Envi 101 Syllabus 2020(2)-4 PDF

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Environmental Studies 101; Humans and the Ecological Environment

Fall 2020

Instructor: Dr. George Meindl Email: [email protected] Office: Sci 3, 377 Office Hours: MW 10 am-11 am, via Zoom (https://binghamton.zoom.us/j/4300716780) Course Goals: There are two primary goals for this course. First, we will learn the basics of environmental science, which is an interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the living and nonliving components of the environment. Second, we will use this foundation of knowledge to understand environmental problems we face and evaluate possible solutions to them. Specific Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:  Demonstrate a fundamental knowledge about the workings of the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.  Recognize that earth systems are linked and if humans impact part or all of one of these systems, the repercussions affect all aspects of the environment.  Identify the basic principles of the scientific method as it pertains to the natural, physical world.  Infer relationships, make predictions, and solve environmental problems based on an analysis of evidence or scientific information.  Apply scientific concepts, quantitative techniques and methods to solving environmental problems and making decisions that affect the natural world.  Recognize the relevance of environmental science to their lives and society.  Identify the individual, social, cultural, and ecological factors that influence environmental sustainability.  Evaluate competing scientific claims that inform environmental debates. General Education Information: This course fulfills the Global Interdependencies (G) General Education requirement. At the end of the course, you should be able to demonstrate knowledge of how two or more distinctive world regions have influenced and interacted with one another and how their respective cultures or civilizations affected these interactions. Required Text: Living in the Environment, 19th edition (Miller and Spoolman, 2018). Available from the campus bookstore. Other Required Books: Leopold, Aldo. 1949. A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There. Oxford University Press. Available from the campus bookstore. Hoss, Michael. 2014. Salt Sugar Fat. Random House. Available from the campus bookstore. In addition, there will be several assigned readings from the scientific literature to accompany some discussion sections- these articles will be posted to Blackboard in pdf format. Lecture Schedule: MWF 12-1 p.m., DI LEARN via Zoom (https://binghamton.zoom.us/j/95133518719) 1

Detailed Lecture Schedule* *all lines that are bolded below are topics that will be covered asynchronously, i.e., I will post a recorded lecture for you to watch and use to complete an assignment, which will be posted as an announcement in MyCourses that day. Assignments associated with asynchronous lectures may be turned in at any time before the end of the semester (12/7), though I recommend that you submit them within a few days after they are assigned. Lectures that are not bolded below will be delivered synchronously, i.e., live! Date 8/26 8/28 8/31 9/2 9/4 9/7 9/9 9/11 9/14 9/16 9/18 9/21 9/23 9/25 9/28 9/30 10/2 10/5 10/7 10/9 10/12 10/14 10/16 10/19 10/21 10/23 10/26 10/28 10/30 11/2 11/4 11/6 11/9 11/11 11/13 11/16 11/18

Topic Introduction to environmental science Sustainability Science defined Matter and energy The Earth as a system Dylan Horvath Guest Lecture Ecosystem structure and function Nutrient cycling Biodiversity Review Exam 1 Evolution Species interactions Searching the literature/statistics Pollination ecology / lawns Ecological succession Climate Biomes Marine ecosystems Freshwater ecosystems Biological extinction Review Exam 2 Causes of the 6th mass extinction Deforestation- causes & consequences Public lands and their management Threats to aquatic ecosystems Managing sustainable aquatic systems Food and human health Food production systems GMOs- the good, the bad, and the ugly Improving food security Sara Velardi Guest Lecture Review Exam 3 Independent Projects Independent Projects

Reading Ch. 1 Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 No reading Ch. 3 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 No reading Spivak TED talk Ch. 5 Ch. 7 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 10 Ch. 11 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 12 Ch. 12 Ch. 12 No reading

2

11/20 Human population growth Ch. 6 11/23-27 No Class 11/30 Human population growth Ch. 6 12/2 Human population growth Ch. 6 12/4 Environmental ethics Ch. 25 12/7 Exam 4 (FINAL) Notes: Not all of the material covered on exams will be from the text, so you are strongly encouraged to attend all lectures. Grading: The lecture portion of the course will be worth 2/3 of your grade (each exam weighted equally), and the discussion portion of the course will be worth the remaining 1/3 of your grade. The final exam will be cumulative, but will focus more on material not covered on previous exams. A passing grade in the discussion portion (regardless of scores in lecture portion) is required to pass the course. Your grade will be calculated as follows: 93-100% A; 90-92% A-; 87-89% B+; 83-86% B; 8082% B-; 77-79% C+; 73-76% C; 70-72% C-; 67-69% D+; 63-66% D; 60-62% D-; &, 0-59% F. Missed Exam / Late Work Policy: Make-up exams will be administered to students with legitimate and documented excuses submitted to the instructor in advance (or at the earliest date possible in case of serious illness). The makeup exam will be given only at a later date, likely with more challenging content and in a different format. Furthermore, late work is not accepted for individual or group assignments. If you miss class on a day that an assignment is due, it must be handed in to your TA or Dr. Meindl PRIOR to the beginning of class, otherwise you will receive a ‘0’ for that assignment. Discussion Section TAs Graduate TAs: Elias Miller; [email protected]; A4, A6 Olivia Lopez; [email protected] Undergraduate TAs: Allison Bartholomew; [email protected]; A2, A12 Nora Flores; [email protected]; A3, A13 Mia Stewart; [email protected]; A1, A7 Shannon Erickson; [email protected]; A9, A11 Andrew Lumalcuri; [email protected]; A8, A10 Angelika Lyko; [email protected]; A5, A14 Detailed Discussion Schedule: Date 9/1-9/3

Topic Class business, brainstorming

Assignment Assign “Connecting with Nature”, “Current Events Journal”, and “Group Research Project” 3

9/8-9/10

Introduction to the Nature Preserve Field Trip #1

Connecting with Nature 1 due

9/15-9/17

Research project workshop

9/22-9/24

Ecosystem structure and function

Miller and Spoolman 106-108 Field Trip #2 Journal entries 1 & 2

9/29-10/1

Habitat management/soils/wetlands Field trip #3

Leopold 95-101 (WisconsinMarshland Elegy), 158-162 (Manitoba-Clandeboye) Miller and Spoolman 183-185

10/6-10/8

Research project workshop

Journal entries 3 & 4 due

10/13-10/15

Food systems (film)

10/20-10/22

Food systems (discussion)

10/27-10/29

Research project workshop

11/3-11/5

Ecosystem carrying capacity

Journal entries 7 & 8 due

11/10-11/12

Pleistocene rewilding

Donlan et al. 2006 Connecting with Nature 2 due Reading summary due

11/17-11/19

The land ethic

Journal entries 9 & 10 due Leopold 129-226 (Thinking Like a Mountain, to end) Reading summary due

11/24-11/26

No class

12/1-12/3

Group research presentations

due

Journal entries 5 & 6 due

Discussion Grading Breakdown: Discussion grade, which will determine 1/3 of your overall grade in the course, will be determined by attendance (20%), participation (15%), individual assignments (30%), and the group project (35%). All assignments must be typed and submitted via Turnitin. Attendance: -20 points possible

0 absences = 20 points 1 absence = 18 points 2 absences = 16 points 4

3 absences = 14 points Individual Assignments: -30 points possible

Current events journal: each journal entry (x10) is worth two points. The object of this assignment is to relate current events to course material and improve critical reasoning skills. For each journal entry, read and review an article from a credible source (e.g., newspaper, peerreviewed journal article, etc.). Provide the article citation, a short summary (...