Elusive Ocean Trash - The North Atlantic Garbage Patch A Public Policy Analyst (PPA) Approach to this social problem Mrs. Neesemann AP Environmental Science Bay Ridge Preparatory School Lneesemann@bayridgeprep.org
Trash is a problem! As our population increases, so too does the consumption of materials that must then be disposed of. Often times that disposal leads the trash into our oceans.
Ocean currents The North Atlantic patch is estimated to be hundreds of km across, with a density of over 200,000 pieces of debris per square km. The debris zone shifts by as much as 1,600 km north and south seasonally, and drifts even farther south during El Nino times, according to NOAA.
The PPA – public policy analyst 6 Steps: you will use these steps to come up with policy options that might be implemented Define the problem Gather the Evidence Identify the Causes Evaluate an Existing Policy Develop Solutions Select the Best Solution
The PPA Define the problem Gather the Evidence Identify the Causes Evaluate an Existing Policy Develop Solutions Select the Best Solution
Define the Problem Start by stating the problem What is it? Where does it occur? What are undesirable consequences of this problem? Define the Problem Worksheet
The PPA Define the problem Gather the Evidence Identify the Causes Evaluate an Existing Policy Develop Solutions Select the Best Solution
Gather Evidence Do some research! Remember to cite your sources! Google is a good place to start…but… Statistics are better! Surveys Case Studies Scholarly articles Remember to cite your sources! Gather Evidence Worksheet
The PPA Define the problem Gather the Evidence Identify the Causes Evaluate an Existing Policy Develop Solutions Select the Best Solution
Identify the Causes What are the underlying factors? Can you support those with evidence? Identify the Cause Worksheet
The PPA Define the problem Gather the Evidence Identify the Causes Evaluate an Existing Policy Develop Solutions Select the Best Solution
Evaluate Exisiting Policies What is one current policy to deal with trash in our oceans? Advantages/Disadvantages to this policy? Should this policy be replaced? Strengthened? Improved? Evaluating Worksheet
The PPA Define the problem Gather the Evidence Identify the Causes Evaluate an Existing Policy Develop Solutions Select the Best Solution
Develop Solutions What are 3 new policies that could be implemented? Who will be responsible for implementing this? Which of your 3 policies do you think is the most promising? Develop Solutions Worksheet
The PPA Define the problem Gather the Evidence Identify the Causes Evaluate an Existing Policy Develop Solutions Select the Best Solution
Select the Best Solution Feasibility – how realistic is this idea? Effectiveness – how well will it work? Where does your policy fall into the matrix of these two parameters? Select the Best Solution Worksheet
Share! Since we’ve all been working with the same problem, lets share each group’s best solution. What did you come up with??
Citations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_garbage_patch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Gyre http://5gyres.org/ http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/trashislands.htm http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/massive-garbage-patch-discovered-in-atlantic-ocean-1000-miles-long/4804 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100302-new-ocean-trash-garbage-patch/ http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ltgwestinghouse2/ltg.html