Discussion

Read The Sixth Extinction, pages 81-161.

Answer 

1) Do you have any personal reactions to the information or argument presented in the book so far? Anything you agree with or disagree with? Are there any portions of the book that seem unclear? Please include 1 or 2 quotes from the text in your response.

2) What is your favorite section of the reading for this week? Quote a passage and explain why you like it so much.

Enviornmental Biology

Ethical obligations to the environment are usually closely connected to ethical obligations toward people, particularly poor people and minority groups.  Environmental justice is about ensuring that no group is made to bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harm.  Environmental justice is also about ensuring that governments develop and enforce regulations fairly across different segments of society.  The environmental justice movement has forced environmentalists to recognize that you cannot think about protecting nature without also thinking about people.

As you move around your community this week, identify the areas that appear to have the worst environmental quality.  Find out the general description of the people who live and work closest to these areas.  Do you think there are any environmental injustices in your community?  Why or why not?

Must be a minimum of 300-500 words…..I know that sounds like a lot, but these 2 little paragraphs contain 150 words…..

Save your work as a word document.

**Also, before you begin writing, I want to clarify the meaning of environmental justice…..environmental justice refers to an equitable spatial distribution of burdens and benefits across the board.  Another way of saying this is that if there is "good stuff" or "bad stuff" it should be spread evenly throughout a community; the "bad stuff" (like pollution, industrial facilities, crime, etc..) should not be disproportionately dispersed among racial minorities or residents of economically disadvantaged areas.  If it IS, then this would be considered environmental injustice, and often the root cause is institutionalized racism, unresponsive or unaccountable government policies and regulations or lack of resources or power in affected communities.

Evaluating Credible and Scholarly Scientific Sources

The purpose of this assignment is to help you distinguish between different types of information sources and evaluate sources of information for credibility. Scientists and scholars use information from a variety of sources, some of them scholarly journal articles that have been peer-reviewed (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., and others credible websites, magazines, and news sources.  While all scholarly sources are considered credible, most credible sources you will encounter in your daily life are not actually scholarly.  It is important to view information with a critical eye, as there is a lot of misinformation from bunk sources out there.  If you do not believe this, just navigate to Google in your Internet browser, type in the words, “We never went to the Moon”, and see what you find.  Did you know that the Moon may be made of cheese?  Exactly what kind, however, remains a mystery (Uncyclopedia.wikia.com, 2016).

In order to complete this assignment, you will need to follow the links provided on the Week Two Assignment Reporting Formto view three numbered sources.  For each source, complete a two-page questionnaire.  When you have finished, you will have identified which of three sources is not credible, which sources are credible, and which source is also scholarly. 

Once you have completed the required sections within the Week Two Assignment Reporting Form submit the document via Waypoint. The document does not need to include a title page or other APA formatting; however, if you utilize any outside sources in your answers, you must reference these sources in proper APA format as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Assignment 1

Assigned reading: Hardin, G. 1968. Tragedy of the Commons. (available in Blackboard, see Content/Readings) First, read the article, then provide thoughtful, reading-informed answers to these questions: 1. What is Hardin’s key concern? Be specific, min. 1 page. 2. What evidence is Hardin presenting? Carefully explore and reflect, min. 0.5 page. 3. What solutions (and agenda) is he suggesting? Carefully read and reflect, min. 1 page. Format: Minimum 2.5 pages, 12pt font, double spaced, standard margins The purpose of this reading-discussion is to develop: (i) an understanding of an influential population-environment debate; (ii) an ability to recognize facts, and therefore distinguish science from pseudoscience; (iii) awareness of influential (Eurocentric) ideologies, and the role they play in shaping dominant population control, land use etc. policies.

Iceland Population

Focal Topic:Iceland's Population – Human Dimension

I need a diagram of the focal topic.

You should turn in a one page document that describes:

• 1) Their existing focal topic diagram (attached)
• 2) A modified diagram of the system
• 3) What kind of research questions you could ask about Iceland and your topic
• 4) What data you need to find

Focal Topic: Iceland's Tourism

The research proposal is a total of 3 paragraphs consisting:

-How do you think your focal topic is being impacted by changes in energy production?
-How may your focal topic be impacting other topics (economy, pollution, education, fisheries, etc.) ?
-Have your web data general post your question in a slide of bullets.

Iceland Population

Focal Topic:Iceland's Population – Human Dimension

I need a diagram of the focal topic.

You should turn in a one page document that describes:

• 1) Their existing focal topic diagram (attached)
• 2) A modified diagram of the system
• 3) What kind of research questions you could ask about Iceland and your topic
• 4) What data you need to find

Complete And Upload This Energy Use Table Worksheet And Write 300–500 Words That Respond To The Following Questions With Your Thoughts, Ideas, And Comments.

You want to be part of the Green Revolution and are looking to find ways to reduce your energy use. But first, you must know what your energy use is. Complete the following:  

•Complete the table to keep track of your energy use for 3 days this week. Include the following: 

◦What types of energy or fuel did you use (including any renewable sources of energy, such as wind, hydroelectric, solar, etc.)?  

◦What was the purpose of the energy or fuel use (heating or cooling, recreational, etc.)?   

•Save your chart, and present it with 300-500 words containing the following information: 

◦Which primary energy source does your electric company use to generate electricity (coal, nuclear, renewables, etc.)? ◾Cite the source for this information.  

◦What changes could you make to decrease your energy use?    

◦What changes could you make to increase your energy efficiency?  

◦Which changes will be most difficult for you to implement? Why do you think so?

Please complete the attached worksheet and write a 300-500 words that answer the above questions.

Unit 1 Ar

 For this assignment, use the CSU Online Library databases to locate a peer-reviewed article that is in some way related to the principles of fire chemistry and fire dynamics as well as their effects on emergency situations. You can select any article of interest dealing with this broad topic, which should give you plenty from which to choose. Some examples are reports analyzing a fire or other articles that research what took place at a fire incident. You may also find an appropriate article on the National Fire Protection Association, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States Fire Administration websites. Be sure to select a full-length article. Letters to the editor, editorials, roundtable discussions, blog postings, or press releases made to look like articles are not acceptable for this assignment. This assignment is to give you practice reviewing articles that contribute to the industry. The article you choose must meet the following requirements: be peer-reviewed or scholarly in nature; relate to the concepts within this course and, if possible, to your research proposal topic; and be at least eight pages in length. The article review you submit must meet the following requirements: be at least two full double-spaced pages in length not including the title page or reference page; identify the main topic/question; critique the article and share your thoughts on what appears to be valid or invalid; and include your thoughts on whether you agree with the author’s position, and why, or why not? Be sure to summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do not copy directly from the textbook or from any other source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All references and citations used must be in APA style. The story is attached below.

Air Pollution News Articles

Submit one (1) news articles about air pollution in a country different from the US from current news sources, together with a short, written summary of the article with a comparison of the pollutant concentrations in the article with US AQIs. 

1)  The main topic of the article must involve air pollution, air pollution regulation; public health issues related to air pollution.;   

2)  The article must be at least 450 words in length (An easy way to figure out the word count is to copy the text into word and use “word count” under “tools”).   

3)  The article must contain either pollutant concentrations in ppb, ppm or μg/m3 or AQIs.   

4)  The article must be a ʺfeatureʺ article, meaning it has a headline, byline (author name(s)), and a single topic.   

5)  Articles must be photocopies of articles in print publications available at the newsstand, or printouts of these articles from a web site. No clippings are accepted, because they are always falling apart and getting lost.   

Abstract/summaries: 

a)  140 to 190 words long  

b)  Compare the pollutant concentrations to the standards in the US. Determine   and state where they would fall in the US AQI index. Comment on how this   compares to how the concentrations/AQIs are presented in the article.   

c)  Not spin additional information that is not in the article or part of the AQI   discussion.   

d)  Include in your summary a clear statement of:   

• Title of article • Author(s) of the article • Name of publication • Date of publication • Page number of the first page of the article, unless from a news agency web site Additional notes and guidelines:  ‐‐A mere mention of air pollution as a side note in your article is not sufficient. This means that articles about fires are usually not air pollution articles, even though ʺsmokeʺ is  involved. Most articles about ʺenergyʺ are not air pollution articles, so check content carefully. Articles about odors will be taken on a case‐by‐case basis; they definitely need to have human health front and center to be acceptable.  ‐‐AQI scales for different countries and the WHO can be found on Wikipedia or elsewhere on the web. ‐‐Article summaries do not quote parts of the article; they paraphrase important points. ‐‐ Not acceptable: compilation or ʺspotlightsʺ of different news events into one section; a “blog”, ʺbriefʺ or ʺin briefʺ article or articles that serve as one‐ to two‐paragraph fillers, unsigned editorials and letters to the editor; figure or photo captions not associated with a feature article; advertisements; ʺwireʺ stories without an author attribution, and stories from a web site that is not associated with a print periodical. Also not acceptable: research reports published in academic journals (research papers are not ʺnewsʺ; they are contributions to knowledge). No monthly magazines, journals, ecological or environmental newsletters, scientific/academic journals, etc. The publication must be primarily for the purpose of reporting current news and news analysis. Weekly magazines including Time and Newsweek are acceptable.