Assignment 2: DiscussionYour Carbon Footprint and the Future
A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that each individual produces. Calculating your carbon footprint can give you a new perspective concerning how much you are really contributing to the greenhouse effect.
In this assignment you will apply what you have learned about taking personal responsibility for your environment and calculate your own carbon footprint.
Using The Nature Conservancy Web site calculate your carbon footprint. You can calculate this by clicking on the calculator and filling out the estimated values. Access this Web site using the following link:
The Nature Conservancy. (2011). Carbon footprint calculator: What’s my carbon footprint? Retrieved from http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm
Respond to the following:
Describe your final carbon footprint.
Classify where most of the carbon you generate comes from.
Considering all you have learned in this course state if you feel you have a new appreciation for your role in the environment.
Examine how you impact the environment. Do you think you impact the environment more than you should?
Describe the part of your life that is contributing the most carbon.
Propose how you can reduce this number. In your opinion explain if it is realistic for you to try and reduce this number.
Write your initial response in approximately 300350 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.
By Week 5 Day 4 post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Week 5 Day 7 review and comment on at least two peers responses. Consider the following:
How does your carbon footprint differ from theirs?
Suggest ways in which your classmates can reduce their carbon footprint.

Environment in the News ES 200
Student guideline:
I want you to do two different assignments both assignments should be approximately two double-spaced pages in length. So total of 4 pages two different topics two different files. I provided the three chapters for this week these two assignment should be related to the course topics for this week. I also added a sample for the Environment in the news so you can have an idea how this assignment looks like.
Professor guideline:
You will complete two Environment in the News log activities per week for each of the four weeks. Each log entry must describe an environmental event that has happened since June 1 2015 is tied in some way to human effects on the environment and is related to the course topics covered in the textbook for that week. A good log entry describes the event explains why the event caught the students interest relates the event to specific course content in the textbook and is based on a strong reference source. The event can be something that humans did to the environment or something that the environment did to humans (as long as humans had a role in creating the event); it can also be release of new data or studies on topics related to the impact of humans on the environment. Because environmental science is a broad umbrella (see Chapter 1) it includes the social sciences as well as the physical and biological sciences; consequently log entries can also include social science topics related to human impact on the environment. Sample data sources are provided on the course Moodle site. Log entries should be approximately two double-spaced pages in length.
Web Resources for Environment in the News Posts
Here are some web resources for your Environment in the News:
1. NASA News:http://www.nasa.gov/news/index.html
2. NOAA News:http://www.noaa.gov/newsarchive.html
3. American Geophysical Union News:http://www.agu.org/news/press/
4. National Science Foundation News:http://nsf.gov/news/
5. National Geographic Newswatch:http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/
6. Environmental News Network:http://www.enn.com/
7. United Nations Environment Programme:http://www.unep.org/
8. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:http://www2.epa.gov/newsroom
9. Grist: http://www.grist.org

Stages of Change
You will complete a stages of change project in Week 2 and in Week 3. During this project you will implement one action that is intended to help solve an environmental problem studied in this course. You will document your change in a short reflection (~400 words).
Stages of Change Project 1
This is where you will upload your short write-up describing your first of two Stages of Change Projects. You should write about 400 words describing what you did for this project why you selected the project what the effect would be if everyone in your local area did what you did why you think people are not doing the activity and how you would convince more people to do what you did. The assignment is worth 15 points. Your write up of Stages of Change #1 must be uploaded by 11:55 pm on Friday July 7 2017.
My environment is Ashland Oregon. U.S

For this exercise you will use a footprint calculator to estimate your ecological footprint. Go tothis ecological footprint calculatorand use it to figure out your ecological footprint. You may also find and use another online footprint calculator if you choose. You will be asked to answer a series of questions related to your lifestyle. Complete the exercise based on your current life in the United States. Then repeat the exercise under the assumption that your lifestyle is the same but that you live in a different country. Pick a country that you think will make a difference compared to the results based on the United States. Make sure you indicate which website you used.
Then post an entry on the size of your US footprint (in numbers of planet Earths) and the size of your footprint in another country and why you think it changed. Reply to at least one posting by another student. Make sure you complete your postings by 11:55 pm on Saturday. The posting is worth 3 points and the reply is worth 2 points. Refer to instructions for discussion boards posted separately on the course Moodle site.
Here is one post from student you need to replay:
According to Footprint Network if everyone lived like me (when using the US as my location) we would need 4.7 Earths to provide enough resources. When using Brazil as my location it would take 0.9 Earths to provide for everyone. Since I noticed the large change I decided I wanted to do one more simulation so I picked India as my location. It would take 0.7 Earths to provide for everyone.I was surprised by how many Earths it took when my location was the US. I had assumed since I carpool often and recycle everything that I would be more environmentally friendly but now I know that that’s not the case. I believe the reason why there’s such a difference between my first location and the other two is because the US is much more industrialized than Brazil and India. Also the US relies on cars more often than public transport which affects the environment negatively.

35 35 unread replies. 35 35 replies.
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
In 2012 Americans alone produced over 250 million tons of garbage. One large component of this waste consisted of oil based plastic bags which are utilized excessively by grocers restaurants and stores nationwide. In order to reduce this source of waste many countries are banning plastic bags or taxing customers for their use. For your main post his week discuss at least two environmental problems caused by our extensive use of plastic bags. If you were in charge what plan might you propose to reduce or eliminate their use? Discuss the economic impacts of implementing your plan versus the financial impacts of making no change in our current use.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Utilize at least two scholarly or reputable resources and your textbook to support your claims. Cite your sources in APA format. Quoted text should constitute no more than ten percent of your post. Respond to at least two of your classmates posts by Day 7.

We have studied a diverse group of environmental issues during our course. Many of these issues can be directly linked to a variety of environmental challenges/problems. In addition many of these issues affect various direct/indirect environmental values that are important to all people. The process to create policies that effectively and efficiently address these environmental issues is complex and difficult. In your Final Paper you will be tasked to discuss analyze and evaluate one of the following environmental issues and then recommend a policy to address the issue. Select an environmental issue that interests you from the list below:
Please note that air quality and water issues are not topics for the Final Paper because you wrote a short paper during Week Two which focuses on one of those two policy areas.
For this assignment you will complete the following sections:
Important: Parts 2 to 5 need be written as body paragraphs with all of the parts necessary for a complete body paragraph (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
The paper must be 10 to 12 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. You must use at least four credible sources (at least two of which must be found in the Ashford University Library) other than the textbook to support your claims. Cite your sources in-text (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and on the reference page (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. For additional information regarding APA samples and tutorials visit the Ashford Writing Center located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar in your online course.
Writing the Final PaperThe Final Paper:
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

We have studied a diverse group of environmental issues during our course. Many of these issues can be directly linked to a variety of environmental challenges/problems. In addition many of these issues affect various direct/indirect environmental values that are important to all people. The process to create policies that effectively and efficiently address these environmental issues is complex and difficult. In your Final Paper you will be tasked to discuss analyze and evaluate one of the following environmental issues and then recommend a policy to address the issue. Select an environmental issue that interests you from the list below:
Please note that air quality and water issues are not topics for the Final Paper because you wrote a short paper during Week Two which focuses on one of those two policy areas.
For this assignment you will complete the following sections:
Important: Parts 2 to 5 need be written as body paragraphs with all of the parts necessary for a complete body paragraph (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
The paper must be 10 to 12 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. You must use at least four credible sources (at least two of which must be found in the Ashford University Library) other than the textbook to support your claims. Cite your sources in-text (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and on the reference page (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. For additional information regarding APA samples and tutorials visit the Ashford Writing Center located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar in your online course.
Writing the Final PaperThe Final Paper:
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

We have studied a diverse group of environmental issues during our course. Many of these issues can be directly linked to a variety of environmental challenges/problems. In addition many of these issues affect various direct/indirect environmental values that are important to all people. The process to create policies that effectively and efficiently address these environmental issues is complex and difficult. In your Final Paper you will be tasked to discuss analyze and evaluate one of the following environmental issues and then recommend a policy to address the issue. Select an environmental issue that interests you from the list below:
Please note that air quality and water issues are not topics for the Final Paper because you wrote a short paper during Week Two which focuses on one of those two policy areas.
For this assignment you will complete the following sections:
Important: Parts 2 to 5 need be written as body paragraphs with all of the parts necessary for a complete body paragraph (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
The paper must be 10 to 12 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. You must use at least four credible sources (at least two of which must be found in the Ashford University Library) other than the textbook to support your claims. Cite your sources in-text (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and on the reference page (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. For additional information regarding APA samples and tutorials visit the Ashford Writing Center located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar in your online course.
Writing the Final PaperThe Final Paper:
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Each week throughout this course you will explore both sides of an environmental controversy. This week you look at the issue of science and politics. Review the background information. Then using the References along with resources from your own research write a 1-2 page response to the questions that follow. Remember to cite your sources using proper APA format.
Background Information
Today there are many complaints over the politicization of science. Many people believe politics should not play a role in science but once government funds science the funding decisions become political. In most social institutions disagreements are settled by debate. Science in contrast uses experiments to prove or disprove theories. Science is testable and is self-proving. If a better explanation for a phenomenon is found it will replace other explanations. This is why careful distinctions must be made between Frontier Science Consensus Science and Junk Science.
Many difficult controversies surround the environmental problems we face in the world today. Problems include: Air and water pollution global warming species and ecosystem biodiversity energy hazardous waste population and food supply issues. Politics control the financing of scientific research and development to help solve these issues. In politics passion wins over logic.
Science is not politics and cannot be debated in the same way politics are. Mixing politics with science produces bad science. Government efforts to fund research interfere with the maintenance of high scientific standards. The current Congress consists of 535 members. Of these members 7 (1.3%) are scientists and 21 others are healthcare professionals.
Use these references along with resources from your own research to help answer the questions that follow.
Lamb G. (2005 September 27). Science and politics: a dangerous mix. Christian Science Monitor 97(213) 11-13. Retrieved April 10 2009 from Academic Search Premier database.
Link to article
Pielke Jr. R. (2006 Spring2006). When Scientists Politicize Science. Regulation 29(1) 28-34. Retrieved April 10 2009 from Business Source Complete database.
Link to article
Questions
Do you feel that scientists should be cut out of the policy making process particularly on environmental issues when their research is proven and widely accepted and is being ignored and disputed? Politicians ultimately make the decisions but shouldn’t the scientists have a voice?
Do you feel that lobbyists and special interest groups exert too great of an influence and act as an impediment to finding solutions to and providing the funding for research for the environmental problems we face?

Week 5 – OverviewFinal Lab Report
You are required to write a complete laboratory report that covers the drinking water quality experiment from Lab 2: Water Quality and Contamination using knowledge gained throughout the course. Use the instructor feedback on your Rough Draft from Week Three to guide your writing. Be sure to download theFinal Lab Report Templateand utilizethis form(not the Rough Draft template) to ensure proper formatting and inclusion of all required material. Additionally view theSample Final Lab Reportbefore beginning this assignment which will illustrate what a Final Lab Report should look like. You must use at least two scholarly sources two other highly credible sources and your lab manual to support your points. The report must be six to ten pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials visit the Ashford Writing Center located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar in your online course.
The Final Lab Report must contain the following eight sections in this order:
In this class you havethreetutoring services available: Paper Review Live Chat andTutor E-mail. Click on the Writing Center (AWC) tab in the left-navigation menu in your online course to learn more about these tutoring options and how to get help with your writing.