Earth Day - Teachable Moment

Earth Day

Earth Day, celebrated every April 22, is the largest global event dedicated to environmental consciousness. More than 500 million people (including over 6 million Canadians) in over 180 countries participate in events and projects to address our shared responsibility to protect the planet.

undefined First launched in 1970, Earth Day is recognized as the birth of the environmental movement. (To read more on the first Earth Day as described by one of its founders, Gaylord Nelson, visit: http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html)

In 1990, two million Canadians joined 200 million people in 141 nations to celebrate the first International Earth Day. In Canada, Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and Earth Month to accommodate the abundance of public projects that range from large events (like organized walks, festivals and community clean-ups) to thousands of small activities staged by schools and community groups.

Because much of our understanding of environmental issues arrives through media, and because some environmental issues are directly related to consumer culture, Earth Day provides an excellent opportunity to help young people understand how these factors influence our physical environment.

Here are some questions to explore with students:

Do we live in a society in which respecting the environment is a priority?
- Can you think of ways in which respect for the environment is promoted or is absent from media or popular culture?
- How prevalent are environmental issues in the media?
- Which environmental issues are most likely to make the news? Which are least likely to be reported?
- Why aren't environmental issues a regular segment in mainstream newspapers or newscasts – like sports or entertainment?
How is Earth Day represented in the media? Are there types of media (i.e. Internet, television, magazines, posters) that represent Earth Day more prominently than others? If so, why do you think that is?
Which medium do you think is most effective in promoting grass-roots events like Earth Day?
What do you think are the main issues relating to the environment?
What are some of the changes people can make in their daily routines to help the environment? What changes can communities make?
Do you think that some environmental issues are more important than others? Do you think people in other parts of the world would agree with you?
Should people is some areas of the world be more accountable to the environment than others? Should countries who consume more be more accountable?
What are some ways in which people can help raise awareness on important issues like the environment?
How does our current consumption level affect the global environment?
- How do our purchasing choices affect the environment? (For example, what are the pros and cons of purchasing locally-grown food from markets or butchers compared to buying mass-produced food products from a supermarket?)
- What actions can companies and manufacturers take to help minimize waste?
- Should companies that manufacture goods also help in the recycling process (or be responsible for recycling their own products when they are no longer working)?
- Which industries have the most dramatic effect on the environment
How do celebrities affect public awareness of environmental issues? Some celebrities appear in PSAs and TV programming (like Kelsey Grammar hosting WWF's Wildlife in Crisis) while others start their own foundations (like the Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation). How do we perceive this celebrity involvement? Is it different than people who are elevated to celebrity (like David Suzuki) because they are experts in this field? Are people more likely to pay attention or get involved if celebrities represent interest groups?
Most of our knowledge of the natural world today comes to us through media. What is the difference between watching nature on televised programs and experiencing nature firsthand? How is our perspective of nature changed by the images we see on television?

Activities:

Create a "Healthy Earth" Radio Campaign. As a group, have students brainstorm tips from which people can create habits to promote a healthy Earth. Using your school's intercom, students will create a radio ad campaign around these tips and broadcast one each day with the morning announcements. Challenge them to be creative in their campaign. They may want to include things like music, sound effects, or even perform mini radio sketches to enhance their messages. A fun alternative or follow-up activity is to use video equipment and create PSAs based on their tips.
Be a Media Detective. Investigate how environmental issues are covered in newspapers and TV news programs. For period of one week have students keep track of any environmental stories that appear in the newspaper or news programs. Ask them to note the type of coverage it receives. If it is in the newspaper, ask them to identify where or how it is presented (length of article, which page it appears on, whether it's accompanied by a picture). If a story appears on a TV news program, have students note when and how it is presented (i.e. length of segment, when it appears, footage or interviews).
At the end of the week have students report their findings. Include answers to the following questions:
- What was the total number of stories you found in each source?
- What was the subject of each one?
- Were any stories covered in both the newspaper and on TV?
- What was the ratio of newspaper stories to TV news stories?
- What was the angle or slant of each story? Where TV and newspapers addressed the same issue, were there noticeable differences?
- Was the story presented to appeal to a specific audience?
- Which environmental issues are most likely to make the news? Which are least likely to be reported?
- Did the story assume increased importance because it was related to other factors such as jobs, public health or funding

Packaging Exposé. Get students to consider how solid waste problems and natural resource consumption are affected by the choices people make in their purchasing habits. Explore this topic by creating a class exposé that breaks down the resources used and waste created by packaging of a specific group of products such as CDs, microwave dinners, or beverages. Introduce the subject to the class by presenting examples of a how a particular product, like cookies, can be packaged in a variety of ways (individual, bulk, plastic wrap, with cups, dividers, and so on). Once they have completed their investigation, discuss the following:

o What is the purpose of packaging? Why do you think the manufacturers choose to package the product in this way?

o What types of resources are used in the packaging?

o Which type of packaging do you think will create the least amount of waste? Which will create the most waste? Does any of the packaging seem environment friendly? Does any of the packaging seem extremely wasteful or unnecessary? How does packaging affect the cost of the product?

o Which types of packaging can be recycled? How do we know which items can be recycled? (Ask students to identify examples of reduced, reused or recycled products.)

o What types of resources are used to make packaging? (I.e. where does plastic come from?)

o Identify some of the ways packaging can impact natural resources (i.e. resources used in production, energy used in manufacturing) and waste problems (landfill space, pollution etc.).

o Calculate what packaging best serves the environment. Create a product chart from those products investigated by students, referencing types of packaging, resources used, whether or not it's recyclable and other pertinent information. Identify which products score an "A" in respecting the environment and those that fail to make the grade.