This teacher resource text and student text are part of a continuing series on current and historical international issues, placing special emphasis on the importance of educating students in their participatory role as citizens. It examines the relationship between public policy in the United States and the ecological health of the planet. Students will join in the process of assessing global environmental problems and grapple with the same questions that are confronting U.S. policymakers. At the core of the unit is a framework of four distinct options for U.S. policy toward global environmental problems. The background reading introduces students to the complexities of the debate on the environment. Part 1 outlines the causes and effects of climate change, ozone depletion, acid rain, deforestation and desertification, and the decline of biodiversity. Part 2 explains how the developed world, the former Soviet bloc, newly industrializing countries, and developing nations each pose distinct threats to the global environment. Part 3 discusses the environmental agenda of the international community and examines key components of the controversy over U.S. environmental policy. Includes five- and three-day lesson plans. (BB)