Environment: the Human Impact. Selections From
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 077 705 SE 016 155 'AUTHOR Amidei, Rosemary E., Comp. TITLE Environment: The'Human Impact: Selections from "The Science Teacher." INSTITUTION National Science Teachers Assoctation, Washington, D.C. .-PUB DATE 73 NOTE 259p. AVAILABLE FROMNSTA, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, C.C. 20036 ($5.00 Stock No. 471-14644) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS AnthOlogies; *Ecology; *Environment; *Environmental Education;. *Essays; *Humanization; Natural Pesdur6es; Problem Solving; Secondary Grades ABSTRACT Selections from "The Science Teacher" magazine, appearing generally between January 1970 and May 1972,are offered in this compilation. Articles are divided into four sections:(1) A Point of View--personal perspectives on the nature andscope of the environmental problem,(2) Aspects of the Problem--relevant backgrcund material, (3) Environmental_Education--course-descriptions and curricula, (4) Student Activities -- research projects and classroom ideas, and (5) Resources for Curriculum Guiding--book reviews and nctes about other available materials. Subjectcontent is wide-ranging, from ecology, energy and power, pollution andwaste disposal, health, and natural resources to urbanization, population and food supply, transportation, architecture, industrialization, and technology. The 66 articles present a variety of viewpoints about causes and solutions to environmental situations and problems and illustrate a variety of approaches that science teachers at the secondary level are using to increase student awareness of the dilemmas and some of the choices that face society today. (EL) , PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS cr`-" COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL BY MICRO. FICHE ONLY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY . t' TO ERICST AND ORGANIZATIONS OEERAT INGUNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE NA TIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PERMIT. SION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER" , Copyright, 1973, by the National Science Teachers Association Stock No. 471-14644 $5 per copy 2-9 copies, 10% discount; 10 or more copies, 20% discount Please enclose payment with order; only orders on official purchase forms will be billed Cover illustrationMany Farms High School staff photo Many Farms, Arizona National Science Teachers Association 1201 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 . Selections from ENVIRONMENT: The Science Teacher THE HUMAN, --a IMPACT- Compiled by Rosemary E. Amidei with assistance of Charles L Frederick and Robert Yager NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION 1973 PREFACE T THE end of the 1960s. the American public became conscious, as it had not been Abefore. of man's impact on thc environment. There had been earlier national surges of-conscienceduring the Conservation Movement at thc turn of the century and during the Dust BoWl era of the thirtiesbut never before had the outcry been so widespread nor had it had the same note of .desperation. The quality c,f thc environment is now a matter of great national and- international conccrn. Some problemsair and water pollution, rcsourcc depletion, waste disposal are easily identified. But causes and even the definitions of the problems themselves are not. There is great disagreement as to whether the specific problems stem basicfroni social institutions, population growth,- selfish and competitive values, increasing tech- nology, or simply from ignorance of the natural and social environments.Similarly, there is disagreement about the boundaries- of cnvironmcntal problems. .about com- poncnts ...about interactions. Scientific questions are entangled with economic ones and these, with social questions. A- discussion of oil spills quickly escalates to national prioritics, to moral and aesthetic values, to man's ro!e in nature. A discussion of energy problems quickly points to the Achilles heel of our technological structure. The articles that follow present a variety of viewpoints about causes and solutions. Thcy illustrate, too, thc variety of approaches that science teachers at the secondary level arc using to increase student awareness of the dilemmas and sonic of thc choices that face society today. One teacher, for_ example, helped his class to initiate a community recycling project. The entire science department of another school joined with social studies, fine arts. and language arts teachers to organize the excavation of an Indian village. Somc teachers directed their studentattention to the urban scenethe weather--, ing of buildings. the behavior of pigeons: others, to the forests and wetlands. Regardless of the approach, however, certain themes emerge again and again. Fore- most among these arc the interrelatedness of the major human problems, which is reflected in thc interdisciplinary nature of so many of the environmental education courses, and the importance of values in making decisions and determining solutions. Most of the articles appeared inThe Science Teacherbetween January 1970 and May 1972.* Those that appeared carlier_were selected by Charles L. Frederick and Robert Yager of thc University of Iowa as especially significant, In an effort to aid thc reader, articles have been divided into four sections: A POINT OF VIEW, Somc personal perspectives on thc nature and scope of the cnvironmcntal problem; ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM, Some relevant background material: ENVIRONMENTAL EDU- CATION, Course descriptions and curricula; and STUDENT ACTIVITIES, Research projects and classroom ideals. Since the articles wcrc not written to fit specific categories, however, readers will find a good deal of overlap bctwccn sections. A final section, RESOURCES FOR CURRICULUM BUILDING, brings together book reviews and mentions of other useful resource items that will aid thc teacher in assembling background and reference material.'fhe miscellaneous items mentioned in this section were still available in January 1973. Rosemary E. Amidci National Science Teachers Association Washington, D.C. ii *Authors' affiliations stand as thcy did whcn the articles wcrc originally printed. .., CONTENTS Page iiPREFACE 1 PART I A POINT OF VIEW Sonic personal perspectives on the nature and scope of the environmental problem 7.I,I 3THE EARTH AS A SPACESHIPWilliam G. Pollard September 1969 11 SCIENCE AND SOCIAL ACTIONBarry Conw ttttt er May 1972 17nit FUTURE OF MANS ENVIRONMENTRobert W. Lamson January 1969 23ON THE NATURALIST NATURE OF MANRichard R. Grater October 1969 26FREEDOM AND A VARIED ENVIRONMENTR. "Thomas Tanner April 1969 29AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL INVENTORYJames D. Sears February1972 32THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COINR. M. Billings March1972 A ; 35PART 11 ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM Some relevant background material 37EDUCATION IN AN-OVERPOPULATED WORLDGarrett Hardin May1971 41 URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY: THE EMERGING SCIENCE OF MODERN MANRobert E. Novick January 1972 46Man and His Environment: PUBLIC HEALTH VIEWPOINTMitchell R. Zara,: September 1970 49Man and His Environment: ONE INDUSTRIAL POINT OF VIEW R.W. Comstock September 1970 54Man and His Environment: THE ARCH! l'ECIVRAL POINT OF VIEWElliot L. Whitaker Sep- tember1970 58HUMAN ECOLOGYStanley A. Cain March 1967 63SOUND POLLUTIONANOTHER URBAN PROBLEMPeter A. Breysse April 1970, 69HOW PLANTS FIGHT "MAN-MADE" POLLUTIONII.E. Ileggestad April 1972 73TRACE ELEMENTS AND HEALTHWayne A. pettyjohn-- May1972 77TAKING INVENTORY OF CROPLANDS AND MIDLANDSRobert N. Colwell April 1970 -283 THE "GREEN REVOLUTION"SELECTION AND GENETIC VARIANTSPaul J. Fitzgerald March 1970 85OCEANOGRAPHY FOR THE 1970sDonald V. Hansen January 1971 93CAN OUR CONSPICUOUS CON_SU OF NATURAL RESOURCES BE. CYCLIC?Leillyn B. Clapp April 1969 96TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCT PERFORMANCE. AND THE CONSUMERLawrence M. Kushner November 1971 101 ENERGY TECHNOLOGY, AND THE STORY OF MANMelvin Kranzberg March 1972 106ENERGY CONVERSIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTIONMichael D. Henderson and R. Curtis Johnson March 1972 111 GEOTHERMAL ENERGYI.. J. P. Muffler and D. E. White March 1972 115THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR POWER IN ACHIEVING THE WORLD WE WANTM. J. Driscoll November 1910 120SOLAR ENERGYPROSPECTS FOR ITS LARGE-SCALE USEPeter E. Glaser March 1972 124PROGRESS IN CONTROLLED FUSION RESEARCHP.-L. Auer and R. N. Sudan March1972 131 PART III ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION . Course descriptions and curricula 133POPULATION EDUCATIONA RESPONSE TO ASOCIAL PROBLEMIrwin L. Slesnick February1971 136A PLAN FOR POPULATION-ENVIRONMENT EDUCATIONRobert W. Stegner March1971 139ARE WE AS ONE? H.Thom's- Tanner April1972 142CONSERVATION EDUCATION: PROBLEMS AND STRATEGIESIlarold R. Hungerford and Clifford E. Knapp May 1969 145*ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIESRobert E. Samples October1971 147ECOLOGY AND THE URBAN STUDENTDonald F. Shebesta December1969 149MORE THAN A FORLISTCharles 0. Mortensen April 1970 iii Page 152 ECOLOGYA Practical Program in a Suburban School Franklin Burnat September 1971 155INTERDISCIPLINARY iNvoexEmENT in lEmironmental Field TripsRon Osborn and Roger Spit fiord April 1970 157UNEARTHING AN INDIAN CUI.TUR1EA Total lin ohement ProgramDuane Gming,s No- vember 1970 160SCIENCE. NATUREAND THE SURVIVAL OF MAN M Edgar April 1971 163EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL !ETHICRonah/ Linsky Jan- uary 1971 166ORGANIZING OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS in the Park SystemK. T. Kellers January 1970 169PART IV STUDENT iu.:TivrriEs Research projects and classroom ideas 171 BACTERIAL POLLUTION IN WATER: ADAPTING STANDARD METHODS TO THE CLASS - ROOM Bernard I.SOW!and R. Eugene !hawk October 1971 175wATER POLLUTION A CASE HISTORY James G. mg January 1971 178THE SAND HILLS OF N1EBRASKAA GROUNDWATER PROJECT Brewste;: Ballwin