Big Idea

Any change made to the environment for the betterment of society can have unintended consequences. While the addition of various aviation and defense businesses brought a boom to the economy of Tucson after WWII, the unrestrained growth led to an environmental disaster warranting Superfund cleanup status that only came into being after the community affected by the TCE contamination banded together to hold those responsible for the cause.

Essential Question

* What is an environmental disaster?
* Why was TCE even used if it was dangerous?
* How did the community respond to the issue?
* What lessons can we learn from the community’s experiment with the TCE problem and how can we apply it to other situations?

Environmental Disasters on the Macro Level
description
The focus of this lesson is to have students look at the effects of environmental disasters around the world to different species and to generate questions about this issue. This lesson closely examines the Three Gorges Dam Project
objectives
* Describe the effects of certain environmental disasters on humans, flora and fauna
* Create 5 questions related to the topic

Explore

From Poultry Farm to Toxic Dump
description
The focus of this lesson is to have students understand what the district was like and why no one thought much of building the airport and Hughes missile system.
objectives
Analyze article and photos pertaining to the Sunnyside Unified School District to gain an understanding of what the area looked like eighty years ago.

Explain

Life Before TCE/Life After TCE
description
The focus of these lessons is to help students understand how people became aware of the problem, and how the community responded to their problems.
objectives
* Read newspaper accounts and other first-hand accounts surrounding the TCE issue at SUSD.
* Identify how the community learned about TCE and how the larger community of Tucson responded to them.

WORD

Apply

TCE Today - But is that All?
description
The focus of this lesson is to have students draw conclusions/lessons learned about this issue and what role they may have in the future if something like this happens again. objectives
* Draw conclusions as to what the lessons are that we can take from the TCE issue and speculate on other issues that may face them locally, nationally and internationally.

WORD