Introduction to Environmental Science
The first unit of environmental science is intended to give students a feel for the types of issues that will be covered in the course. Certain fundamental concepts that will reappear multiple times throughout the year will also be taught here. A special emphasis is placed on the root causes of many of the environmental issues discussed through the course, such as overconsumption of resources, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Additionally, the importance of developing a sense of environmental ethics is a central theme. The famous Hetch Hetchy debate is used to frame much of this lecture.
Introduction to Environmental Science Unit Plan
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Purpose: This is an outline of the major lessons covered within this unit, their suggested sequence, a time estimate for each topic, and important objectives and vocabulary covered by this unit. Links are provided for any website, video clip, worksheet, or lecture Powerpoint needed by the instructor.
This unit plan is primarily written for instructors of upper-level high school students and introductory college-level students.
Introduction to Environmental Science Lecture Powerpoint
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Purpose: This Powerpoint presentation is designed for the first class of a survey Environmental Science course. The lecture briefly covers many of the fundamental ideas and issues behind the discipline and serves as a good preview for the material covered in the rest of the course.
The Powerpoint begins with an introductory a narrative to frame the rest of the material. In this case, I begin with the events leading up to the debate surrounding and eventual construction of the Hetch Hetchy dam in Yosemite National Park. This is a great example of an early clash between two distict types of environmental ethics -- the resource conservationists and nature preservationists. The rest of the lecture is spent discussing some of the broad environmental issues -- resource conservation, pollution, developed vs. developing countries, and ethics.
Essential Concepts: Environmental science, renewable resources, nonrenewable resources, pollution, biodiversity, environmental ethics, Tragedy of the Commons, developed countries, developing countries, sustainability.
Introduction to Environmental Science Lecture Notes Outline
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Purpose: Taking efficient notes can be a big challenge for many students, especially when working from a Powerpoint lecture. This outline gives students a means to take notes that guides them toward important concepts and avoids the pitfalls of writing word-for-word or simply not taking notes at all. The outline is written as a series of questions, fill-in-the-blanks, or diagrams.
Essential Concepts: Environmental science, renewable resources, nonrenewable resources, pollution, biodiversity, environmental ethics, Tragedy of the Commons, developed countries, developing countries, sustainability.
Introduction to Environmental Science Pre-Test
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Purpose: A good way to be introduced to your students and the background knowledge they bring to the course is through a pretest. This test is a mixture of open-response, multiple choice, and true/false type questions. Each of the major units typically covered in an introductory environmental science course is addressed in this pretest.
One way to incorporate this into the first day of class is to first allow students to take the pre-test, then go around the room one at a time, have the students introduce themselves, and ask them to give their answer to one of the questions. This will provide an opportunity to break the ice, encourage some basic-level discussion on a few important environmental issues, and provide some insight into the interests and backgrounds of everyone enrolled in the course.
Where Was My Shirt Made? Economic Conditions in Developing Countries
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Purpose: Many consumer goods in developed countries are produced in the developing world -- often in unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, for minimal pay. This activity seeks to give students insight into one category of these products -- our clothing.
Each student will find out what country their shirt was made in, then do some simple research to determine the gross domestic product per capita of that country and where it is located in the world. As a class, the students will observe patterns, such as many of the countries having a GDP per capita of less than $2000, and much of the production being located in southeast Asia or Central America.
Environmental Ethics: Bhopal and Dow Chemical
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In 2004, the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster in India, a man falsely claiming to be a spokesperson for Dow Chemical appeared on a live BBC newscast. During his interview, he announced that Dow Chemical would be accepting full responsibility for the cleanup, remediation, and victim restitution from the Bhopal disaster of 1984. Immediately after this interview, Dow Chemical's stock price fell 4.2%, or $2 billion in market value.
Essential concepts: Environmental ethics, morality, economics, Bhopal, developing countries, hazardous waste.
The Lorax and the Tragedy of the Commons
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Purpose: The Lorax (1972 TV movie version) is really all about the tragedy of the commons. The entrepreneurial Once-ler arrives in a diverse natural area that must be a commons -- there is no ownership by anyone nor is there any regulation. The Once-ler does what often happens to commons, he overexploits it for short-term gain. While this is highly successful for him initially, in the long run, the land becomes polluted, deforested, and completely worthless.
Essential Concepts: Environmental ethics, anthropocentrism, resource depletion, pollution, biodiversity, Tragedy of the Commons.
Cartoon Guide to the Environment: Easter Island
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Purpose: The collapse of the Polynesian civilization on Easter Island is one of the most compelling examples of the tragedy of the commons. The wood provided by the island's forests provided building material and enabled them to transport the giant stone moai. However, they overexploited this resource, leading to the deforestation of the island and collapse of their society. Students will read the first chapter of Larry Gonick's Cartoon Guide to the Environment and identify the environmental impacts of deforestation and think about what kinds of regulations may have prevented the disaster.
Essential Concepts: Environmental ethics, anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, worldviews, tragedy of the commons, deforestation, overexploitation.
Introduction to Environmental Science Study Guide
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Purpose: Once the instruction for the unit is completed, students can complete this study guide to aid in their preparation for a written test. The study guide is divided into two sections: vocabulary and short answer questions. The vocabulary is taken directly form the lecture, sequentially. The short answer questions are meant to model the type they may see on the exam.
Essential Concepts: Environmental economics, environmental ethics, overconsumption, resource use, developing countries, developed countries.
