small groups and assign groups different tasks and decisions to make. Using the Exxon Valdez incident as a focus point, the small groups should make decisions regarding the following. Decide who is responsible for the oil spill and who should pay for the clean up. It will be important that all parties that are involved in any way should be looked at closely. This may include the management of the oil company, the command and crew of the Exxon Valdez, the Coast Guard and even the ship manufacturer should be taken into consideration. It would be interesting to see how many different answers come about and how each group looks at the situation differently. It is suggested that each group be assigned a record keeper that would organize all the information into one file along with a person that would be responsible to speak for the group.
This is a good example of being able to use several disciplines for teaching. The first example should be obvious. American geography is a good lesson to be used here. Alaskan topography and production of natural resources, who the people are that inhabit the area and how they make a living. A study in biology using the listing of the animals that are indigent to the area of Prince William Sound and how they have been affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Geology or Earth Science can be used here when talking about where oil comes from how it is formed and about how it is extracted from the Earth and used as fossil fuel.
This is a good chance to sharpen math skills using estimation on how much it cost to clean up the damage from the spill. Be sure that each group includes all costs such as supplies, materials and cleaning supplies and the cost of personnel to clean up the affected area. Ask them how they will decide on what the loss of all the animals that have died as a result of the incident will be measured.
