One of the goals of the Air Quality Committee's public service effort is to encourage Committee members to foster environmental awareness in their communities. One method for doing so is through teaching. To encourage our members to go into schools this Earth Day and/or Clean Air Month, the Air Quality Committee is providing a lesson plan from US EPA's Project A.I.R.E. website. The lesson plan is designed for junior and senior high school students, and is intended to familiarize them with the process of developing environmental legislation.

In this exercise, students are given specific roles to play in drafting legislation and are encouraged to discuss the issues involved in drafting environmental laws for air pollution. Contact the school or teacher as early as possible to give teachers sufficient time to work the presentation into the lesson plan. While the program can be performed in as little as one hour, we recommend allowing 2-3 hours if possible. Consider contacting schools in disadvantaged communities rather than just the schools in your neighborhood. Invite your colleagues to participate!

Once you've scheduled the presentation, provide the teacher with a copy of the materials and determine how many students will be attending. Approximately one week before the presentation, the teacher should give each of the students a copy of "Writing Environmental Laws" and the "Problem Statement" and have all students research smog prevention and other air pollution issues. As many schools have limited resources, the teacher would probably be very grateful if you could supply her with the necessary copies.

After the hearing, the class will discuss the results and the process involved in making the decision. The Section member acts as a moderator to draw out the various issues involved in the drafting and adoption of the legislation. In closing the exercise, the moderator should present a summary emphasizing how environmental issues typically involve economic, social, political and technological issues. There are no right or wrong answers and the complex nature of these problems has led to frustration and often the inability to solve major environmental problems. The moderator should note the major environmental issues we face in the future, such as global warming, ozone depletion, ozone transport, and acid rain.