Home Page: www.drake.edu/artsci/ENV/courard-hauri Email: david.courard-hauri@drake.edu Phone: 515-271-3812

One Earth ENV-035-301 Fall 2005 Syllabus Office: Olin 132 Office Hours: M: 2-4, T: 10-12; F: 11-12 or by app't

Overview: This course will be an interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between humans and their natural environments with a focus on issues resulting from these complex relations. Analysis of environmental problems, possible solutions, and ways to foster movement toward a sustainable society will be considered.

Through a discussion of several environmental issues, we will investigate the sustainability of current society. We will look for linkages between issues such as human population growth, resource depletion, pollution, individual and corporate behavior, and human and ecosystem health. We will also touch on questions of environmental economics, ethics, and policy development.

Attendance: Material presented in lectures but not in the book will appear on exams and quizzes. Let me rephrase that. MATERIAL PRESENTED IN LECTURES BUT NOT IN THE BOOK WILL APPEAR ON EXAMS AND QUIZZES. Do not complain that the material on the test was not what you learned if you didn't come to class. Also, active participation in class will lead me to look kindly upon grades near cut-offs; the reverse is true as well. Do with this information what you will.

Quizzes: There will be 11 quizzes, and you can drop the two lowest grades. Quizzes will begin promptly at 10:00 and will end at 10:05. There will be no make-up quizzes, and no extra time for students who are late. If you miss a quiz, even with a valid reason, that will be one of the quizzes that I drop. I will not be swayed by students suggesting that they really need to take a quiz because they had done poorly before and so need that quiz to be one of the two dropped. Don't get yourself into that situation, and excused absences will not be a problem.

Reading: To be completed during or before the week listed on the syllabus. There will be a formal period, generally on the first meeting each week to discuss the reading and ask questions, though questions and insights from the readings are always welcome in any class discussions. The text will generally be used as a background source, and some material in the text will appear on the exams or quizzes, even if we did not discuss it in class. The course text is:

Paper: There will be one required paper, no more than 7 pages (~2100 words) in length. It will be a research/discussion paper on a topic of environmental interest. I will provide a list of topics which I consider to be of reasonable import and ambition, but you may also choose a topic of your own, provided you get it approved first.

Debates: Debate Schedule There will be ten "debate" sessions. There will be two groups of two students each which will lead a session, and students will be given a chance to sign up for their topic of interest and partner early in the semester (though they may not receive their top choice). Debate sessions will include 30 minutes of formal "debate", when students must support the position given, and then 20 minutes of open class time when the debators will lead the discussion but audience participation will be expected. You can download the rubric that I will use to grade the debates, so that you know how to prepare. All students will fill out rubrics at each debate, although these will not be used in the grading. It is quite possible that I will disagree with the "sense of the class" (my grade will be significantly more or less positive) on a given point, and I will not consider that to invalidate my impression.

Academic Dishonesty: I will assume that students are aware of what academic dishonesty is. If you are not, please visit the FYS web site and read the plagiarism statements there (www.drake.edu/artsci/PolSci/fysstudentpage.html). I am required by Drake to report any incidents of suspected plagiarism to the Dean's Office, whether they are intentional or not. Students engaging in any type of academic dishonesty (including but not limited to using somebody else's ideas without proper attribution, passing off as your own work that is not entirely yours, conferring about answers on tests or quizzes, etc.) should expect to receive failing grades for the course, regardless of whether they claim to have understood the requirements. Therefore it is in your interest to understand what plagiarism is and to ask me if you feel you may be approaching a gray area.

Grading: Your final grade will be made up of two in-class exams (100 pts each), a final exam (200 pts), a paper (100 pts), a debate (100 pts), and 9 quizzes (100 pts).

Week One: (8/22-8/26) Ch 1 notes
M: Administrivia
W: Introduction to thermodynamics
F: Cycles: Ecosystems

Week Two: (8/29-9/2) Ch 2, 3 notes
M: Discussion of readings, Cycles: Carbon
W: Cycles: Nitrogen and others; What happened to Biosphere 2.
F: Interactions. Quiz 1

Week Three: (9/5-9/9) Ch 4 notes
M: No Class: Labor Day
W: Debate #1: We are in the Midst of a Fundamental Environmental Crisis pro: Dylan, Fred; con: Blake, Ben H.
F: Discussion of Readings, Population Dynamics. Quiz 2

Week Four: (9/12-9/16) Ch 10 notes
M: Biodiversity.
W: Extinctions and island biogeography
F: Debate #2: The Endangered Species Act is a Good Law. pro: Seth, Mark; con: Dena, Crystal; Quiz 3. Paper Topics Due

Week Five: (9/19-9/23) Ch 5 (200-210) notes
M: Discussion of readings. Begin Human population.
W: Human population: how, when, and why will it stop?
F: Debate #3: We Need an Active Global Policy to Limit Population Growth. pro: Chase, Melissa; con: John, Aaron; Quiz 4.

Week Six: (9/26-9/30) Ch 9, 16 notes
M: Discussion of Readings. What was the Green Revolution?
W: Methods and effects of industrial agriculture.
F: Integrated Pest Management and alternative agriculture. Quiz 5.

Week Seven: (10/3-10/7) Ch 15 notes
M: Debate #4: The Green Revolution has been bad for the world's poor pro: Hank, Brett; con: Paige, Drew.
W: Review
F: Exam 1 Study guide; Practice Exam; Answer Key

Week Eight: (10/10-10/14) Ch 22 notes
M: Human health and risk
W: Environmental Economics: National Wealth, Happiness, and the Environment.
F: Debate #5: The US Should Ban GMOs. pro: Casey, Logan; con: Justin, Jessica; Quiz 6.

Week Nine: (10/17-10/21) Ch 11 notes
M: No Class: Fall Recess
W: Environmental Economics: SO2 case study.
F: Debate #6: The US Should Strive Towards a "Steady-State" Economy. pro: Sara, Tim; con: Heather, Ben B.; Quiz 7

Week Ten: (10/24-10/28) Ch 6 notes
M: Discussion of readings. The rich and the poor.
W: Debate #7: Economic Development Should be the Focus for Environmental Improvement in the Modern World. pro:; con:;
F: Photovoltaic smog. Quiz 8

Week Eleven: (10/31-11/4) Ch 21 notes
M: Stratospheric ozone
W: Stratospheric ozone as a model for international cooperation.
F: Review. Quiz 9

Week Twelve: (11/7-11/11) Ch 20
M: Exam 2. Study Guide; Practice Exam; Answer Key
W: Discussion of readings. Climate change: Science.
F: Climate change: Science

Week Thirteen (11/14-11/18) Ch 12 notes
M: Climate change implications
W: Debate #8: The US Should Ratify the Kyoto Protocol. pro: Christine, Renato; con: Alex, Craig;
F: Discussion of readings. Nukes? Quiz 10

Week Fourteen: (11/21-11/25) Ch 13
M: Energy: Will we run out of fossil fuels? Papers Due
W: No Class: Thanksgiving

Week Fifteen: (11/28-12/2) Ch 14 notes
M: Energy: How much do we need?
W: Debate #9: We should drill for oil in ANWR. pro: Kim, Amanda; con: Brandon, Ian.
F: Catch-up. Quiz 11

Week Sixteen: (12/5-12/9) Ch 23
M: Debate #10: We are in the Midst of a Fundamental Environmental Crisis. pro: Tony, Sally, Julie; con: Reed, Adrian.
W: Discussion
F: No Class: Dead Day

Study Questions for the Final

Dr. David Courard-Hauri Environmental Science and Policy Program Drake University Phone: 515-271-3812 Fax: 515-271-3702 Email: david.couard-hauri@drake.edu