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Environmental
Rights and Responsibilities
Subject
Area
This activity has been designed to fit into Unit II, Societal Impact
of the Law, or into the Optional Unit on Consumer Law of the BLW
4A curriculum.
Learning Outcomes
Teaching, learning and evaluation will focus on the students
ability to:
- Identify
and describe issues related to the use of pollution-producing
products;
- Identify
and describe issues related to the disposal of pollutants;
- Identify
responsibilities of individuals, business and government in
maintaining a healthy environment;
- Compile
a list of environmental test cases and analyze the judicial
decisions;
- Develop
strategies for positive action.
Classroom Development
The following steps and lines of inquiry range from the simplest
to the most complex, and are included here to help you develop
this topic in the classroom.
- Compile
a list of pollutants or industrial events that affect the public
and have resulted in notable legal decisions. This list includes:
lead, DDT, PCBs, mercury, strontium, phosphate, asbestos, formaldehyde,
oil spills, logging, CFCs, landfills, defoliants.
- Examine
statistics citing improvement in pollution levels after decisions,
and determine reasons for these changes.
- Determine
the advantages and disadvantages for business, government and/or
consumers in the use and abuse of these materials.
- Research
legal precedents for background information on test cases involving
these pollutants.
- Work
in small groups to do the following:
Examine selected cases of contamination that affect or have
affected the general Canadian public;
Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the case for any
or all of the three groups mentioned in step three;
Develop a hypothesis on the future use of contaminants;
Suggest a strategy for positive action to prevent, limit, stop
or reduce the pollutant.
- Critique
the Environmental Bill of Rights.
- Critique
sections of the Environmental Protection Act.
- Present
revisions of this legislation to the class for discussion.
Background Information
This topic is covered well in the video, The Pleasure Planet,
and in the article, The Failure of the Environmental Effort.
Most test cases involving chemical substances have been resolved
by banning the pollutant. Cases where the environment has been
exploited, such as resulting from a major oil spill, have had
less decisive results.
Timing
This information is based on 75 minute lessons.
Day 1
Introduce the topic; identify the issues.
Day 2 Identify the use/abuse and disposal of products. Review
statistics on improvement in pollution levels.
Day 3 Research precedents. Chart findings or prepare data base.
Day 4-6 Group work on selected cases.
Day 7-8 Review the Environmental Protection Act.
Day 9-10 Review the Environmental Bill of Rights.
Day 11 Presentations to the Class.
Resources
Commoner,
Barry. The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology.
New York: Bantam Books, 1972.
Commoner, Barry. The Failure of the Environmental Effort,
Current History. April 1992, pp. 176-181.
Globe and Mail. Environment Bill Gets Mixed Review.
July 9, 1992.
Globe and Mail. Politicians Power Electric Cars Into Reality.
July 9, 1992.
Government of Ontario. Environmental Protection Act. Revised
Statutes of Ontario, 1980. Chapter 141 as amended by 1981, Ch.
49, May 1983.
Gray, M. Nuclear Time Bombs: Six Years after Chernobyl,
Europe still Lives in Fear of Unsafe Soviet Reactors. MacLeans.
June 8, 1992, pp. 30-32.
Nicholls, M. Progress in Rio. The Earth Summit Sets a Cleanup
Agenda. MacLeans. June 22, 1992, pp. 51-52.
Rooney, C. WasteNot Just An Environmental Issue.
Business Quarterly. Spring 1992. pp. 49-54.
Toronto Star. GM Links with Enviro-Group to Fight Smog.
July 9, 1992.
Toronto Star. NDP to Enlist All as Pollution Spies.
July 9, 1992.
TVOntario. Acid Assault, Planet Under Pressure.
BPN 298407.
TVOntario. The Pleasure Planet, Planet Under Pressure.
BPN 298410.
Evaluation
Items
A sample
evaluation (included) is based on the article Environment
Bill Gets Mixed Review.
Evaluation
of short essays which develop library research skills and summarize
precedents set in cases involving environmental pollution.
Peer
evaluation of classroom presentations on the proposed Bill of
Rights or the Environmental Protection Act (Evaluation form
attached).
Cross-disciplinary
Links
HistoryStudents may use this material to complement discussions
held in Grade 11 History where the curriculum module develops
an Environmental Charter of Rights.
The following
steps and lines of inquiry range from the simplest to the most
complex, and are included here to help you develop this topic
in the classroom. You will be responsible for the completion of
some or all of these steps.
- Compile
a list of pollutants or industrial events that affect the public
and have resulted in notable legal decisions. This list includes:
lead, DDT, PCBs, mercury, strontium, phosphate, asbestos, formaldehyde,
oil spills, logging, CFCs, landfills, defoliants.
- Examine
statistics citing improvement in pollution levels after decisions,
and determine reasons for the changes.
- Determine
the advantages and disadvantages for business, government and/or
consumers in the use and abuse of these materials.
- Research
legal precedents for background information on test cases involving
these pollutants.
- Work
in small groups to do the following:
a) examine selected cases of contamination that affect the general
Canadian public;
b) analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the product for
any or all of the three groups mentioned in step three;
c) develop a hypothesis on the future use of contaminants;
d) suggest a strategy for positive action to prevent, limit,
stop or reduce the pollutant.
- Critique
the Environmental Bill of Rights.
- Critique
sections of the Environmental Protection Act.
- Present
revisions of this legislation to the class for discussion.
Evaluation
#1
Name:
Mark: 10
Legal Terms
Read the article, Environment Bill Gets Mixed Review,
then answer the following questions.
- Define
the expression, blow the whistle on polluting employers.
- Define
the following terms as they relate to the legislation:
a) The right to sue
b) Worker protection
c) Public scrutiny Investigations.
- State
two criticisms of the law.
- Write
a synonym for each of the following words and phrases:
a) Ombudsperson;
b) Alleged;
c) Class-action suit;
d) Contravention.
Evaluation
#2
Classroom Presentations
Name:
Mark: 12
Evaluate each speaker according to the criteria provided.
3 marks
Exceptional
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2 marks
Adequate
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1 mark
Needs Improvement
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Student:
Issue:
Organization Comments: 3 2 1
- Presentation
is well organized.
- Hypothesis
is logically presented.
Content: 3 2 1
- Material
is accurate.
- Facts
and issues are supported by research.
Written Work: 3 2 1
- Overheads
and handouts are clear and concise.
Oral Presentation: 3 2 1
- Presentation
is persuasive and reveals a good command of the subject
- Relevant
terminology.
Summary Comments
Describe how the presentation has affected your point of view
on this issue.
Evaluated
by:
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