Environmental Science

The Best Contraceptives? It has been said that in nations seeking to reduce their population growth rate, a combination of sustainable economic development along with improved educational and socio-economic opportunities for women are the best “contraceptives” (i.e. ways to reduce a woman’s total fertility rate; don’t know this term? Look it up before posting). A. How does improving educational opportunities for women help reduce population growth (in those nations seeking to do so)?  Cite specific scientific, demographic, socioeconomic and/or geopolitical evidence from one (1) nation that is working to reduce its population growth rate and where improving education for women has worked / is working. Be sure to back up your explanations with some research before discussing this topic online with your classmates. Be sure to read relevant sections of your text (and supplementary readings from this Module) and look online.  Start with these background readings: United Nations’ Girls’ Education Initiative The Beijing Platform for Action Turns 20 The World Bank’s Girls’ Education Overview Organize your posting by using the letter/number combinations as follows to earn up to 12 points. Be specific and thorough. Cite statistics in A2, A3. A1. Identify a nation that has been / is working to reduce its population growth. For how long? (2 points) A2. What has this nation done to improve the educational opportunities for its women? (5 points) A3. How have increased educational opportunities for these women changed their socio-economic status? (5 points) B. After you have posted, you must respond to at least one of your classmates right there on the discussion thread. (4 points)

Acts:    1.     The Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970.  2.     The Clean Air Act in 1970. 3.     The Clean Water Act in 1972. 4.      Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in 1972. 5.      Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act in 1972. 6.      Endangered Species Act in 1973. 7.      Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974. 8.      Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in 1976 (Hazardous Waste Management).  9.      Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 1976. 10.   Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act in 1980.

All energy sources have an environmental impact. Using the map provided or the website listed below, identify types of power plants near your home”Valdosta, Georgia”. In 250 words or more, describe ways to reduce negative environmental impacts of the energy source(s) near your home. Include the costs of these measures. Do you think the advantages are worth the cost of these changes? Why or why not? https://www.eia.gov/state/maps.php

Go to: Extreme Ice Video Or just Google: “Extreme Ice Nova” The video is about 52min long. In the video, Extreme Ice, our relationship with ice was said to be one of the most important controllers of the environment for the entire plant.  Answer the following questions related to the importance of ice to our plant and how human activity affects the stability of the ice sheets and glaciers. Provide works cited In 2-3 paragraphs, respond to the following: – What are greenhouse gases and how are they produced, both in nature and by man? – Describe how human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere?  Give specific examples of these gases. – What is the relationship between greenhouse gases, temperature changes, and sea levels? – In your own words, summarize why ice is important to the world environment. Support your statements with evidence from the video, your textbook, and your research?

You are the emergency manager in a city with a population of 250,000 in the southeastern United States. Your city manager wants to aggressively reduce the city’s vulnerability to natural hazards and wants you to develop a policy to facilitate the city’s vulnerability to natural hazards. In a policy proposal of 3-4 pages, explain how your city could reduce the city’s vulnerability to natural hazards. Provide at least 1 recommendation for improving the city’s protective measures for critical infrastructure. All recommendations must be sufficiently justified or backed up by academic sources. You should ensure that you address each of the 16 CI sectors. Demonstrate an understanding of vulnerability by identifying 1 vulnerability in each of the 16 CI sectors. For example, in the Agriculture and Food sector (among many others), a common vulnerability is flooding. Flooding is routinely mitigated by structural controls such as levees and dams (another sector). Assignment Guidelines Address the following in a policy proposal of 3-4 pages: For each CI sector, do the following:  Identify 1–2 vulnerabilities that exist in your locality. Describe the vulnerability or vulnerabilities, and explain their significance to the sector. Provide 1–2 recommendation for improving the city’s protective measures for critical infrastructure. How will the vulnerabilities be addressed (mitigation)? Consider cost, practicality, complexity, danger, and maintenance in your recommendations. For example, in the Agriculture and Food sector, a common vulnerability is flooding. Flooding is routinely mitigated by structural controls such as levees and dams. Conclude your proposal with a summary of your findings. Provide an overview of how your city could reduce its overall vulnerability to natural hazards. Compile your responses into your final proposal, and submit the file to your instructor. Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.

Rhetorical Situation: Blog Entry for the Washington Post. Your role: Syndicated columnist. You are a respected thinker about current events with an intelligent opinion. You don’t assume everyone agrees with you, and you don’t think those who do, are stupid; still, your goal is to persuade them that your position is the most reasoned and important for public policy or attitudes, etc…. Goal: to intelligently persuade Guidelines: The readings on conservation and preservation and environmental history, etc might be the most helpful for this essay. Consider the following from Dr. Reed Noss (he used to be here at UCF) et al, write in Bolder Thinking for Conservation: “In contrast to policy-driven targets, scientific studies and reviews suggest that some 25–75%of a typical region must be managed with conservation of nature as a primary objective to meet goals for conserving biodiversity.” They then suggest taking the middle– 50% — of all regions (so 50% of the land and water in the US) should be managed for conserving biodiversity if we wish to keep civilization working. This would mean a total re-working of development and economics in this country. Still, their warning is stark. In your first sentence, make a claim about the future of the United States and how reformist, radical, or even against US environmental priorities should be in the next 20 years. You might consider what you think is at stake, what the trade-offs should be, or lines we should or should not cross. Support your proposition with the readings, and in this essay, be sure to specifically consider and include Abbey’s book as one reference. Keep these stylistic goals in mind for blog-writing: you may use first person, be compelling (here, use the readings well), and understand that your audience is an interested public using the internet as a civic platform and tool. Use APA citation style for this assignment because it will present well.

Part 1: Media Analysis Paper For Part 1 of the communication project, you will analyze media coverage of your topic using the information and concepts you have learned thus far in class. This project will not only help you to understand and witness, first hand, how these concepts are applied in the real world, but will help you hone your analytical writing skills. This paper and the research you conduct for it will also serve as a resource and preparation for the next steps of your communication project. The point of this written assignment is to develop a deep understanding of how environmental issues or events are represented in the media. You will survey media coverage of your chosen topic (written, visual, audio, etc.), analyze the coverage using concepts outlined in your textbook and class resources (frames, journalistic norms, imagery, etc), and come up with your own conclusions and recommendations regarding the coverage of your topic. Paper Expected format: This is an individual student paper, 4-5 pages, double-spaced, 12 size font. It must include a bibliography of all sources used (using APA formatting, not included in page count). You will turn your paper in on Moodle. Please turn it in as a PDF. Paper Content requirements: Although you are free to organize your paper however you see fit, there should be four main components to this paper: 1) Introduction and identification of your topic or event and its importance, 2) survey and analysis of media coverage of the event, and 3) your conclusions and recommendations regarding this topic. Some general ideas or questions to consider in each of these components, as well as additional requirements, are below: 1. Introduction to your paper dentification of your topic or event and its significance a. What is your topic or event? Why does it matter? b. Your paper should include a thesis that summarizes your main argument about how your topic is covered in the media c. You should also outline the content of the rest of your paper – what you will be using as evidence and how will the paper be organized? 2. Survey and analysis of media coverage a. Where was your topic covered? What types of media were used? i. Traditional? Digital? Visual? Where was it most covered? ii. How were these types of media used? iii. Include at least 5 examples from at least 2 different media types b. What observations can you make about the ways in which your topic was covered? i. Can you identify journalistic norms, themes, constraints, or frames? 1. Include specific examples and cite your media sources ii. Tie your analysis directly to concepts covered in class (although you are welcome to use outside research and concepts in addition) iii. Make sure your assertions in your analysis relate to and support your thesis 3. Conclusion and recommendations a. Summarize your analysis and findings and tie them directly to your thesis b. Propose ways in which your topic might be better communicated (if applicable) or explain what recommendations you would make for continued coverage of your topic Bibliography: Your bibliography should be in APA format and should include at least 2 citations from class, 5 media examples (2 different types, ie: video, traditional news, radio, citizen journalism, digital etc.). You will also use in-text citations in your paper (Author last name, Year).

Suppose you wanted to study the environmental impacts of a rich versus a poor country. What factors would you examine, and how would you compare them? Please give your thoughtful response in 150 words with proper grammar in APA. Also, locate an article or a You-tube link, share and discuss about its content.

Read: Accounting for Nature’s Benefits; The Dollar Value of Natures Ecosystem Services 1. Write a short essay reviewing the paper 2. Describe an ecosystem service you use  3. Explain whether the service is being used sustainably, and what that means to you personally.

I picked Morenci Mine as my topic. If there’s something else you’d prefer to write about, let me know, but I think your best bet is to stick with Morenci Mine since I’ve started the outline for you and picked out some sources already. Here are some notes my professor left on my outline: (for paragraph A) “Get USGS documentation on this mining district or the geology of this deposit.” (for paragraph B) “What do they do with the tailings? Costs to build and operate? Fluctuation of market for metals extracted?” (for paragraph C) “What are the main environmental impacts? Habitat, groundwater, surface water, emissions, see AZDEQ permits or fines.” (for paragraph D) “Who are the other stakeholders? State of AZ, nearby towns, employees, environmentalists?” (for paragraph E) “Do they pay royalties? Taxes? Was this built from public lands under the General Mining Act of 1872?”