LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY - C.W. POST CAMPUS
DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
GEOGRAPHY 11 (ERS 11) - CONSERVATION OF NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
3 CREDITS
FALL 2009
Class Meetings: Monday & Wednesday: 2:00 pm – 3:20 pm, PH 229
Instructor: Professor Scott Carlin; email: Scott.Carlin@liu.edu; Telephone (516) 299-3404
Web Page: http://scottcarlin.us
My Office: Room 106 Pell Hall
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 3:30 to 4:00 pm, or by appointment.
Mailbox: Earth & Environmental Science; Room 133 Life Science Bldg; x2318
Course description and objectives:
This course is an introduction to understanding critical human-environment relationships. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we will explore various aspects of ecology and environmental studies that help us to gain an appreciation for the natural systems that sustain life on Earth.
How we relate to the natural world is vital to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. The problems of our world – pollution, resource depletion, and climate change – indicate that we are deeply out of balance with the natural world. We have known about these imbalances for decades. Since Earth Day 1970, we have made explicit efforts to correct past problems. While some problems have improved, the overall health of the world’s ecosystems is generally much worse today. Scientists have expressed strong alarm about these trends: we must initiate dramatic changes in the next 10 years or face dire consequences. Others, particularly some economists, are dismissive of these alarmist claims and insist that our technological progress remains our best hope for the future.
A major part of this course is to understand these competing discourses that are used to describe and define the natural world. Which view is correct? How do we make these evaluations of truth?
In essence, this course examines the intersection of the physical and cultural worlds, placing special attention on problems of environmental and natural resource conservation. The objectives of this course are:
· to understand how humans use ecosystems – the Earth’s life-support systems
· to examine various theoretical and cultural models for natural resource management and environmental conservation
· to explore the utility of an interdisciplinary approach to environmental problem solving
· to encourage and develop skills in the areas of critical thinking, analytical problem-solving, information gathering, and communication (writing & speaking)
· to promote a greater sense of environmental awareness in our daily lives.
Required Textbooks:
1. David Orr. 2004. Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. Island Press. ISBN13: 9781559634953
2. Robert Henson, 2008. The Rough Guide to Climate Change, 2nd Edition. ISBN13: 9781858281056
3. Tony Weis, 2007. The Global Food Economy. Zed Books. ISBN13: 9781842777954
Other Readings:
Bruce Barcott, 2003. “What’s a River for?” Mother Jones (May/June) http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2003/05/whats-river
Lester Brown, 2008. Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, 3rd Edition. Earth Policy Institute/W W Norton available at: http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm
Scott Carlin, 1996. "The Post-Fordist Politics of Sustainability on Long Island," Middle States Geographer. 29:67-75
Carlin, Scott, et. al., 2008a. “From Ego to Eco: A New Worldview,” in Report of the Editorial Working Group of Climatecaucus.Net. http://www.climatecaucus.net/spirit_draft.pdf
Scott Carlin 2008b. Food Sustainability at C.W. Post, Report of GGR11. http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/scarlin/reports/postfood.pdf
Scott Carlin 2009. CW Post Cares, Report of GGR 29: Human Dimensions of Climate Change, http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/scarlin/reports/gw05_2009.pdf
John Dryzek, 2005 The Politics of the Earth : Environmental Discourses. Oxford University Press.
R. Heinberg, 2009. http://heinberg.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/204-timing-and-the-post-carbon-manifesto/
D. Jensen. A Language Older than Words. Chapter 1. http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/scarlin/ggr11/jensen.pdf
Robert Kates, 2000. “Population and Consumption.” Environment (April),
http://myweb.cwpost.liu.edu/scarlin/ggr11/kates.pdf
LIPA Plan, 2008. http://www.lipower.org/pdfs/company/projects/energyplan09/energyplan09.pdf and http://www.lipower.org/company/powering/energyplan08.html
Bjorn Lomborg, 2001. Skeptical Environmentalist. Chapter 1. http://lomborg.com/dyn/files/basic_items/69-file/skeptenvironChap1.pdf .
Pew Charitable Trust (June 2003), "Ecological Effects of Fishing in Marine Ecosystems of the United States," http://www.pewtrusts.org/pdf/environment_pew_oceans_effects_fishing.pdf
Articles on Deforestation:
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0801.htm
http://www.wrm.org.uy/publications/briefings/underlying.html
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0629-niles_new_idea_to_save_forests.html
http://www.wrm.org.uy/publications/briefings/From_REDD_to_HEDD.pdf
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0602-brazil.html
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week
Dates Topic
Assigned Reading
1 9-Sep Introduction: The Story of Stuff
2 14-Sep The Problem of Education Orr, ch. 1-3.
16-Sep Mathus & The Survivalist Discourse Kates, 2000; Orr Ch. 11
3 21-Sep The Promethean Discourse Lomborg, 2001
23-Sep Film: Mindwalk Orr, Ch. 5
4 28-Sep Yom Kippur – No Class
30-Sep An Ecological World View Carlin, 2008a; Jensen Ch. 1
5 5-Oct TAKE HOME MIDTERM DUE
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
7-Oct Greening College Food Services Carlin, 2008b; Orr ch. 18
6 12-Oct Greening College Food Services II Orr ch 22
14-Oct The Meatification of Diets Weis ch. 1
7 19-Oct Industrial Agriculture Weis ch. 2
21-Oct Why is there global hunger? Weis ch. 3
8 26-Oct Understanding Agro-Ecology Weis ch. 5; Orr ch. 23
ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
28-Oct Is Peak Oil Coming? Heinberg; Brown ch. 2
9 2-Nov Climate Change: The Basics Hensen, Part 1
4-Nov Long Island: Energy Transitions Carlin, 2009
10 9-Nov Symptoms: Oceans & Hurricanes Hensen, Part 2 (pp. 106-146)
11-Nov Symptoms: Drought & Agriculture Hensen, Part 2 (pp. 58-74, 147-170)
11 16-Nov Climate: Debates & Solutions Hensen, Part 4
18-Nov Climate: Personal Solutions Hensen, Part 5
12 23-Nov Climate Wrap up
25-Nov NO CLASSES - THANKSGIVING
BIODIVERSITY & WATER
13 30-Nov Biodiversity: Preserving the Rainforests Deforestation articles
2-Dec Water: A Precious Commodity Barcott; Brown, Ch. 4
15 7-Dec Class Presentations
9-Dec EXAM
The following are my policies regarding grading, attendance, assignment due dates, make-up exams, and extra credit assignments. I will assume that students enrolled in my section have read and understand these policies and know that they will be held to them.
Grading: Evaluation of student performance is based on the following course components:
Mid-term (take home) 20 points
Final exam 20 points
Total possible points 100 points
Final grades for the course are determined according to the following scale:
A = 4.00 = 93.0-100 B+ = 3.33 = 87.0-89.9 C+ = 2.33 = 77.0-79.9 D = 60-69.9 pts F = 0.0 = < 60.0
A- = 3.67 = 90.0-92.9 B = 3.00 = 83.0-86.9 C = 2.00 = 73.0-76.9
B- = 2.67 = 80.0-82.9 C- = 1.67 = 70.0-72.9
Attendance: The Undergraduate Bulletin states: “It is expected that students will attend all class sessions scheduled for the courses in which they are enrolled.” 10% of your grade is based on attendance, arrival time, attentiveness, and class participation.
Academic Integrity: Plagiarism will be dealt with severely. All work presented on exams and written assignments must be your own. Any written passages not in your own words must be in quotion marks with the source noted. Reference all factual information and other people’s ideas in your written assignments.
Assignment Due Dates: Instructions that accompany all assignments will indicate when each assignment is due. Unless you have a valid documented excuse (see below), assignments handed in late will be penalized 1 point/day, Mondays thru Fridays (not just class meeting days).
Make-up exams: Make-up examinations will be allowed only under extenuating circumstances such as a documented illness or personal emergency. You must notify me of this situation as soon as possible, generally within 24 hours of the scheduled exam. Out of fairness to your classmates, it is not acceptable to say, “I was sick last week can I make up the exam next week?” You will also need a written note from a health care provider documenting your illness. Students who participate on sports teams or other campus sanctioned groups should notify me well in advance of any conflicts with scheduled exams. It is unusual, but occasionally exam dates change during the semester. It is your responsibility to stay informed about these changes.
Extra credit: You should be aware that I do not make available extra credit assignments in my courses. If you find yourself in a situation where your score on an early exam or other work is much lower than you expected, then you should consider “extra credit” to mean the effort you need to apply to bring your average up by doing as well as possible on any remaining exam(s) or assignments. This effort includes seeking additional help from me during office hours or other mutually convenient times. It is possible to redo assignments (not exams) that you have difficulty with, if you discuss this with me first. Please note that in calculating final grades, I take into consideration – albeit in a subjective way – evidence of significant improvement in student performance over time.