EXPLORING SCIENCE/PUBLIC POLICY INTERSECTIONS IN A COURSE ON GEOLOGY AND HUMAN HEALTH

An introductory, first-year seminar on Geology and Human Health proved to be an excellent venue for exploring a variety of topics with public policy implications. For instance, in the section of the course devoted to understanding asbestos hazards, students took the two-hour asbestos awareness training mandated for Carleton employees, critically reviewed a documentary about asbestos exposure in Libby Montana (using a framework for analyzing claimsmaking and rhetorical styles developed in McMullan and Eyles, 1999), wrote an extensive paper around one of 16 questions related to asbestos and ethics, and participated in a discussion with a lawyer who represents small businesses in asbestos litigation. In fall 2005, asbestos liability legislation was being debated in Congress, concerns about asbestos and taconite mining were newly raised in Minnesota, and Judge Janis Jack had recently issued her decision in Texas on “Silica Products Liability Legislation.” Similarly, sections of the course related to radon, seismic hazards, and climate change engaged students in current public policy debates related to these issues. Students also completed independent projects measuring soil lead contents near a campus house, radon in campus buildings, and radiation in the geology department's collections and collecting oral histories about chemistry lab teaching practices from the 1950s to the 1970s and 1990s.