Inequality and Superfund sites: Using backward design, cooperative learning, and data integration in introductory environmental economics

Abstract

Environmental justice is an important topic that can be better understood by using the tools of economics. The author of this article describes a data integration exercise that connects data available through government portals: the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Superfund Sites Where You Live” interactive map, data on Net Present Values from Superfund Records of Decisions (ROD), and FRED. Created with the principles of backward design, the exercise uses cooperative learning by having students take ownership of sites chosen for investigation, as well as build and test hypotheses regarding the relationship between per capita GDP and site location/cleanup cost.