Discussion Questions

Prepare for class discussions by answering the discussion questions.

1. Have you done anything to reduce your carbon footprint? How much do you think about environmental issues in your day-to-day life as you use resources and produce waste? Do you consider the impact of your actions on the environment and the others who live in it?

2. This chapter makes the argument that social work and environmentalism go hand in hand. Can you think of three specific ways in which poor people are disproportionately harmed by environmental issues like pollution, climate change, and natural disasters?

3. To what degree does environmentalism inform a social worker’s daily work? When does it become clear that environmental issues have an impact on the needs of social work clients?

4. How much of a role do you think the government should take in regulating the environment? How much should be left up to individual citizens and businesses? If the government took a hands-off approach, relying upon people and corporations to make sound choices, since they live in the very environment they may be harming, what do you think would happen?