A local middle school science teacher is teaching students how information collected about the health of the environment
nt can
be used to positively change human behavior. The class wants to learn about a local environmental challenge and if there are
any related local regulations or policies. They also want to know how they, individually, can make a difference. As a member of
the community and a person interested in environmental science, you have volunteered to create a video presentation to share
with the middle school science students to help. Keep in mind that middle school students are typically in grades 6–8 and are
11–14 years old. Your presentation must be comprehensive and at the appropriate level for your audience to understand.
Consult the following resources to create a video:
• "How to Make a Presentation"
• "How to Film a Video of Yourself"
• “Using Microsoft Stream: Recording a Screen or Video”
• “How to Upload a Video from Your Mobile Device”
Note: A transcript for each video is available.
Create a 3- to 4-minute video, with the transcript and References in a document file, about how the students can influence
positive change on a local environmental challenge. Review the Influencing Environmental Change Transcript Example as you
prepare to record your video content and for some ideas for how to talk about these sorts of ideas to a middle school audience.
Poor Waste Management Challenge.
Poor waste management is the identified local environmental
challenge. Poor waste management starts from non-existing waste
collection to ineffective waste disposal.
Poor waste management is an environmental challenge since it leads
to air pollution, climate change and affects the living organisms that
exist and interact with each other in a certain environment.
Effects of contaminated water due to
poor waste disposal.
• When soil, air and water is contaminated with hazardous substances
from the improperly disposed waste, there is a significance harm to
wildlife and marine life.
• When water is contaminated with harmful substances like pathogens,
which are disease-causing organisms, harmful chemicals or medical
waste, its chemical composition changes making it unfit and
dangerous for human consumption.
• Contaminated water is known in spreading of diseases such as
Dysentery and Cholera which causes serious health issues to human.
Effects of polluted soil.
• When harmful chemicals from improper waste disposal
come into contact with the soil, the result is soil
pollution.
• The harmful chemicals become absorbed by plants as
they grow.
• These plants are later on consumed by humans and
other organisms, resulting to diseases and even death.
• Polluted soil affects the supply of food, by reducing the
amount of food produced as it impairs the growth of
plants.
Urbanization and Waste Generation.
•The rapid growth of the population, urbanization and economic development increase the
waste generation. It is estimated that waste generation will increase by 70 percent, over the next
30 years (Gammage, 2016).
• The studies conducted recently show that, out of the millions of tonnes of waste generated
throughout the United States yearly, a good percentage is not disposed properly.
•This has been the main causes of pollution and it has become a big concern to both the
environmentalist and the government.
Plastic waste.
•. The disposal of plastic waste is the most complex and difficult one.
•The debris disposal pollutes the ecosystem by releasing harmful substances from
industrial and electronic waste. The large generation of plastic waste, makes it difficult to
process the waste, leading to mismanagement or dumping of it.
• Plastic waste in waterways and rivers is a particularly growing urgent issue. Nearly 90
percent of the oceanic debris is plastic waste (Brinkmann and Garren, 2018).
Curbing Improper Waste Disposal
• The first step in managing waste disposal issue, is the minimization of waste. We can
avoid waste but we can recycle waste into usable products. Recycling results to
substantial saving of resources. Recycling do also create job opportunities.
• We can apply Environmental Technology for proper waste management, through
proper treatment of special wastes such as plastics, agricultural biomass and
electronics.
Citizens role in
waste
management.
It is the sole responsibility of every citizen to carry out eco-friendly and safe
waste disposal practices as well as encouraging the other people around
them to do the same.
We should be careful in exercising and promoting all the necessary measures
and practices that ensure we do the right thing while handling waste.
Children Participation in
Environmental management.
The children should be allowed to participate in the management of the environment,
since the fate of the earth’s environment will be in their hands.
It is very important for them to know how to use the available resources more wisely
and learn how to fight against climate change while they are still young.
As they learn how to take care of their surroundings, the end result will be a more
sustainable, better and inhabitable world for all.
By learning how to manage waste, children will develop a strong environmental
conscious mindset, which will help them approach the issue of poor waste management
challenge with a positive attitude and a strong commitment.
Local Policies in Response to Poor waste
Management Challenge.
The Recycling Program.
Pollution Prevention (P2).
Permits and Registrations.
Solid and Hazardous Waste Inspections and Compliance.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
In responding to poor waste management challenge, the students can
participate in a ‘Green Team Walk’ and visiting gardens and farms
center, since by them spending time with surrounded by animals and
plants, will be a great way to make them feel more connected to
nature and learn to take care and respect it.
Sorting of the garbage, that will help in proper waste disposal this
help clean their neighborhood or street.
Children can spend their time clearing waste from riversides and
woodland and learn how harmful it is for the environment.
The future leaders and the future of
the environment.
Children can participate in debates organized to discuss simple
environmental matters, an interactive method of welcoming them to
think about the causes and come up relevant solutions.
The future of the global environment is in their hands
References.
• Gammage G. (2016). The future of the suburban city :
• lessons from sustaining phoenix. Island Press. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-624-
0The future of the suburban city : lessons from sustaining phoenix. Island Press.
https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-624-0Brinkmann R. & Garren S. J. (2018). The palgrave
handbook of sustainability : case studies and practical solutions. Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved
October 10 2022 from
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=18016
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