Instructor: Kelly Hollingshead

Office location: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, Western Science Centre, room 122

Office hours: By appointment

Email: khollin@uwo.ca

Instructor: Dr. Keith Griffiths

Office location: Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Building, room 25

Office hours: By appointment

Email: griff@uwo.ca

TA: TBA

Pre- or co-requisite: Chemistry 2210A/B “Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you will be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.”

Class lectures: Mon., Wed. and Fri. 10:30-11:30; NCB-117

Course description and objectives:

This course is intended to give students an overview of environmental problems from the natural science

perspective. Many of the subjects that we will cover in an overview fashion in class can be discussed in

more depth at the discipline and sub-discipline level. Social and economic concerns and implications

regarding the environmental problems may be discussed, as will potential solutions, but they will not be

the focus of the lectures. Active participation in discussion of topics during lecture and in the web

environment is strongly encouraged. Through this course, you will develop your critical thinking skills

in order to evaluate, question, comprehend and make decisions about important environmental issues that

we face, while strengthening your basic scientific knowledge of these issues. A major component of this

class is to write an individual literature review using primary literature, on a specific assigned topic. You

will work in pairs with others that have related essay topics to create a graded presentation (details to

follow). The quality of your writing will be evaluated. Instruction and practice in library research and

oral presentation skills will be provided.

Early in the course you will be provided with a handout about essay writing and format of

presentations.

Course Information

Instructor Information

Course Outline: Environmental Science 3300F

Natural Science of Environmental Problems

Fall 2013

Living in the Environment Third Canadian Edition: G. Tyler Miller and Dave Hackett, 2014 - Required

Environmental Chemistry: Colin Baird and Michael Cann, 5th edition - Recommended

Materials on Reserve (Taylor Library):

Both textbooks above will be on reserve

Grading plan:

Mid-term tests 2 x 12.5% (in-class tests, multiple choice, short answer, long

answer). A make-up exam is not offered for either of these tests.

Literature review first draft 5% (peer and instructor/TA marked)

Literature review final paper 25%

Oral presentation 10% (peer and instructor/TA marked)

Participation* 5%

Final Exam 30% (date and location TBA)

NOTE: In order to pass the course, it is mandatory that you complete and receive ≥ 50% on both

the literature review and oral presentation components and a grade of 50% overall.

*Participation: You must attend at least two-thirds of the student presentations and be actively involved

in the question period following student presentations. Your participation will be recorded by your

submission of each presentation’s evaluation form at the end of each session. Attendance/submission of

presentation forms will determine, in part, your overall mark for this part of the course. If you miss any

presentations, you are responsible for the information you miss.

Use of WebCT:

Lecture notes, announcements, links and resources of interest will be posted on OWL

Regularly (more than once/week) log on to the course website for class announcements or

postings.

The lecture notes are only meant to provide an outline of lectures. You are responsible for adding

information presented in class.

Discussion and questions regarding environmental issues in class and on OWL is encouraged

between students.

How to access OWL (powered by Sakai):

Go to https://owl.uwo.ca/portal and log into the system using your UWO user name and password (i.e.

same ones used to access your Western email account)

Evaluation and Grading

Required Texts

Course Policies and Other Information

Email Policy

1. Use your Western email account ONLY when contacting your professor or TA. Personal accounts

(e.g. hotchick@hotmail.com or biker4life@yahoo.com) might be intercepted by “SPAM” filters and be

sent to junk mail. Email is to be used only for administrative matters. If you have questions about course

material or content, please make an appointment with one of your instructors or one of the course TAs.

2. It is important that you include “ENVSCI3300F" in the subject of any emails that you send us.

This will help us sort the many emails we receive every day and respond as quickly as possible.

3. Generally, all emails will be responded to within 48 hours during weekdays (not including holidays).

Emails will *usually* be addressed during regular work hours (9-5). We may choose, at our discretion, to

respond outside these hours, depending on availability. If you send us an email a 2:00am, it is highly

unlikely that we will respond by 5:00am.

Accommodation for Medical Illness or Other Serious Circumstances

If you are unable to meet ANY course requirement due to illness or other serious circumstance, you must

provide valid medical documentation or other supporting documentation to the Dean's office as soon as

possible and contact the instructor immediately. It is your responsibility to make alternative

arrangements with the instructor once the accommodation has been approved by the Dean’s office and

the instructor has been informed. Evaluations worth less than 10% of the course grade can have the grade

weight added to the in-class mid-term tests, if you choose. If you miss either, or both of the in-class mid-

term tests, the weighting of these tests will be added to all of the remaining evaluation components. In the

event of a missed final exam, a "Recommendation of Special Examination" form must be obtained from

the Dean's Office immediately. Please see for further information:

http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/accommodation_medical.pdf

Student’s requiring academic accommodation due to illness for any assignment/exam should use the

Student Medical Certificate when visiting an off-campus medical facility or request a Record's Release

Form (located in the Dean's Office) if you visit Student Health Services.

Classroom/Online Environment Rules of Conduct:

1. All technology not being used for class purposes should be turned off,

disabled or not used (i.e. cell phone ringers, texting, messaging, Facebook™-ing,

twitter™-ing). Answering emails, surfing the web and chatting online are not acceptable uses of

technology in the classroom. Remember, other people around you can see what you are doing on

your laptop. This can be a distraction to your classmates.

2. Class starts on time. If you come in late, please do so quietly. You are responsible for the

material presented and obtaining handouts if you arrive late or miss a class.

3. Please treat all class members, TA’s and the professors with respect in class and in the web

environment. This includes keeping noise levels down during class. On OWL, be respectful of

the opinions and thoughts of other classmates posted in discussion forums. Derogatory and

offensive remarks and responses are not acceptable.

The Student Medical Certification form can be downloaded from this link:

http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/medicalform.pdf

Plagiarism Rules and Academic Integrity

All assignments and essays must be written in your own words. Changing the word or sentence order or

changing words using a thesaurus does not constitute original work. If you use an idea or excerpt from

another author, regardless of source type, you MUST reference it in the appropriate fashion as requested

on the assignment. Details of how to do this will be provided to you.

“Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students

take an idea, or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using

quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism

is a major academic offence (see Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar).”

The following guide will help you avoid committing an academic offence

http://www.uwo.ca/ombuds/student/cheating.html

Electronic Submission of Assignments

“All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial

plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers

submitted will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting

plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing

agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com

(http://www.turnitin.com).” See further details regarding the University’s plagiarism rules above.

To submit your assignments or essay to Turnitin:

1. Go to https://owl.uwo.ca/

2. Login using your UWO username and password (same as your e-mail)

3. Click on Preliminary Reference Report or Essay Information folder.

4. Click on the Preliminary Reference Report or Essay submission icon.

5. Click on the Upload button to upload your assignment and follow the prompts to complete the

submission process. Do not forget to do this step or your project will not properly upload.

In the calendar on the next pages, test dates and due dates are firm. The schedule of lecture material is

approximate only. The instructors reserve the right to change topics, or introduce new topics if significant

environmental issues should arise during the term.

Approximate Schedule *(subject to change) *(subject to change)

◄ Aug 2013 ~ September 2013 ~ Oct 2013 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

KH - Introduction

10

11

KH - State of the World-I

12

13

KH - State of the World-II

14

15

16

KH - Matter, Energy, Systems

Literature review topic choices due; literature review tutorial

17

18

Library literacy session (NCB 105)

19

20

KH - Matter, Energy, Systems

21

22

23

KH - Ecosystems and Cycles

24

25 KH - Ecosystems and Cycles

26

27

KH - Food and Soil

28

29

30

KH - Food and Soil

Notes:

◄ Sep 2013 ~ October 2013 ~ Nov 2013 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

KG - Herbicides and Pesticides

3

4

KG - Herbicides and Pesticides

5

6

7

Test 1. In class. Covers all material from Sept 9 to Sept 30.

8

9

KG - Herbicides and Pesticides

10

11

KG - Dioxins and Furans

12

13

14

Thanksgiving

15

16

KG - Dioxins and Furans Literature review first draft due

17

18

Peer review tutorial

19

20

21

KG - Dioxins and Furans

22

23 KG - PCBs and PAHs

24

25

KG - PCBs and PAHs

26

27

28

KH - Water

29 30

Test 2. In class. Covers all material from Oct 2 to Oct 25.

31

Study Break

Notes:

More Calendars from WinCalendar: Nov 2013, Dec 2013, Jan 2014

◄ Oct 2013 ~ November 2013 ~ Dec 2013 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Study break

2

3

4 KH - Water

5

6

KH - Climate Change

7

8 KG - Mercury

9

10

11

KG - Lead

Literature review final version due

12

13 KG - Cadmium

14

15

KG - Arsenic

16

17

18

KG - Arsenic

19

20

KG - Chromium

21

22 Presentations

23

24

25 Presentations

26

27

Presentations

28

29

Presentations

30

More Calendars from WinCalendar: December, January, February

◄ Nov 2013 ~ December 2013 ~ Jan 2014 ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

Presentations

3

4

Presentations

5

6

Exam Review

Last day of classes

7

8 Examination period beings

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Last day of examination period

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Notes:

More Calendars from WinCalendar: Jan 2014, Feb 2014, Mar 2014

The Writing Support Centre can help students to improve their writing skills. Writing resources and/or

expert writing counsellors are available to you. (http://www.sdc.uwo.ca./writing).

The Student Development Centre has many other support services available to students.

(http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/).

Registrarial Services: http://www3.registrar.uwo.ca/index.cfm

Mental Health

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist

you. Please visit the site below for more information on mental health resources:

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/.

Western's commitment to accessibility

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any

other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services

for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 661-2111 x 82147 for any specific question regarding an

accommodation.

Determine your Learning Style

Attend class, print lecture notes, pay attention and take notes

Take part in class discussions

Read the recommended material

Review, review, review; cramming doesn’t work

Tips for Course Success

Available Support Services

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them ~ Albert Einstein