Resource Library

The 2011 Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for ESD, sponsored by Fulbright Japan, will provide up to 48 U.S. teachers and administrators with the opportunity to travel to a three-day conference in the U.S. and to Japan for two weeks to learn about ESD efforts and strengthen ESD curricula in both countries.  The program is fully-funded with the exception of some meals.  ESD is “a vision of education that seeks to balance human and economic well-being with cultural traditions and respect for the earth’s natural resources,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Congress answered this question in the preamble to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, recognizing that endangered and threatened species of wildlife and plants "are of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people."

Coastal resources are under constant threat from natural processes and human activities. News media regularly feature stories of damage to coral reefs, estuaries, fisheries and other resources caused by storms, ship groundings, oil spills, chemical releases, and many other events. Modern coastal resource management includes using science and technology to protect and restore coastal resources affected by such events. These efforts can include removing pollutants and invasive species, repairing damaged habitats, restoring natural ecosystem processes such as water flow, and re-introducing native organisms.

National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) has compiled their own set of Oil Spill resources. They include everything from websites and articles to visuals and lesson plans. Content spans grades K-12, so make sure to check for your appropriate grade level.

Discuss the oil spill with your students using this fact sheet. The Subsea Oil Recovery System is a large structure that can be placed over the largest leak source in the Transocean Deepwater Horizon Rig. The system is designed to collect hydrocarbons from the well and pump them to a tanker at the surface, where they will be stored and safely shipped ashore.

The TeachEngineering digital library provides teacher-tested, standards-based engineering content for K-12 teachers to use in science and math classrooms. Their library is organized by subject areas, curricular units, lessons and activities.

Resources pertaining to environmental education:

-Energy-Efficient Housing

-Test and Treat Before You Drink

-How Far Does a Lava Flow Go?

Explore More is a multimedia project of Iowa Public Television designed to engage students in real-world problems. The project features engaging topics, an issue-driven approach and a variety of technology resources. Topics include Water Quality, The Future of Energy and Working Landscapes.

Students use a digital camera to document local landscapes, identify the various ways in which land is used in their local community/environment and identify and discuss the environmental and social impacts of the different land uses.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) published an atlas outlining population-environment linkages. The atlas contains maps and graphics that quantify and illustrate many of the issues and text that lay out the broader links between population dynamics and the environment, placing them within historical perspective.