Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk

Through eight hands-on activities, students analyze, explore, discover, and learn about risk assessment, risk communication, risk perception, and risk management. In addition, there are three special topics that encourage students to apply the knowledge they develop from the activities to actual risk issues. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making are stressed throughout the activities.

Here's what's inside:

• Introduction

• Background Information

• Student Activities:
  
  1. What Is Risk?
  2. Things Aren't Always What They Seem
  3. Chances Are�Understanding Probability and Risk
  4. Risk Assessment: Tools of the Trade
  5. Communicating Risk
  6. Weighing the Options: A Look at Tradeoffs
  7. Decision Making: Ecological Risk, Wildfires, and Natural Disasters
  8. Taking Action: Reducing Risk in Your School or Community

• Special Topics
  
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Chlorine: Looking at Tradeoffs
  • Plastics, Risk/Benefit Analysis, and Environmental Legislation

• Appendices:
  1. References Cited
  2. Additional Resources
  3. Glossary
  4. Suggestions for Using the Internet as a Resource
  5. Suggestions for Conducting a Debate
  6. Biographies of Risk Professionals
  7. Supplemental Readings
  8. The Monte Carlo Method
  9. Metric Conversion Chart
  10. Subject Matrix
  11. Activity Links
  12. PLT Conceptual Framework

• Current news

• Place for students to post their risk reduction plan (activity 8)

• Place for students to post their results from prioritizing risks (activity 2)

• Find a Risk workshop near you.