From On Air - Fall 2003

National Debut of Cost of Cool

On Earth Day 2002, PCI’s video, The Cost of Cool, was presented in Washington, D.C. to a distinguished audience of congressional staff, students, and representatives from environmental organizations including the EPA, the National Council for Science and Environment, and Earth Conservation Corps. A joint presentation was made by David Andrews, PCI’s president, Jane De Lung, president of Population Resource Center, and Mark Van Putten, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Both teachers and teens alike responded enthusiastically to the video, an educational tool produced by PCI that promotes environmental awareness among teens. Jeanne Packheiser, a teacher at Langley High School, said that the video would get students’ attention and that it was “one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time.” Nina Baseri, a 17-year-old student, said “the video focuses on the consumer culture of teenagers and reminds us that there are things we have that we don’t necessarily need.” Laura Schulte, another student, liked the fact that the video “doesn’t blame teenagers for all the ecological and pollution problems… It shows the commercials that are geared to young children and their reactions, which completely reflects what I see in the stores.”

Mr. Van Putten also announced the collaboration of NWF with PCI to create a resource guide to accompany the video [see story below]. This year, the NWF education staff will implement a national teacher-training program with a potential outreach to 3,000 teachers.

A Resource Guide for High School Educators

PCI and the National Wildlife Federation have produced a comprehensive resource guide for high school educators that is designed to augment The Cost of Cool video. The primary goal of this material is to teach students how to make informed and environmentally aware choices using sound science and critical thinking skills. The guide contains activities that promote active learning as well as reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation.

The activities are multi-disciplinary and encourage students to develop their own knowledge, skills, and values about consumption and the environment. Since the activities in the guide are interdisciplinary, teachers are encouraged to coordinate the activities with teachers of other subject areas as appropriate.

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