environmental science syllabus 2

8/8/2019 Environmental Science Syllabus 2

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ENV-1010: Introduction to Environmental Science

Fall 2010

Wednesdays 1:00-3:45pm (3 credits)

Community College of Vermont

Upper Valley

Instructor: Elizabeth MillsOffice Hours: After class or by appointment

Contact: [email protected]; (603) 631-1198

Course Description:

This course is a multidisciplinary study of the interrelationship between living things and theirenvironment. The fundamentals of biology, chemistry, geology, and energy flow are studied so that

current environmental issues can be understood and discussed from a scientific perspective. Emphasis

is placed on maintaining and restoring sustainable ecosystems.

Essential Objectives:

The successful student will be able to:

1. Describe the components, function and formation of ecosystems and factors that influence theirstability.

2. Explain the basic concepts of ecology.

3. Understand population dynamics from a broad evolutionary perspective that includes aconsideration of genetics, adaptation and extinction.

4. Discuss energy from a physical, chemical, geological and biological standpoint, and trace the flow

of energy through at least one ecosystem.

5. Summarize the key biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from abiological, geological and chemical perspective.

6. Analyze the causes and effects of the major pollution issues (eutrophication, sewage, hazardous

wastes, air pollution, acid rain, greenhouse warming and ozone depletion) and outline strategies torestore ecological balance.

7. Compare and contrast methods, impacts and sustainability of systems used to generate energy for

human use.8. Discuss land use principles as they relate to agriculture, forest and wildlife resources, water

management and pest control.

9. Evaluate and compare the influence of science, economics, ethics and culture on environmentalmanagement.

10. Analyze environmental issues and solutions from a global, national, local and personal perspective.11. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, evaluating and applying quantitative dataand information.

Textbook:

Environmental Science (10th Edition) by Richard T. Wright


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Assignments:

In a typical college course, you should expect 2-3 hours per week of homework for every hour of class

time. Therefore, for our 3-credit course, please plan to spend an additional 6-9 hours per week outsideof class on readings, assignments, and studying.

ReadingsYou are expected to read the assigned chaptersbefore coming to class. We willtypically cover two chapters per week, approximately 50-75 pages total. Please take advantage ofthe review questions at the end of each chapter and/or the online materials available from thepublisher to aid in your studying.

Reaction Papers As an incentive to keep up with the reading and a means of processing what youhave learned, you will turn in a two-page, typed, double-spaced reaction paper on each weeksreadings (10 weeks total). The paper should address the following:

1) Briefly summarize in your own words what you learned from each chapter.2) What did you find most interesting about the reading?3) How do the topics apply to your everyday life?4) Which concepts did you find most challenging and why?

Reaction papers should demonstrate your effort to understand and synthesize the material. They

will be graded on a 2-point scale: 2 points if you demonstrate an effort to read and process the text;1 point if your coverage of the reading is incomplete or lacking; 0 points for no effort and/or no

paper. In the event of an absence, papers must be submitted to the instructor by e-mail by the start

of the normal class time to be considered on time. Late papers will be accepted up until thefollowing weeks class and will automatically lose 1 point.

Movie Review Once during the semester, each student is required to watch a film outside of classand write a two-page, typed, double-spaced review that addresses the following:

1) Briefly summarize the main points of the film;2) Discuss your reaction to the film and what you found most (and/or least) interesting;3) Critique the style of the film and suggest how it could be improved.

Students will choose their films by the second week of class.

Field Trips By its very nature, this course requires a hands-on approach to studying the worldaround us. Therefore, we will seek to expand our studies outside the classroom whenever possible.This may involve shorter trips both on and off school grounds during the class period. Please

dress comfortably for spending time outdoors. Advance notice will be given if we areplanning to be off campus, and students will need to carpool to the site and/or provide their

own transportation. CCV requires students to sign a waiver form for all off-site field trips.

One all-day field trip on Saturday, October 9th

is required. Students will carpool to the

field site in Newark, Vermont and bring their own lunch. We will study a variety of Vermont

ecosystems and review key concepts for the midterm exam. Details will be discussed in class.Students will be asked to turn in a field trip report due on Wednesday, October 20 th. There will be

no class the week following the field trip.

Exams There will be a midterm exam in class on Wednesday, October 20th

and a final examin class on Wednesday, December 15th

. Exams will include a mix of objective (i.e. multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching) and essay questions. Review for the midterm will take place in

the field on Saturday, October 9th (see Field Trips above). We will have a student-led review

session the week before the final exam on Wednesday, December 8 th. Make-up exams will not be

possible unless the student is in good academic standing and provides documentation of a severeillness or emergency.


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Class Participation Our small class size affords the opportunity for an interactive lecture anddiscussion format. Students should come to class prepared to answer questions, explain concepts

from the reading, discuss their reactions to the material, and work in small or large groups.

Grades:

Assignments will be given the following weight in calculating your final grade:

Participation 10 points

Reaction Papers 20 points (10 papers x 2 points each)

Field Trip Reports 15 points (up to 3 reports, TBA)Movie Review 5 points

Midterm Exam 20 points

Final Exam 30 pointsExtra Credit Up to 5 points

TOTAL 100+ points

Your final letter grade will be based on the total number of points (including extra credit) that youearn, according to the following scale:

A+ 98-100A 94-97

A- 90-93

B+ 87-89B 84-86

B- 80-83

C+ 77-79C 74-76

C- 70-73

D+ 67-69D 65-66

F 0-64

Extra Credit

Up to 5 points of extra credit may be earned over the course of the semester toward a students finalgrade. Extra credit assignments are worth 1 point each (unless noted otherwise), any may be earned as

follows: Bring in a copy of a recent article from a newspaper or magazine that relates to a current

environmental issue relevant to the course. Summarize the article in class, and turn in a 2-pagetyped essay (double spaced) in which you review the article and relate it to the themes of the

course.

Watch and review a documentary or feature film that is relevant to the weeks topic. Write a 2-page typed review, and come prepared to share what you learned with the class. Please consultthe instructor for film suggestions (some are listed in the syllabus). Check with the instructor

first for approval on films not listed.

Write a 2-page typed essay in which you reflect on how you have applied something welearned in class to your own life. For example, you might share a conversation youve had with

a friend or family member about an environmental issue; talk about how youve changed youreveryday habits or purchases; or grapple with the relative ease or difficulty of becoming anecological citizen. The style and organization of this essay should be a step up from what

you write in your weekly reaction papers, and should be fun and interesting to read. See the

instructor for an example.

Take an environmental action in your home, neighborhood, or community, and write aminimum 2-page typed essay on what you did and why, and describe the impact you expect it

will have. (Examples might include: changing your light bulbs to be energy-efficient; starting a

home composting bin; planting an organic garden; organizing a neighborhood trash clean up or


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tree planting; getting the school to use 100% recycled paper; etc.) Actions involving

significant time or effort, and with correspondingly more detailed write-ups, may earn extra

points (please consult the instructor in advance).

Volunteer with a local conservation or environmental group or at a farm, either one day ormultiple times, and write about your experience (up to 5 points, based on number of hours

volunteered and length of write-up). You might participate in a volunteer trail crew, help a

conservation group with a local event, or spend a day working at an organic farm. Thevolunteer activity must somehow relate to the course (i.e. if youre already a regular volunteerat the community kitchen, this wouldnt count unless perhaps you start a new project to

supply fresh organic produce to the kitchen, or start a composting program there, or something

similar).

Course Policies

1. Attendance at all class sessions is expected. You will be allowed one excused absence in the event

of a documented illness, emergency, or personal situation. Please discuss your absence with the

instructor in advance or as soon as possible following the missed class. Repeated, unexcused

absences or tardiness will lower your grade. More than three absences will result in a failinggrade.

2. In the event of an absence, students remain responsible for all readings, assignments, and othermaterial presented by the instructor or guest speakers. It is the students responsibility to check with

classmates and the instructor to catch up on missed material.

3. I will contact you by phone if class is cancelled due to inclement weather or instructor illness.

Please make sure I know where you can be reached during the day (i.e. home/work/cell). If illness or

travel conditions in your area prohibit you from coming to school, please call before class to let meknow.

4. Participation in all field trips is required. If you already have a commitment that cannot be

changed, please inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester to schedule a make-up activity.Arrangements may be made to attend only part of a field trip if you have a scheduling conflict; this is

preferable to missing the trip altogether. Please discuss with the instructor in advance.

6. In order to receive accommodations for disabilities in this course, students must make an

appointment to see the Americans with Disabilities Coordinator in their site and bring documentation

with them.

Academic Honesty: CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects

the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present as your

own work something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone elsecheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is)

does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic

dishonesty is taken very seriously. If academic dishonesty has occurred, the student will receive a

zero on the assignment and an Academic Incident report is placed in the students file. Two such

reports will lead to dismissal from the college.


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Course Schedule:

DATE TOPICS READING ASSIGNMENT FILM

9/8 What isEnvironmental

Science?

9/15 Ecosystems Chapters 2, 3 Reaction paper #19/22 Ecology

Biodiversity

Chapters 4, 10 Reaction paper #2 Planet Earth

9/29 Water Chapters 7, 17 Reaction paper #3

SAT.

10/2

EXTRA CREDIT:

Source-to-Sea

River Clean-Up

10/6 Land Use

Soil

Chapters 8, 11 Reaction paper #4 Dirt

SAT.

10/9

FIELD TRIP:

Vermont Ecosystems

Field trip report

due 10/20

10/13 NO CLASS Review for exam10/20 MIDTERM EXAM

10/27 Food

Pest control

Chapters 9, 16 Reaction paper #5 The Future of

Food

11/3 Environmental Health

Hazardous Chemicals

Chapters 15, 19 Reaction paper #6 Blue Vinyl

11/10 Waste Chapter 18 Reaction paper #7 Trashed

11/17 Energy

Nuclear Power

Chapters 12, 13 Reaction paper #8 A Crude

Awakening

11/24 Climate Change

Air Pollution

Chapters 20, 21 Reaction paper #9 An Inconvenient

Truth

12/1 Renewable EnergySustainable

Communities

Chapters 14, 23 Reaction paper #10 Who Killed theElectric Car?

12/8 Review Session Prepare for student-

led review

12/15 FINAL EXAM

environmental science syllabus 2

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