Activity
Lesson 1:
Introduce the lesson by asking students:
- What
does the term environmental law mean to you?
- Why
do we need environmental laws?
- How
would our lives be different without them?
After
the class has discussed these questions inform them
that (as the previous lesson described), at times
citizens must bring actions to court to enforce environmental
laws when a government agency fails to do so.
Introduce
the following legal terms from the Duhaime Legal Dictionary
http://www.duhaime.org either through
lecture/discussion or handout.
Negligence
Not only are we responsible for the intentional
harm we cause, but failure to act reasonably
filters down to similar circumstances (i.e. "negligence")
also giving rise to compensation. Negligence,
if it causes injury to another, may cause
a liability suit under tort (see definition
below). Negligence is always assessed having
regards to the circumstances and to the standard
of care that would reasonably be expected
of a person in similar circumstances. Everybody
has a duty to ensure their actions do not
cause harm to others.
Nuisance
Excessive or unlawful use of one's property to
the extent of unreasonable annoyance or inconvenience
to a neighbor or to the public. Nuisance is a
tort.
Tort
Tort refers to that body of the law which will
allow an injured person to obtain compensation
from the person who caused the injury. Every
person is expected to conduct themselves without
injuring
others. When they do so, either intentionally
or by negligence they can be required by a
court to
pay money to the injured party ("damages")
so that, ultimately, they will suffer the pain
caused by their action. Tort also serves as
a deterrent by sending a message to the community
as to what
is unacceptable conduct.
Toxic
Tort
A case involving use of toxic chemicals and
hazardous waste that may cause health problems
for an individual
or a group of people.
After
discussing the terms show one or more of the pictures
from:
http://environment.about.com/library/images/blpollutionindex.htm
An excellent example would be the picture
of “Pollution
from the Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp.” http://environment.about.com/library/images/blairpollutionf.htm
Use the photo to apply the legal terms
to a real situation. Ask the students:
- What
is the “nuisance” illustrated
in this picture?
- Who
would be “negligent” in
this case?
- Could
this case result in a tort case? For example, is there
a possibility
a person(s)
could suffer damages from what you see taking place in the picture?
Explain.
(You may want to show several
different images if possible
to promote a
larger discussion.)
Lesson
2:
1. Divide the class into groups of 4
or 5 and give each group one of the
following articles
to read:
(some of the articles are longer than
others,
a jigsaw method might work well to
help them
get
through the article)
2.
As they read they should answer the following
questions:
- What
was the title of the article you read?
- Identify
the plaintiff and defendant in the case.
- What
was the nuisance or what were the damages in the case?
- Was
this case an example of a toxic tort case or not?
Explain.
- Was
there a settlement? Explain.
3.
Allow students 15 minutes to discuss their answers.
4.
Have students number off in each group 1-4 (groups
of 5
will have
2-1’s). Pick one number
(3 for example). Ask all the
three’s to the
front of the room to tell the
class about their case by going
over answers to questions. Closure
After each group has discussed their article pass out a half-sheet of paper
to every student. Ask them to respond to the following statements:
Environmental
laws are necessary because……..
An example of a “toxic tort” is………
I agree or disagree that court cases are legitimate avenues to enforce
environmental laws because………
Collect
the slips from the students as they leave class at
the end. Homework
None. |
