The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) site for teachers, students, and kids of all ages was a pleasant surprise for this reviewer. There are several sections of the site that can be "mined" for information. They include: - Environmental Laws—summary of the major laws that affect environmental policy;
- Dictionary—definitions of common environmental terms;
- In the News—press releases, speeches, and other environmental news from the EPA;
- Kids—leads the user to the EPA's site for kids (Explorer's Club) that includes games, pictures, stories, and other activities;
- Publications—index of EPA publications current up to 2001.
In the site's Kids section, there is a cartoon story on Hazardous Waste Sites (HWS). The cartoon pictures each opened with a mouse click that explained what a HWS was. After the first six clicks, I opine, three cartoon pictures per click would be preferable. Kids past kindergarten could handle this information.
In addition to these sections, there is a large section devoted to activities on a variety of environmental topics, which can be found in the Curriculum Resources and Activities section. The activities in this section cover six main areas: air, conservation, ecosystems, human health, waste and recycling, and water. Several of the activities lead to discussions on acid rain, tracking migratory birds, and global change in climate.
Links are provided for competition and prizes (e.g. Presidential Environmental Youth Awards). Addresses of EPA Environmental Education (EE) officers for various regions are also provided. These officers can provide ideas for additional areas of study and experiments to teachers and students, beside the ones found at the Environmental Education Center site.
The EPA site for teachers and students is good at giving information to a wider audience and the EPA is to be commended for this outreach.
