Environmental Justice – For Whom, How and Why?

Positives

• The lesson plan includes discussion questions for several academic subjects.
• Students will see how three filmmakers chose to focus on different aspects of environmental injustice.

Additional Prerequisites

• Teachers must create a free account to access the materials.

Differentiation

• Students could respond to questions individually or in small groups before discussing their answers as a class.
• Students could discuss how the solutions presented in the three videos could be combined into a policy or plan. As they discuss their answers students could consider the following questions:
  • Is there a way to create a plan that could garner bipartisan approval?
  • Who should be involved in creating the plan?
  • What are the primary obstacles to achieving environmental justice?
• Civics or social studies classes could discuss environmental policy shifts that have occurred during Biden's term in office.
• Other resources on this topic include this EPA interactive map that acts as an environmental justice screening tool and this lesson and activity on building an equitable city.