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  • Civic Education for Sustainability


  • UNIT 2: POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION -- Topic 2: Water pollution

    RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES:


    About three quarters of the earth's surface is covered with water. Most of the water (97.5%) is ocean, another 2% is locked in glacial ice and the remaining 0.5% is fresh water found in rivers, streams, lakes and the groundwater system.

    Although water resources have always been thought as being renewable, since the advent of the industrial revolution and especially during the last couple of decades, the earths water supply is going through a process of degradation. 

    In order to develop students' civic responsibility towards the deteriorating situation of our water supplies, they should be able to understand the causes and effects of water pollution.


    LEARNING OUTCOMES:


    Students will have a better understanding about the sources of water pollution and the degradation of water quality. They will learn about the various water pollutants and their consequences. They will be able to understand the relationships between local and global water pollution, and the effects of global warming on water resources.  They will know how they can reduce their impact on water pollution in their daily life and how they can influence others in shaping a more sustainable attitude towards water use.


    • Water quality
    • Principal forms of water pollution
    • Pollution of streams and lakes
    • Ocean Pollution
    • Oil spills and their environmental effects
    • Effects of water pollution on health
    • Water pollution monitoring
    • Water resource management


    ACTIVITIES:

    Activity 1:Dividing students into groups. Each group will be responsible to analyze a case study in water pollution and present it to the class.

    Activity 2: Each student will describe what pollutants are created by the use of various appliances in the household (washing machines, showers, toilets, sinks, faucets). They will classify the pollutants according to biodegradable and non biodegradable pollutants. They will then suggest solutions towards reducing the pollution produced at the home. 

    Activity 3: Each student will monitor the amount of water they use in one day (showering, toilet, drinking, using household appliances, gardening,etc.) The students will present their findings in table or graph form and will compare their results in the class. They will then suggest methods of reducing water use on a daily basis

    Activity 4: The students will conduct a field trip to a source of water and they will sample the water quality: ph,oxygen levels, turbidity, temperature,salinity,etc. microorganisms, protozoa) . They will measure these parameters in the field and the results will be compared in the classroom. The students will discuss the environmental implications of their findings. 



    BIBLIOGRAPHY:



    Alley,W.M., and Alley,R.(2017). High and Dry: Meeting the Challenges of the World's Growing Dependence on Groundwater. Yale University Press.

    Bernal, P.J. (2011). Water and Life in the International Year of Chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 88(5), 526 -531.

    Colten,C.E. (2013). Cities and Water Pollution: An Historical and Geographical Perspective, Urban Geography, 16 May 2013

    Nayor,V. (2013). The Water Crisis- Rethinking Water Governance, Journal of Land and Rural Science, 1(1): 75-94


    Van Vang L., Dao Nam C., and Xuan Phoung N. (2017). The Overview of Water Pollution in the World, International Journal of Scientific and Technological Research, 6 (8): 221-224. 


    פרת,א. (2004). אדם וסביבה בישראל. הוצאת רמות אוניברסיטת תל אביב, עמי 9 -33, 222 -235.

    גבירצמן,ח. (תשס"ג). משאבי המים בישראל: פרקים בהידרולוגיה ומדעי הסביבה. יד יצחק בין צבי: ירושלים

    סופר,א.(2006). המאבק על המים במזרח התיכון. עם עובד קתדרת חייקין לגיאוסטרטגיה  אוניברסיטת חיפה

     שטסל,ל., זריחן, ל., ןןיצמן ,א. (2004). משאבים וסביבה . המרכז להוראת המדעים: ירושלים, עמי  9 -122.

     

     



    UNIT 2: POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION-- Topic 1: Air Pollution UNIT 2: POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION-- Topic 3: Soil Pollution and Degradation