Pam Scott
IS 52
650 Academy Street
New York, NY
Litter and Marine Debris in NYC
Follow the PPA Steps to Help Solve a Local Issue
1. Define the Problem
2. Gather the Evidence
3. Identify the Causes
4. Evaluate an Existing Policy
5. Develop Solutions
6. Select the Best Solution (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)
Introduction:
New York City spends millions of dollars annually on cleaning up street litter and trash filled waterways. This WebQuest is designed for you and your group to explore one source of street litter and one possible solution.
The Task:
You are Members of the New York City Council. Your task is to convince citizens and voters of New York City that your solution to this problem is the best use of the budgeted money.
You must create a poster and a PSA (Public Service Announcement) that educates the public about the problem and persuades them to vote for your solution.
The Process:
You will be placed in groups of four. Each group member will be responsible for one aspect of your presentation:
1. Researcher
2. Writer
3. Reporter
4. Artist
The PPA Process:
Once group members have been assigned a role, each member must follow the steps to the PPA. As a group, read the evidence provided. Select one possible cause/source of pollution. Use the hyperlinks provided to evaluate the solutions and present the best possible one in your PPA and Poster.
STEPS of the PPA:
Define the problem
Gather Evidence
Identify a Cause (Source)
Evaluate the Existing Policy
Develop new Solutions
Present the best Solution
STEP #1 – DEFINE THE PROBLEM
Define the Problem –
What is street litter?
Where does street litter end up?
What is marine debris? Where does marine debris come from?
What are the specific causes connected to New York City?
Define the Problem
What is Marine Debris?
Marine debris is trash that gets into the marine environment as a result of careless handling or disposal. Two characteristics of trash, its buoyancy and ability to be blown around, affect how easily trash becomes marine debris, while the ease with which trash degrades (decomposes) dictates how long it remains in the marine environment.
Marine debris includes all the objects found in the marine environment that do not naturally occur there. Although items such as tree branches and the bones of land animals can be considered marine debris, the term generally is reserved for trash. The most common categories of marine debris are plastic, glass, rubber, metal, paper, wood, and cloth.
Boats are also sources of marine debris. Sometimes, trash is purposefully thrown overboard. One major reason for the overboard disposal of trash is that there is limited storage space aboard these vessels. Most of the time, however, trash is disposed of in the ocean by people who are unaware of the problems we can cause. Trash can also accidentally fall, blow, or wash off vessels into the water. In addition, fishing nets and lines, and other types of equipment, can be lost at sea and become marine debris.
Industrial facilities contribute to the marine debris problems when waste items generated by industrial processes are improperly disposed of on land. Finished products also can become marine debris if they are lost during loading and unloading at port facilities, or they are lost when they are transported through waterways or over land.
Waste disposal activities can cause a problem when trash is lost during collection or transportation, or when trash blows or is washed away from disposal facilities.
Once debris has found its way into the ocean, it is very difficult to trace the source of the debris. A plastic cup, for instance, could have been left by a beach-goer, littered in a city street and washed into a storm sewer and out to sea, blown off of a recreational boat, used on a shipping vessel and disposed of overboard, and so on. Clearly, marine debris is a complex problem whose answer will require that many sources of marine debris be controlled.
Introduction to Marine Debris
“The Great Garbage Patch”
- http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html
- http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1
- http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-news/ocean-trash-plaguing-our-sea
STEP #2 – GATHER THE EVIDENCE
1. Read the summary of evidence for marine debris.
2. Then, select one cause of street litter/marine debris.
3. Click on the hyperlinks to read articles connected to that one particular source of pollution with one possible solution.
CAUSE #1
Overflowing trash bins on street corners.
Solution - (Solar powered trash compacting can).
Clean Beaches NYC – EPA Blog post
- http://blog.epa.gov/greeningtheapple/2012/08/we-care-about-nyc%E2%80%99s-clean-beaches/
EPA Blog post
Trash Free Oceans
Ocean Conservancy
CAUSE #2
More Recycling: Lack of enforcement of NYC waste disposal/ recycling laws –
Solution: More ticketing, more fines
- http://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/livewire/politics_society/post_36/
- http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/recycling/businesses_enforcement.shtml
Recycling Laws
- http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/294.html
- http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/laws/local_recycling.shtml
Household trash in street garbage cans:
CAUSE #3
Increased Consumption/Packaging - Increased usage in single use items like plastic bags.
Solution: Single use items should be reduced or eliminated …
One example: Imposing a fee/ banning the plastic bag in NYC.
NYC Council Petition
Plastic May Not Be in NYC’s Future
New York Times Archive
Charging for Disposable Plastic Bags
New York City Disposable Bag Fee, Plastic and Paper
Posted on 2013/08/21 by Ted Duboise
GRADING/ EVALUATION
Each group’s work will be evaluated using the rubrics attached.
Public Service Announcement Rubric:
http://www.teacherweb.com/ne/schuylergradeww/.../PSARubric.pdf _
Poster Rubric
http://teacherweb.com/me/jaleonardmiddleschoololdtown/ecologywebquest/page3.htm
Group Work Rubric
teacherweb.com/FL/.../Cabeza/Group-Work-Rubric.pdf
Extension Exercise - Food for Thought - Chewing Gum Litter
Here is another source of street litter. Do you think this would this end up as pollution? Why or why not? What are some damaging effects from this type of pollution?
Thanks for participating!
http://www.ediblegeography.com/some-approaches-to-the-question-of-chewing-gum-litter/
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Science STANDARD 1—Analysis, Inquiry, and Design Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
NYS Science Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
Key Idea 2: Solving interdisciplinary problems involves a variety of skills and strategies, including effective work habits; gathering and processing information; generating and analyzing ideas; realizing ideas; making connections among the common themes of mathematics, science, and technology; and presenting results.
2.1 Students participate in an extended, culminating mathematics, science, and technology project. The project would require students to: