This article describes maps and information that show the locations of air pollution, demographic data, and COVID-19 case rates in the Los Angeles area.
The article makes correlations between air pollution, race, and COVID-19 case rates and provides solutions that would benefit air quality, climate, and water quality.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The maps are in color and have an area of interest outlined for students to focus on.
The article stresses that the solutions to climate change are also very beneficial to human and environmental health.
Additional Prerequisites
The link to the E&E News story about Emory University's research requires a subscription to read.
Students should know how to read a map.
Differentiation
This resource could be incorporated into civics lessons about the importance of regulations that protect human health and the environment.
The resource spotlights the correlation existing between COVID-19 cases and pollution-burdened areas. Low-income communities tend to be in areas with degraded tree cover and marginal lands. They are more at risk of air pollution and COVID-19 infection. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.3.9-12 Use geographic data to analyze variations in the spatial patterns of cultural and environmental characteristics at multiple scales.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
