Environmental Activism
The number of local, national, and international organizations that address sustainability issues has increased exponentially in recent years. This lesson affords students the opportunity to assess how individuals and non-governmental organizations collaborate with other agencies to impact the environment. In the process, students will gain a deeper understanding of the complex environmental issues facing their community and their world while learning how individually and collectively people can make a difference through civic engagement.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
In this film, Julia Roberts portrays the environmental activist named Erin Brockovich in a dramatization of her real-life battle with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) over medical problems resulting from corporate decisions that contaminated groundwater. Consider the following questions while viewing: 1. What was the substance making people sick? 2. What illnesses did the substance cause? 3. What was PG&E's response to the situation? 4. Explain the concept of environmental justice as it relates to the film. 5. What does it mean to be an activist and what strategies can activists use to get the word out and change people's minds? |
A local connection...
Cancer-causing pollutant made famous by Erin Brockovich found in NE Ohio drinking water (Plain Dealer, 9/20/16)
Ohio EPA director criticizes Erin Brockovich pollution report as biased scare tactics (Plain Dealer, 9/22/16)
Q and A on Chromium 6: Erin Brockovich links water toxin to road salt (Plain Dealer, 9/24/16)
Cancer-causing pollutant made famous by Erin Brockovich found in NE Ohio drinking water (Plain Dealer, 9/20/16)
Ohio EPA director criticizes Erin Brockovich pollution report as biased scare tactics (Plain Dealer, 9/22/16)
Q and A on Chromium 6: Erin Brockovich links water toxin to road salt (Plain Dealer, 9/24/16)
Assessing how environmental organizations assess sustainability issues
Select one organization listed below and complete the profile to learn more about environmental activism at the local, national, or international level.
sustainability.docx |