A Civil Action and Global Warming; Are They Related? An Example for Developing Integrative Studies Curriculum

This Otterbein College Integrative Studies class helps students understand complex environmental problems of the past (Superfund) and relate them to global warming issues. The resource entitled Science in the Courtroom: The Woburn Toxic Trial http://serc.carleton.edu/woburn/index.html, documents the "behind the scenes" activities of the movie A Civil Action, and contains educational resources to help understand the social, scientific and civic aspects of the hazardous waste legacy associated with Woburn Massachusetts. Additional materials for this class trace the industrial revolution into the modern technological era, looking at hazardous waste generation and fossil fuel utilization as unintended consequences of modern technology. Students research the link between the explosion of manufacturing of synthetic chemicals in the early 1900s and fossil fuel use, and then relate current hazardous waste regulations to potential models to mitigate global warming.

First, students view A Civil Action so they relate human issues (childhood leukemia) to the effects of hazardous waste. We refer to this theme for the remainder of the quarter. The Woburn website provides resources which help students explore, understand and assess the multiple aspects of the Woburn situation. The web resource information facilitates student understanding of the impacts of the hazardous wastes from perspective of the leukemia victim's families, Woburn's city government and the defendant corporations. The subsequent module explores the creation and enactment of hazardous waste, or Superfund regulations. Students are provided with readings that discuss the successes and failures of the Superfund program from which they develop position papers regarding the effectiveness of Superfund to identify and remediate hazardous waste sites. The last module explores the scientific and social issues related to global warming. Using Woburn and Superfund as their model, students form committees to develop strategies and policies focused on mitigating sources and effects of global warming.