Russia and Central Asia
Environmental Disaster Call to Action

Abandoned ship in the dried up Aral Sea
A call to action asks others to immediately respond to something important. It gives people a chance to take steps toward making a change rather than talking about something that needs to improve.
In this module, you learned about several environmental disasters in the former Soviet Union. These include the nuclear accident at Chernobyl and the shrinking Aral Sea.
For this assignment, you will develop a call to action for one of these environmental disasters. Your call to action will target people living in the effected regions. Specifically, you will ask them to take steps that improve or solve issues caused by the disaster.
Researching Your Environmental Disaster
First, select a topic for this assignment: the Chernobyl nuclear accident or the shrinking Aral Sea. Then, review relevant information you learned in this module. Before creating the call to action, you should conduct research in the following areas:
- environmental cleanup efforts;
- regulatory changes; and
- how people have adapted to life after the disaster.
Conduct your research by searching the Internet for news websites and journals, or by visiting your local or school library. Consider using the following resources to begin your research:
Developing the Call to Action

Abandoned kindergarten near Chernobyl
The call to action should be a phrase or sentence. It should also target people living in affected regions of the environmental disaster. Remember, you want individuals to take steps to reduce negative impacts from the disaster.
After you have developed your call to action, provide the audience with research that explains its importance.
Present your call to action and research using one of the following methods:
- Social media page
- Blog
- Video
- Presentation
Include at least two maps and five images in your presentation.
Before you begin, access the Call to Action Checklist to be sure you include all of the items required for full credit. You will need to use resources outside of this course to complete this assignment, so be sure to submit a Works Cited document. If you need assistance, visit the Student Resources section for information on citing any resources that you use.
After completing this assignment, please submit your work to the dropbox.