Lesson 10, Summer Home
Author(s):
William Miller
Overview of
Lesson
- Courses for Which the Lesson is Intended
- Earth science and chemistry classes.
- Types of Teaching/Learning Activities Employed in this
Lesson
- A thought experiment in which students imagine themselves
facing a practical decision in building a summer home.
Students are instructed to make a decision, articulating the
most important factors leading to that decision.
- Category that Best Describes this Lesson
- Social issues.
- Ethics/Values Issues Raised by this Lesson
- Environmental responsibility; long vs. short term
consequences; ethics and punishment.
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Lesson Plan
Students are asked to find definitions of the following
terms (providing examples for each in order to make definitions
more understandable)
- pollution
- eutrophication
- organicdecomposition
- biodegradable organism
Students are asked to read the following and answer the
accompanying questions. This can be a written assignment, a
class discussion, or both. You are having a small summer house
built on a lake in upstate New York. You have chosen this spot
because of its isolation and the beauty of the lake. The lake
is active with plant and animal life and covers an area of
about 1.5 square miles. On its north side many small streams
enter the lake carrying runoff from the area, while on the
south side many small streams carry away some of the lake's
water. Because of poor drainage in the area, it is necessary to
have a septic tank installed. In order to have the septic tank
do its job for a longer period of time, it is suggested to you,
by the builder, to let all waste water (showers, sinks, garbage
disposal, etc.), with the exception of the toilet empty into
the lake. Since only you and two or three other people will be
using the house and the lake is fairly large, you decide to
give it some thought.
Questions
- Since environmental change is slow and gradual, should
you be concerned with whether you might be contributing to
the pollution of the lake? Why or why not?
- Suppose it is not illegal to follow the builder's advice.
What is your decision?
- Which of the following influenced your decision? (Rate
each of them 1 to 5, with 1 having the most influence and 5
the least.)
- The fact that it is legally permissible
- Environmental concerns
- What is best for you
- Advice of the builder
- Easiest way to solve the problem
- Cost
- Consideration of likely future use of other property
around lake
- Other (be specific).
- Suppose it is illegal to follow the builder's advice, but
because of the location of your house, the chance of getting
caught is minimal. What effect might this have on your
decision (and your ranking of 2.-7. above)?
Discussion
This lesson invites students to apply basic concepts they
have learned in Earth Science ('pollution,' 'eutrophication,'
etc.) to contexts in which individuals make practical
decisions. The questions following the scenario invite students
to reflect on the values underlying the decision they
recommend. Factor 7 (consideration of likely future use of
other property around lake) deserves special attention. The
scenario describes the present situation. However, it is
important to ask whether it can be assumed that things will
remain the same. (After all, how is it that you were able to
acquire the land? Won't others want to do the same?)
Another question to invite students to consider is why they
might consider the environmental effects of allowing their
wastewater running into the lake to be negligible, while
agreeing to install a septic tank for effluent from the toilet.
Further, might there be other ways to' extend the septic tank's
useful period of time? This is a good opportunity to discuss
various alternative ways in which people might more efficiently
take care of their refuse in environmentally friendly ways
(e.g., composting).