Big Idea: Human activity almost inevitably pollutes. Often the natural environment can absorb and recycle the pollution on its own, but often it cannot. When faced with the latter, we either live with environmental degradation, restrictions on human activity, application of significant resources for mitigation, or some combination of the above. Deciding these issues involves political, economic and social conflict, including debate about the science involved. Understanding the forces involved in resolving (or ignoring) these issues is key to education of an informed citizenry regarding sustainability.

Learning Goal: Students will be able to explain the political, biological, social justice, and economic interests involved in dealing with human activities that produce pollution into the natural environment.

Any lecture type of class with at least 8 students (to allow for at least two sub groups). Instructors can adjust the emphasis of the discussion depending whether the course is social science, humanities or a science. It takes about an hour to complete.

• Posit a local urban area that could reasonably be expected to grow in the next 20 years. Remind students that with population growth comes increased demands for services, including sewage waste disposal. Point out that at some point existing sewage disposal capabilities will be overwhelmed and something additional will have to be done. I use the Whatcom County, WA area and specifically the city of Bellingham, and make reference the the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan that restricts growth in the County to mostly Urban Growth Areas, much of which are located in Bellingham. I display maps of both the County and the city of Bellingham, as well as some basic growth estimates (see attached example PowerPoint presentation Where to Put the Poop Learning Activity (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.5MB Aug23 16) ). The maps also help students visualize possible locations for sewage treatment plants.
• Divide class into small groups of 3-5. Have each small group consider and list possible options (including current methods) for sewage disposal, giving them ten minutes to do so. Have small groups share with the entire class. Students will collectively come up with most possible options, but I also have a list ready to display to compare with their list (see attached example PowerPoint presentation Where to Put the Poop Learning Activity (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.5MB Aug23 16) ). Have the full class discuss which options seem to be environmentally acceptable and economically feasible (no significant precision on costs is necessary). Next, ask them to discuss which options seem feasible for an urban setting.
• Next, invite them to consider the option of a new/additional sewage treatment facility, positing that the existing one cannot be expanded in its current location and will not have enough capacity to meet the expected future demand. Have the small groups consider and list the requirements and considerations for locating such a new facility. Who will care and why? Give them ten minutes to do so. Have small groups share with the entire class. Students will collectively come up with many of the location considerations, but I also have a list ready to display to compare with their list (see attached example PowerPoint presentation Where to Put the Poop Learning Activity (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.5MB Aug23 16) ).
• Have the small groups consider what processes and political and economic considerations the municipality will use to determine the location, giving them ten minutes to do so. Have small groups share with the entire class. Students may collectively come up with process options and considerations but, once again, I have a list ready to display (see attached example PowerPoint presentation Where to Put the Poop Learning Activity (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.5MB Aug23 16) ). Here is where you might bring out the interplay of interest groups, potential social justice impacts on poor areas where property is cheaper and residents are less able to object, and other considerations.
• I have not done this yet, but if I were to expand this activity I might assign advance reading on sewage treatment options, or advance directed brief student research on the various possibilities for human waste disposal. For example, prior to the discussion, I might assign students to divide up the work to research, spending no more than 30 minutes, the cost and environmental impact of:
• constructing a residential septic system
• installing and operating a composting toilet
• construction of the existing local sewage treatment facility
• annually operating the existing local sewage treatment facility
• If feasible, I would plan a field trip to the local sewage treatment facility, or have an official from the plant come to class and discuss its operation, including inputs and outputs, as well as operating costs and resources (such as electricity) for such operation.

I allow an hour for this activity. I use a whiteboard to list the small-group ideas before sharing my list with the students via PowerPoint. I have used this exercise in an "Introduction to Sustainability" course where the students did not necessarily have any background in politics or economics. There have so far been at least a few students who had engaged in or heard about some political activity, which helped make this exercise work well enough for students to generate most of the teaching points.

Depending on instructor time availability, either a longer reflective piece due at a later time, or a shorter paper due at the end of the activity answering the question: "Identify and explain the two most significant things I learned."

No required outside resources. System to project Powerpoint slides is very useful, although this learning activity could be done with only a white board or chart paper. See sample PowerPoint slides Where to Put the Poop Learning Activity (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.5MB Aug23 16)