Stacks of trash, overcrowded communities and pollutants in the air and water can all be counted, measured, weighed, calculated or examined in computer models. But what impact can such numbers have on people's lives? Two UC Davis professors say young people should learn more about how to evaluate and understand the implications of such information to better prepare them for dealing with environmental issues. Kurt Kreith and Sharon Dugdale are working this summer with elementary, secondary and community college teachers interested in finding ways to relate math to assessing issues such as pollution, population growth, wildlife preservation and resource management. The program, July 6-30, emerged out of a belief that a sense of the scale and dimension of environmental problems is essential for preparing students to deal with an increasingly difficult future. "This generation of kids faces monumental problems," says Kreith, a professor of mathematics and co-coordinator of the project with Dugdale. "While the underlying issues are essentially human ones, children should be encouraged to apply all the rational tools available to them."