Air Quality Community Forum Planning and Homework

This was distributed in class today and roles appointed for each class. There are organizational planning tips and sites/resources for you to begin using but you should also continue to build your website bibliography. Please, be critical when evaluating validity of information and sites. We want to be sure we represent these groups as accurately as possible.

LOCAL AIR QUALITY COMMUNITY FORUM PLANNING

NAME: _________________ ROLE IN FORUM: ________________________

Several people will be assigned to the following roles to research, represent, and present in the forum:

1) City Council: ____________________ Mayor:_______________________

2) Bay Area Air Quality District (BAAQD): ____________ (work with Mayor)

3) PSC - Employee:_________________ Board Member/CEO: _____________

4) Environmental Protection Agency (Fed Gov/EPA): _____________________

_____________________

5) Neighbor/Parent: _________________ (works with Healthy Air Committee)

6) Healthy Air Committee: __________________________

7) Experts/Scientists/Researchers: __________ ____________ ___________

8) Schools - Student:______________ Task Force Parent: ______________

9) Global Community Monitor: _______________ __________________

10) Reporters/Media- Press-Trib, Berkeley Citizen, Chronicle: _______________

USA Today Investigative Journalist: ______________________

Sites and sources to help you get started:
Team 1: Council woman Linda Miao said she’ll come to talk with us soon, she represents the district in which PSC operates. Look into demographics (groups of folks living in the area, socio economic issues, political issues, jobs in area, how would you balance all this? Do about it? Also you might get a response from her assistant, Nicole at:
LMaio@ci.berkeley.ca.us

The mayor, Tom Bates, is also going to be head of BAAQD (below). For his role, you will need to both represent Berkeley as mayor and being head of BAAQD so you’ll need to work back and forth with this team and team 2. First, locate his email or contact www.ci.berkley.ca.us (if it isn’t TBates@ci.berkeley.ca.us like Linda’s above)

Team 2: www.baaqmd.gov/ explore and become familiar with this site and work with Mayor Bates (see above) because soon you’ll be the head of this agency and you’ve been on it several years so try to locate any info on his input to this group.

Team 3: http://www.pacificsteel.com / inquiries@pacificsteel.com - try to arrange a speaker/rep from their company to come present to us and answer questions. You should also try to research online and if at all possible talk with their PR person there to share the history of PSC at the Forum.

Team 4: http://www.epa.gov/sw-846/pdfs/6020.pdf or just www.epa.gov and search PSC.

Team 5: find peeps who live in area to email/interview, project how you’d feel living here. Also check w/Kaya and her mom Erika.

Team 6: pearmichaels@gmail.com (Pear is head of this neighbor/parent committee and has sent me many emails of the group’s work that I can forward to you.
http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/lcra.html (community rights - healthy environment)

Team 7: http://www.mindfully.org/Air/2007/PSC-Community-Samples31jul07.htm , http://www.berkeleycitizen.org/monitoring/monitor24.html ,

Team 8: Represent your own perspective, survey other students (create one) and email Laura (lgorjance@bmsonline.org) to find out which parents besides Dan Jackson are on the task force for our school.

Team 9: www.gcmonitor.org

Team 10: www.berkeleycitizen.org , http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle , http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune ,
http://content.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/smokestack/search/CA/~/~/Berkeley+Montessori+School/name/~/1/
(and/or go to usatoday.com and search Pacific Steel and Berkeley Montessori) Also, locate chief editor of article and investigators of this case on a site search on USA Today.

You will list your questions, notes and research, plus how it affects your point of view in terms of your PURPOSE and Sphere of Obligation around this PSC Healthy Air Issue. You should take notes in class whenever time is provided, during guest presenters, and an hour of independent research and notes as homework for Mon - Thu (due Fri 1/30). You may choose to divide the time over the four days or complete it all at once. Just DO IT, please! Our community forum is depending on you to do your part! You should also be as informed about your role as possible for Dan Jackson’s visit Friday to share the science about the situation.

3 Writing Topic Choices

Please, select one of the following topics to write about for 45 minutes minimum in the next three days. This should be exemplary of your best paragraph structure because your thoughts, opinions, feelings, and hopes deserve it! Use topic sentences, minimum 3 body sentences that begin with linker/transitions, and conclusion sentences for each paragraph.

1) Write this in the first person about your own vision for your future, our country's future, our world's future. "I have a dream that one day..."

2) Write a response or letter of response to Obama about this morning's Inaugural speech.

3) Write about the "road ahead" that we begin today towards the hard work we have ahead to support and help create the kind of communities and country for which we hope.

You should spend approximately 45 minutes, that's 15 minutes per evening average; this means some folks will write a paragraph and some should write 3 at the self-challenge level.

Independent Research on PSC Air Quality

Spend at least half an hour researching one or two of the questions you formulated about the local air quality/PSC investigation by USA Today. Please, write down the websites you used to find more information and briefly but completely what you found out or wanted to learn and couldn't locate.

Be ready to share in class Friday.

Brainstorm PSC Questions

Spend at least 20 minutes brainstorming and listing as many questions as you can think of about our beginning research into air pollution locally. You are NOT expected to try to start answering these questions, just thinking of them and listing to bring in to class tomorrow.


For example, you might list, "Who can we interview about this?" but you don't need to start writing ideas for whom to ask yet. We will begin working on that later this week.

Please, remember your Bill of Rights essay should be finished now.

ESSAY on BILL OF RIGHTS

You just heard on the news that the Federal Government is considering abolishing the original Bill of Rights, Amendments 1 - 10. Explain WHY you think this is a good/bad idea. You are encouraged to cite reasons both pro and con on this issue, not make an absolute choice on way or the other.


You may also CHOOSE to make other suggestions to revise the Bill of Rights instead of just tossing it out and starting over.

Continue to review and study the first ten amendments, and how they are organized into four sections (see today's notes).

7th grade needs to bring in the rough draft to Thursday's study skills class to check for excellent paragraph structure. 8th graders, please, use your best paragraph structure (as always).

HAPPY 2009!