The great attention nowadays paid to environmental catastrophes makes the topic unavoidable to geography teachers.
The issue is particularly burning due to its strict relationship with the life of human beings in their respective environments. In fact, while for phenomena normally brought about by nature – volcano eruptions, floods, tornados, tsunamis and the like – the disciplines challenged are mostly within the naturalistic area, in the last decades there is an increasing trend to underline man's responsibility in the genesis of these events. Some examples are DDT and the hole in the ozone layer or the greenhouse effect with the ensuing global warming of the planet and the depletion of resources.
The highly technical character of such topics, encompassing several disciplines, makes it quite difficult for teachers to acquire a real competence. Even more difficult is to come to a synthesis which may be easily handed down to students over normal didactic activity.
On the other side, the huge mass of information available through mass media, often masterly presented by journalists, allures teachers to bring this kind of literature directly into the classroom.
The truth is, however, that such topics are often of a controversial nature, so that it is absolutely necessary that in the courses held to form future teachers some guidelines are provided in order to help them to attain a personal vision of things. These general guidelines in turn will support their efforts to face any other issue which might become relevant in the future.
