Why care about air quality and human health?
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Air pollutants cause more than 9 million deaths annually. 1
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Globally, outdoor air pollution has been recognized as a major public health concern and is estimated to have contributed: 2
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Nearly half of all Americans live with unhealthy air. 3
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Exposure to air pollutants is linked with poor asthma control in children. 4
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56% of Americans want to take action to protect the environment, but they don’t know what to do. 4
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Nearly 80% of Americans are heavily influenced by incorrect or outdated environmental myths. 5
What did the development process include?
Several steps were completed to identify the best lesson plans and resources based on sound evidence and pedagogical principles. These steps included:
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performing a needs assessment and environmental scan
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retrieving and reviewing existing resources/lesson plans
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blueprinting of the lesson plans to the Colorado curriculum standards (Colorado Department of Education and Colorado Student Assessment Program)
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reviewing the lesson plans/resources against criteria for effective education
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reviewing and rating of the lesson plans by educators.
For additional detail and information about the developmental process please download the report, Bridging Colorado’s Youth and Educators to Environment-Human Health Research.
- Fuller, Richard, et al. Pollution and health: a progress update. June 1, 2022. The Lancet Planetary Health, Vol 6, Issue 6,
- Schraufnagel DE, Balmes JR, Cowl CT, et al. Air Pollution and Noncommunicable Diseases February, 2019.
- American Lung Association. State of the Air 2022. Accessed December 2, 2022.
- Burbank AJ, Peden DB. Assessing the impact of air pollution on childhood asthma morbidity. April 18, 2018
- Coyle, Kevin. Environmental Literacy in America. September 2005.