evr 1001 section b51 introduction to environmental science · evr 1001 section b51 introduction to...
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EVR 1001 Section B51
Introduction to Environmental Science
Spring 2013
Classroom: Academic 2 - 115 Time: T,Th 11.00 am – 12.15 pm Instructor: Teddy L’Houtellier Visiting Lecturer, Department of Earth and Environment Tel: 786-394-0911 Email: [email protected] > all communications will be through your “@fiu.edu” email, so please, check it regularly. Check also your student portal on Black Board Learn (fiu.blackboard.com) since most of the assignments and lectures will be posted there.
Course Description This physical science course introduces students to the study of climate, atmospheric composition, nutrient cycling, air and water pollution and water resources. Through discussions of these topics, students will better understand the complex issues surrounding the human ecological footprint, global climate change, degradation of water resources, reliance on fossil fuels for energy and industrial scale agricultural practices. Learning Objectives: Learning objectives for this course are based on a definition of scientifically literacy in Environmental Science. This definition of scientific literacy is based on the National Science Education Standards (1996). After completing this course, students should: - Understand the principles of environmental science and their impact on everyday life
- Understand and reflect critically on information included in and omitted from reports concerning environmental science
- Take part confidently in discussions with others about issues involving environmental science
- Make informed personal decisions about things that involve environmental science
Required Texts G.Tyler Miller Jr. / Scott E.Spoolman. 2011. Environmental Science – 14th Ed. Cengage. ISBN-10: 1111988935 ISBN-13: 9781111988937 Current Environmental News at: http://www.msnbc.com/news/environment
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The Environmental News Network: http://www.enn.com/
FIU Office of Sustainability/GoGreen Team: http://gogreen.fiu.edu/index.html Responsibilities It is my responsibility to come to class prepared, clearly state guidelines, and to make your classroom experience an enjoyable and interesting one. I will present lectures, facilitate classroom discussion, grade assignments in a timely manner and above all else, always listen. If you have any problems, please see me after class. It is your responsibility to: 1. Come to class on time. 2. Do the reading assignment (we will have quizzes). 3. Participate in class when you have questions or comments. 4. TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES―no cell phones, no blackberries, etc. No laptops either unless you explain why you need to use them for the class. 5. Act polite in class towards one another—listen when someone else is talking; comment but never criticize; do not have conversations with others during class; let me know before class starts if you have to leave early that particular day. Assignments & Evaluation
Quizzes 5%
Student Presentation 10% Home Works 10%
Participation 5% Exam 1 20% Exam 2 20% Exam 3 30%
Final Grades
A=92 or greater, A-=90 to 91, B+=88 to 89, B=82 to 87, B-=80 to 81, C+=78 to 79, C=72 to 77, C-=70 to 71, D+=68 to 69, D=62 to 67, F=Less than 62
All grades are rounded up, so 79.5 counts as a B-, etc.
Quizzes/ Student presentation / Home Works / Participation - You will have 3 unannounced quizzes, Quizzes will consist of a series of multiple choice questions based on the previous lecture, and it will always be given at the beginning of the class, so it is best to be on time. - Student presentations (power point) will be at the end of the course (See guidelines at the end of this syllabus).
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- You will have various exercises taken from your book along the semester. Home Works will be given at the end of the class and will be due the following week. - Participation: Reading of case studies specified in the course schedule will be discussed at the beginning of every new chapter, and one student at random will have to start the debate with a brief summary of the article There will be no make-ups for quizzes, assignments or films/guest speakers’ questionnaires, so it is best to be in class, and to arrive on time. Extra Credit You can volunteer for a minimum of 3 hours and write a half page report on your experience in order to gain extra credit. There is a limit of one extra credit opportunity for a total of 30 points. List of Environmental Organizations in Miami: - Go Green team at FIU: http://gogreen.fiu.edu/index.html contact Alexandra Dutton at [email protected] or 305-348-1820 - Citizens for a Better South Florida (http://www.abettersouthflorida.org/ ) Contact Gloria Antia at [email protected] or 305-648-0000 - Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (http://www.fairchildgarden.org/ ), Contact Kiki Mutis at [email protected] or 305-669-4085 - Natural Preserve at FIU (for volunteering activities, contact Ryan Vogel at [email protected] or check either your BBoard or Moodle portal for schedule) -Urban Paradise Guild: www.urban-paradise.org contact Sam Van Leer at [email protected] or 305-758-5119 - Tropical Audubon Society (http://tropicalaudubon.org/volunteer.html ) Contact: [email protected] or 305-667-7337 -Urban GreenWorks ( http://urbangreenworks.org/ ). Contact James Jiler at [email protected] or 786-447-8084 - Earth Learning (http://earth-learning.org/ ) Contact Mario Yanez at [email protected] or (305) 323-8858 - Roots in the city (http://rootsinthecity.com/ ) Contact Marvin Dunn at [email protected] or 305-389-1602 - CLEO Institute Project on Climate Change Literacy (http://www.cleoinstitute.org/) Contact Karina Castillo at [email protected] or 305-284-0908 - Biscayne Nature Center (BNC): Crandon Park, 6767 Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne, FL 33149 Phone: 305-361-6767 Website: www.biscaynenaturecenter.org Exams There are three exams for this course. The last exam will be given at the scheduled exam time during final exam week and will be semi-comprehensive. This means that questions from the first two exams may appear on the final exam. Exams will be entirely made up of multiple-choice, fill the blank and a few true-false questions.
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No make-ups will be allowed for exams without a written excuse from a doctor, parent, or legal guardian. Academic Honesty Please be aware that FIU and Department of Environmental Studies academic honesty policies will be upheld. Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated and is considered cheating. This includes copying text directly from websites, previously written papers, and other sources without acknowledging the original source or author. Cheating on exams also has serious consequences, up to and including expulsion. Plagiarized film reviews are easy to detect and find and last semester several people flunked the course for using them.
EVR 1001 Introduction to Environmental Science Course Schedule LEC/ DATE Topic/Reading
01/08 Introduction – Chapter 1 Reading: p 5 case study in Miller HW due on 01/17: Question 2 in Critical Thinking(1/2 page) + “Doing Environmental Sc”(1/2 page) p23
01/10
01/15 Science, Matter and Energy – Chapter 2 Reading: p 25 case study in Miller 01/17
01/22 Ecosystems and Nutrient Cycles – Chapter 3 Reading: p 40 case study in Miller HW due on 02/07: Ecological Footprint Analysis (1/2 page) p60 + Q# 3 in Critical Thinking(1/2 page) p59
01/24
01/29 Biodiversity –Chapter 4 and 5 Reading: p 61 and p79 case studies in Miller 01/31
02/05 Human population and Urbanization – Chapter 6 Reading: p 94 case study in Miller HW due on 02/21: Ecological Footprint Analysis (1/2 page) p120 + Q# 7 in Critical Thinking(1/2 p) p119
02/07
02/12 Gogreen Team FIU Presentation or guest speaker
02/14 Exam 1 (from Chapter 1 to 6)
02/19 Climate and sustaining biodiversity: The Species & the Ecosystem approaches - Chapters 7, 8 & 9 Reading: p 151 & 174 case studies in Miller
02/21
02/26 Food, Soil and Pest Management – Chapter 10 Reading: p 204 case study in Miller HW due on 03/19: Global Environment Watch Exercise (1/2 page) p236 + Q# 5 in Critical Thinking(1/2 page) p235
02/28
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03/05 Water Resources and Water Pollution – Chapter 11 Reading: p 237 case study in Miller
03/07
03/12 SPRING BREAK
03/14
03/19 Geology and Nonrenewable Minerals – Chapter 12 Reading: p 275 case study in Miller HW due on 04/04: Data Analysis (1/2 page) p298 + Q# 6 in Critical Thinking(1/2 page) p297
03/21
03/26 Exam 2 (from Chapter 7 to 12)
03/28 Energy – Chapter 13 Reading: p 299 case study in Miller
04/02 Air Pollution, Climate Change and Ozone Depletion – Chapter 15 Reading: p 376 case study in Miller HW due on 04/18: Doing Environmental Sc (1/2 p> Ask Office of Sustainability) p347 + Q# 4 in Critical Thinking(1/2 p) p346
04/04
04/09 Solid and Hazardous Waste – Chapter 16 Reading : p 411 case study in Miller
04/11 Students Presentation part 1 (check your date and topic on excel doc in BBoard)
04/16 Students Presentation part 2
04/18 Students Presentation part 3
04/23 Final Exam
Student presentation Guidelines: You will have to make a Power Point presentation on a specific topic given at the beginning of the course. Requirements:
- You‘ve been attributed a topic that you will find in an Excel Doc “PPT Topics and
dates” placed on BBoard
- Presentation cannot last more than 9 minutes ( for group of 3 students: 3 slides
/ student). Tips: no embedded videos, insert good illustrations (graphs, fig., and
pictures), pick the right choice of format (yellow text on a picture in the
background= wrong format)
- DON’T PUT A LOT OF TEXT IN YOUR SLIDES, DON’T READ YOUR SLIDES, I want
to hear what you have to say about the issue, this is not a reading contest.
- Make sure you bring the Power Point on a USB key the day of your presentation.
- You will need to end your last slide with a reference to the sources that you used
( don’t talk about it but include an extra slide just to acknowledge your sources):
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Use AT LEAST 3 official newspaper articles, 2 academic papers (Fiu library or
google scholar research ) and 2 official websites.
- If you have any questions or doubts, contact me at [email protected]