How to Make Environmental Education Interesting

The middle grade years are a fascinating time of life, full of change. Adolescents are developing new interests, some of which will have a long-lasting impact on their lives. As with adults, most do not take an interest in something that they consider boring or of little relevance to them. Teachers are challenged to make seemingly mundane topics—like the environment—interesting and captivating for young minds. This is in many ways easier said than done. 

Here are three suggestions for making a lesson on the environment both educational and entertaining for middle grades students.   

 1. Use visual media.This includes news and videos available on the Internet or through other venues. The media offers a wealth of information about the environment for teachers and students. Some government websites have sections dedicated to teaching children about various environmental topics, including those related to health, energy, air, water, recycling, ecosystems, and climate change. 

For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a Students for the Environment webpage where young people can learn about the environment by playing games find a wealth of ideas for science fair project ideas. This site also has teacher resources and lesson plans for teaching about the environment. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a Fun for Kids webpage with weblinks containing teacher lesson plans and educational resources pertaining to the Earth’s oceans and climate. The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) has a Teach and Learn webpage with helpful teacher and student resources for teaching how the Department manages the land, water and wildlife in the United States. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Energy Kids webpage has fun games and facts for learning concepts about energy sources, consumption, and conservation. The EIA also has helpful teacher lesson plans. And finally, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Climate Resources and Climate Kids webpages have informative data concerning, the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. The Climate Kids webpage is especially resourceful with hands-on activities for children learning about climate change and how it affects various species.

 2. Use hands-on demonstrations. For example, when teaching about consumer product safety, refer to the previously mentioned EPA site for ideas. In the Chemical Safety Resource for Middle School Teachers lesson, students do an inventory of the household chemicals and cleaners found around their homes with parental supervision. The students explain why chemical safety is important and propose ideas for preventing chemical pollution at home. The EPA’s Wastes – Educational Materials webpage has three units on waste, including facts and activities, such as composting and recycling activities. Other examples of hands-on demonstrations include the Washington Department of Ecology A-Way with Waste Resources webpage, which offers various lesson plans with demonstrations. 

3. Supplement textbooks with print books or ebooks. Most of the environmental concepts taught in classrooms are included in today’s science-based textbooks.However, few textbooks seem to introduce environmental topics in a fun and interesting way. Spark some interest by looking for supplemental reading material that is educational, thought-provoking and entertaining. Consider using a work of fiction tailored for upper elementary and middle school students to introduce environmental concepts.

These three tools can help make learning about the environment educational, engaging and fun. Accordingly, environmental education may be easily incorporated in a variety of subject curricula.

--- Contributed by Ashley Ivanov. Ms Ivanov is the author of From Pristine to Earth – an environmental fiction novel for upper elementary and middle grades students. The novel is available for purchase at Amazon.com or online at Barnes & Noble. The author may be reached at frompristinetoearth@gmail.com for questions or a lesson plan for her novel. 

Note:  This article was originally published in the October 2012 issue of INSIDER by AMLE and has since been edited. 

From Pristine to Earth: A Fictional Adventure About Many Environmental Realities

I freely admit that the children's novel From Pristine to Earth by Ashley Ivanov was written by my research assistant. So this is a biased review.

The novel, written for upper elementary and pre-teen students, is a creative means to a real-world end. It was written teach environmental concepts in an imaginative and entertaining way to make children aware of the need for a safe, healthy and clean environment. 

The novel touches on various topics, including the benefits of recycling and the need for clean air and water. However, the primary messages are the need to minimize the risks associated with harmful chemicals by creating safer alternatives and the need for society to develop and use plastics that break down faster in the environment. 

In the end the author leaves us not knowing whether these reforms will have a successful impact or merely be words on paper. As she writes, “[t]ime will tell.”

Students can learn that reform can be accomplished in various ways, including voting for candidates who support change and through the media which can sometimes influence Congressional action. Grassroots activists -- in the trenches planting the seeds for change -- are usually involved in both.

As the book points out, there are current attempts being made to influence Congress to pass new federal chemical legislation. Current federal law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), was enacted in the 1970s and has been ineffective as it does not ensure that only safe chemicals are used in the United States. It is estimated that approximately eighty thousand chemicals available in the United States have not been fully tested for their safety. See Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Of these eighty thousand chemicals, EPA has required testing for only an estimated two hundred (a quarter of one percent of the total) and has partially regulated only five (less than one percent).  Id.  

Congress is currently considering legislation to reauthorize TSCA. Perhaps, like the new law described in the book, a reauthorized TSCA would, among other things, shift the burden of proof from EPA to the chemical’s manufacturer to prove that that the chemical is safe and provide a means for adequate, independent validation and verification.  

You won’t find many (any?) books written for pre-teens that realistically addresses TSCA and other environmental issues in an entertaining story that engages kids. It could be used in science classes for upper elementary students to introduce these important environmental concepts through a good story with interesting characters.

The novel is available at Amazon.com and online only from Barnes & Noble.

Abraham Lincoln and the Team of Rivals; Compassion, Wisdom and Peacemaking

While the Golden Globes may not have honored the genius of Stephen Spielberg’s direction of the movie Lincoln, I hope and believe the Oscar voters will.  As anyone who has a feel for history will, I think, agree, Lincoln is a uniquely moving portrait of Abraham Lincoln and the late part of the Civil War. 

Much of Spielberg’s movie is based on Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, the wonderfully researched and written book by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

For those who have not read it, Goodwin tells the story of “Lincoln’s political genius revealed through his extraordinary array of personal qualities that enabled him to form friendships with men who had previously opposed him, to repair injured feelings that, left unattended, might have escalated into permanent hostility; to assume responsibility for the failures of subordinates, to share credit with ease; and to learn from mistakes.” 

  

The movie makes the people and politics of the lame duck Congress in late 1864 and early 1865 understandable to viewers of today.  Before watching the movie I had doubts that the director and Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor who plays Lincoln, could make this iconic figure into a living, breathing human being. There is no doubt they succeeded.

The movie shows how Abraham Lincoln was different from other leaders, then and now. Goodwin writes that his “decency, morality, kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty and empathy” were “impressive political resources.” Lincoln may have said : “I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.” We saw him doing that in this movie.

Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer – apparent in the movie – and that was a critically important part of his career; it helped shape who he was. He was famously quoted as advising attorneys to “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can.  As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.”

Lincoln was a good man and a peacemaker both before and during the Civil War, and his wisdom, compassion and humanity were central to his greatness. 

Coal King No Longer: Is Natural Gas the Long Term Solution?

This has not a good year for coal in the United States. Fifty-five coal-burning power plants haveshut down this year alone  including the Big Sandy power plant in Louisa, Kentucky

The significance of the Big Sandy plant is that it is located right in the heart of coal country; near the Appalachian Mountains, an area that has relied on coal, not only for energy, but as an economic driver for decades.

EPA regulations have forced coal companies to decide whether to pay for expensive retrofitting to their existing coal-burning electric power plants or to shut the burners down permanently. The American Electric Power company has decided to shut down both coal furnaces of Big Sandy, keeping open the possibility of retrofitting one at a later date to burn natural gas.

For most environmentally-concerned individuals this would seem like a major win. Burning coal not only emits a great deal of carbon dioxide but also other harmful pollutants like particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. Plus mining coal often involves significant environmental and human costs.

The fact that a coal plant would shut down in an area where coal is plentiful is an example of how social changes, concerns about global warming and EPA regulations are changing the energy industry. But this begs the question: what happens next?

Relying less on coal for energy means that burden going to be placed on other sources of energy. At the present one of the main sources of electrical energy is natural gas; while not renewable or devoid of emissions, it is a much cleaner option than coal. But there are ramifications to this shift to natural gas, making the environmental costs of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) an even greater concern.

If natural gas becomes relied on for more electrical energy production, natural gas companies have to find a safer way of removing it from the earth for it to be a sustainable source of energy.

The options other than natural gas to coal are clean, renewable sources of energy like wind. A decline in coal use presents a good opportunity for renewable energy, but companies still need financial and government support for these clean, renewable sources. And a much better electrical distribution system infrastructure, particularly to move electricity generated from wind and solar to customers.

Although increased use of natural gas over coal may be an encouraging trend and a step towards reducing our carbon emissions in the short term, it is pertinent to keep in mind one of the significant costs of increased use of natural gas - increased fracking - and the effects fracking will have on the environment.

Assisted by Michael Ciccarone

DOHA 2012 Climate Change Conference

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) created the Conference of the Parties (COP) in order to get developed and non-developed nations to produce a plan to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and help prevent global climate change.

Despite recent events like Hurricane Sandy, Doha 2012 COP 18 saw little progress towards a lasting agreement of significant limits on GHG emissions.

No major progress has been made with regard to any of the issues. One of the focal points of this year’s conference has been extending the Kyoto Protocol commitments, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Doha 2012 punted by simply extending Kyoto. The real issue with Kyoto though is how to track and enforce the commitment of different countries. And how to find an equitable solution that will satisfy all stakeholders.

While extending Kyoto is a necessary action, it certainly does not solve our global warming problems. For one, the Kyoto only applied to developed nations, so China, Brazil and India were not a part of any emission reduction agreements. With these nations rapidly industrializing, it is crucial to involve them in some kind of GHG emissions reduction pact. One way is for developed countries to lead with ambitious reduction goals, with the United States participating; something that has not happened up to this point.

Arab countries’ involvement is also critical and many hoped that holding COP 18 in Qatar would help encourage Arab nations to become more involved in climate negotiations. Unfortunately, few Arab nations seem interested. With many of these countries sitting on vast oil reserves with significant solar potential, they have failed to set any targets for solar energy use.

In a recent interview, the U.N. Secretary General said that developed nations should assume most of the responsibility in fighting climate change as historically developed nations have caused the most damage.  While many would not disagree with this assertion, it does not bring the parties closer to an agreement. 

Obviously developed nations are most responsible for our current dilemma. However, developing nations like China, Brazil and India are rapidly industrializing and are now will certainly in the future be a major source of GHG emissions and contribute significantly to global warming. The solution has to involve everyone.  

Assisted by Michael Ciccarone

Wayne State Law School Environmental Law Clinic Director Gaining Recognition

Nick Schroeck is executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and teaches at the Wayne State University Law School Environmental Law Clinic.  A 2007 graduate of Wayne State University law school, Nick is receiving recognition for his many accomplishments in environmental law.  Good for Nick and good for Wayne State Law School, my alma mater.

Nick has worked on a wide range of environmental issues and often appears in the media to help educate the public about environmental issues.  He has been involved in many of the recent environmental law issues in the Great Lakes area.

Nick often appears in the media speaking about high profile issues such as how to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes and hydraulic fracturing.  Good to see Wayne State Law School taking a leadership role in the public discourse about the environment. 

Mediators Now Targets of Internet Scams: A Cautionary Tale

The internet is a great tool for all legal professionals, including mediators. Between the information available online and the ease in sharing information, it is almost impossible to imagine a world without the internet.

The bad news, however, is that the internet also increases the ease with which internet scammers can communicate their malice.  We all have seen how common internet scams have become. Internet scams cost businesses a great deal of money and frustration; it is essential to know what to look for to avoid these traps.

Mediators are now well enough established in business to become targets of scams.

We recently learned of a scam going around, targeting mediators in particular.

Here is a cautionary tale. 

The scam involves two alleged companies (in this particular scam, Barr Holdings and Arrow Electronics) who are alleged to be involved in a commercial dispute and request the help of a mediator. If the mediator agrees to help, a mediation contract is sent to the mediator with the signature of both company presidents. Here are the initial email exchanges, copied verbatim:

How are you today? We would like to thank you for your response to our inquiry for legal services. On behalf of Barr Holdings Limited, we are one of the UK's leading design and construction companies, specializing in the design and construction of sports stadia and arenas as well as large scale leisure, commercial, and retail projects.

However, We wish to inform you that we would be needing your mediation help to assist us with a breach of contract matter and also retrieve funds owed to our company. We ordered goods from Arrow Electronics, Inc. and was asked to make a 50% down payment for goods to be delivered to us and that we did and up till date no goods were delivered. We asked for a refund and they made a part payment and after that no other payment was made. We seek your help to help us collect these funds owed to our company amicably as we do not wish to go any further with the said transaction. We have made several attempts in the past to collect these funds which all ended negatively. We are aware that a conflict search would need to be done.

Here is the name of our supplier for your conflict check of interest-

Arrow Electronics, Inc., 7067 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 170 Columbia, MD 21046

Attached to this email you will find attached copy of contract, email correspondence and proof of payment for your perusal. We are prepared to pay a reasonable retainer fee for this service as soon as our board gets to review the terms of your engagement. So please have that sent to my attention via email if this is a case you are willing to handle.

What we require from you is to mediate the dispute and collect the funds peacefully without litigation [emphasis added]. We look forward to your prompt response. We wanted to also inform you that the said funds owed to us has caused a great strain on our company's operational capital and we want this issue to be resolved quickly. We would like to know a few things about your firm and also how you intend to handle this dispute

Then the mediator is sent an email claiming that the two sides have come to an agreement and one party will send a cashier’s check to the mediator to deposit and hold in trust on behalf of the other party.

On behalf of Barr Holdings Limited we have decided to retain your services after our review of your terms and attached herewith is a copy of the signed agreement. Due to your establishment as our mediator in the United States we have been able to yield a positive result.

Furthermore, we had talks with our contact and brought the possibility of mediation to his notice as we informed him of our correspondence with your service. He informed us that some Payment will be effected on or before 8th November 2012.

This is a positive breakthrough for me as this development will eventually reduce time and cost for all parties involved. However I do not intend to introduce any legal pressure unless the deadline of 8th November 2012.

Contract is breached. I do hope you understand my position as i intend to introduce litigation as a last resort.

I instructed that further correspondence including payment be made via our mediator. Please confirm name and mailing address check payments is to be made out on so we can forward it to him at once. It is also my thinking that your engagement fee be deducted as soon as funds are received by you and the balance held in trust pending further instruction.

I await your urgent acknowledgment and requested details as time is of the essence thank you.”

After the mediator receives the check – supposedly to pay a portion of the money owed that was in dispute -- the party sending the check asks the mediator to wire a portion of the funds to a creditor of the party. A wire transfer cannot be undone. Once the money is sent, it is gone.

In the scam, of course, the cashier’s check is fraudulent, and the mediator is now responsible for the money sent to the creditor. Unlike wire transfers, counterfeit cashier checks are not good until the issuing bank actually pays. So a wire transfer irrevocably removes money from the account and the fraudulent cashier’s check is not finally payable – even if the money initially appears in an account -- until after it has cleared by the issuing bank, which can take days, often longer. Thus, in the scam, the mediator is exposed to losing all of the money sent via wire transfer.  Here is the email exchange from the scammer trying to close the deal.

 How are you doing today??

Please do proceed with the swift wire transfer to our creditors as instructed yesterday. Today is the last date giving to us by our creditor to remit payment to them as promised. I Hope you understand how important this transaction mean to us because we don't want our company to be sued. if they file a law suit against us it will bring a bad reputation to our company and we will also loose our business relationship with our creditor. Due to my daughter condition am leaving the offices to know how she doing so keep me updated once the transfer is made this morning your time. I strongly believe you can handle the transaction ASAP.

Await your acknowledgment of instructions and wire confirmation slip thank you.”

This is an all-too-common situation. Mediators and attorneys must be on the lookout for scams.  Fortunately in this case the mediator sensed there was something ‘fishy’ and did not bite.  

Be careful.

Here are some signs that you might be the target of a scam

• Does the email have poor grammar, spelling errors or strange vernacular in general? A large majority of scams come from outside the U.S. and generally do not write in English very well and often use translation websites. 

• Have you received emails or heard from both sides individually? Most scams are the work of one person who usually speaks for the other side. If you are only hearing from one party, there is a good chance it is part of a scam. 

• Has it developed quickly, or have the two sides come to an agreement without your help? This is usually part of scam. Whoever is part of the scam is trying to get the money from you without you even realizing what is happening.  

• Did you receive a call from a location that does not correspond with either party? The mediator and target of this scam was receiving calls from Naples, Florida, a home to neither of the parties involved. This should be another sign that something fishy is going on.

For more information on this particular scam and for more examples of how scammers contact you, go to LawPro's Avoid A Claim blog. You can also report if you have been the target of a suspected fraud and see tips on how to prevent fraud.

Assisted by Michael Ciccarone

"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Review

The lead review in the Sunday Book Review section of the New York Times this past week is of a book by Steven Pinker titled “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined." The review was written by Peter Singer.

I have not yet read the book – although I did purchase and download it based on this review – and will read it soon.

The basic thesis of the book is simple. Our era – the time in which we now live – is less violent and cruel and more peaceful than any other period in human history. Despite World Wars I and II, Vietnam, the Iran/Iraq war, the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and all of the other atrocities of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Really?

Mr. Pinker is a professor of psychology at Harvard and author of “The Language Instinct." Mr. Singer makes a compelling argument that professor Pinker’s new book is substantial, worthwhile and interesting.

To sum up this observation, Mr. Singer states, quite simply, ””The Better Angels of Our Nature” is a supremely important book,” adding that the book addresses many of the age-old questions about human nature: Are human beings essentially good or bad? Has the past century witnessed moral progress or a moral collapse? Do we have grounds for being optimistic about the future?

Obviously Mr. Pinker has to convince a skeptical audience. According to the review he spends a substantial portion of the book successfully documenting his claim.

What do you think? Do we live in a more civilized and more just and peaceful world?