This simple data visualization allows students to compare primary energy use and …
This simple data visualization allows students to compare primary energy use and several other variables (carbon dioxide emissions, oil consumption) among different countries, including by OECD and non-OECD status. Students have the ability to toggle a handful of different ways to visualize the data, such as on a map, a bar chart, or a line graph.
Campus Climate Conversations are designed to be both educational and "deliberative," meaning …
Campus Climate Conversations are designed to be both educational and "deliberative," meaning students, staff, and faculty interact with one another in small groups to share views and ideas about climate action strategies. This activity is structured to enhance education and engagement, and to generate collaborative climate action strategies.
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Faculty and students of politics inevitably engage with contentious debates about global …
Faculty and students of politics inevitably engage with contentious debates about global inequality and development, conflict, and environmental sustainability. Teaching and learning outcomes in politics tend to emphasize critical and analytical thinking, but have paid less attention to emotion and feeling in considering how to navigate current issues. How can contemplative practices help instructors and students not only intellectually consider, but also emotionally hold difficult and often divisive and unsettling issues? In what ways can such practices both create space for honest, compassionate discussion and encourage engaged citizenship? By using a guided exercise of self-reflection and dialogue, students will develop self-awareness of their emotional responses and of their peers to contentious political issues, and recognize the importance of open listening and dialogue for gaining a deeper appreciation of contrasting views.
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In this video, students explore the work of Jay Keasling, a biologist …
In this video, students explore the work of Jay Keasling, a biologist who is experimenting with ways to produce a cleaner-burning fuel from biological matter using genetically modified microorganisms.
My first experience teaching climate change came after a unit covering the …
My first experience teaching climate change came after a unit covering the mechanisms and impacts of climate change. After this unit, I realized students may have a pessimistic outlook on the future. However, in the past humans have successfully reversed some major environmental problems. One example is banning the use of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) as an insecticide which caused birds egg shells to be too thin. Another example is a global agreement to stop the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) which caused a hole in the ozone layer. Also the banning of lead in gasoline was another environmental success. The unit presented here is a engineering solutions oriented unit focused on climate mitigation. The mitigation strategies considered are carbon sequestration and alternative energies. This unit will cover the engineering design process with activities to practice this process while learning about carbon sequestration or wind energy. Information provided here includes background on climate change, information on the engineering design process, and different alternative energies or carbon sequestration.
This assignment requires that students research the historical context of an environmental …
This assignment requires that students research the historical context of an environmental issue within their own communities and apply different types of organizing/advocacy tactics for instigating social change.
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Through an analysis of water quality in a nearby lake, students are …
Through an analysis of water quality in a nearby lake, students are introduced to basic chemical techniques such as titrations (both acid/base and oxidation/reduction), atomic absorption spectrometry, and uv/vis spectrometry
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The classic campus-based project is an environmental or sustainability assessment, often referred …
The classic campus-based project is an environmental or sustainability assessment, often referred to as an environmental audit. This course, taught at Carleton in 2001, describes how this type of project can be undertaken. In this scenario, a student, campus environmental group or class researches aspects the envinormental impact of the school.
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This four week curriculum is for elementary learners to explore environmental engineering …
This four week curriculum is for elementary learners to explore environmental engineering in urban environments. The unit starts with a broad question of “how can we make our community more sustainable?”, the unit will cover what the field of environmental engineering is, what predictability, mitigation and sustainability are, and how they relate to each other. These principles will be taught as vocabulary and will be supported with the use of anchor charts; students will be expected to use them during discussions. The unit will teach about urban infrastructure and the phenomenon of the Urban Heat Island effect. Students will then learn about and explore the possibilities of alternative energy sources and cities that already implementing green engineering. Students will explore how they can answer the question that was presented to them at the beginning of the unit. Following the engineering design process students will plan changes that they would make to their own city (in our case New Haven, Connecticut). Students will act as environmental engineers to come up with potential solutions to answer the broad question posed at the beginning of the unit.
This course focuses on two sets of issues in environmental ethics. The …
This course focuses on two sets of issues in environmental ethics. The first set of issues, emerging significantly from practices such as animal agriculture and animal captivity in zoos, research facilities, and other settings, concerns the moral status of non-human animals. What kind of moral consideration are non-human animals owed? Do they have rights, and if so, how extensive are those rights? As a philosophy class, our emphasis is on the analysis of concepts and the critical evaluation of arguments. Beyond gaining a familiarity with the issue of the moral status of animals (along with the second issue of the class, not discussed here, concerning global climate change), students should expect to develop their analytic and evaluative skills through in-class discussion and a range of writing assignments.
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This is a inquiry-driven class research project on a local environmental geochemistry …
This is a inquiry-driven class research project on a local environmental geochemistry question that is accomplished during three-hour laboratory sessions each week. Students are divided into groups that will share the responsibilities of collecting samples and data. Once the data is collected, it is shared among the entire class so that all students have the same data set. The class works on data presentation, preliminary analysis, and statistics together Then each student writes his/her own report separately.
Outcomes:
Laboratory skills -- Students have basic laboratory skills necessary to carry out a supervised geochemical study (e.g. can perform Gram titration of waters in field, can collect water samples using clean methods).
Quantitative methods -- Students can manipulate, sort, and transfer data in Excel and can create simple x-y plots and histograms to bring out trends in data.
Critical thinking -- Students can develop multiple hypotheses to explain trends in data and can design tests of these hypotheses.
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This is an independent case study project completed in pairs. The students …
This is an independent case study project completed in pairs. The students should investigate an example of natural geochemistry and then use a poster format to share their findings with the class.
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To complete this activity, students can follow the instructions and the tutorial …
To complete this activity, students can follow the instructions and the tutorial in the Environmental Health Risk Inventory website. In doing this, they will gain an understanding of how to use on-line tools and databases as well as the processes of compiling an environmental health risk inventory for a specific locale. In the activity, students will address the question: "how healthy is your neighborhood?" Students will address anthropogenic and naturally-occurring health risks in their hometown or neighborhood by using data collected from online mapping tools and databases. Students will also complete a reflective summary based on the data that they collect.
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This class explores the foundations of environmental justice theory and how they …
This class explores the foundations of environmental justice theory and how they apply to historical, current, and emerging global issues. The goal of the course is to explore theories of distributive, procedural, and recognition justice as they relate to environmental ‘goods’ and ‘bads.’ We will explore a variety of case studies, touching on interrelated topics ranging from climate justice, food justice, energy justice, water justice, etc. This course blends sociological perspectives with natural resource management and policy implication
Learning Objectives: Develop a critical understanding of the historical development of the theory and practice of environmental justice. Gain familiarity with key thinkers, theories, and debates in the field. Be able to identify social, economic, and political factors that contribute to the existence of disparities in environmental outcomes.
This activity is designed to get non-environmental majors to qualitatively examine their …
This activity is designed to get non-environmental majors to qualitatively examine their own community for evidence of environmental injustice. Using a mix of evidence from online sources (U.S. Census, EnviroMapper, Toxic Release Inventory, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, etc.) and field observations, student groups describe the population and pollution sources found within an assigned elementary school district in Tacoma.
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This collection uses primary sources to environmental preservation in the Progressive Era. …
This collection uses primary sources to environmental preservation in the Progressive Era. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.
The assignment is the development of scientific research project proposal, tailored to …
The assignment is the development of scientific research project proposal, tailored to a specific range of course-appropriate topics and mimicked after current calls for NSF proposals in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, or Low temperature geochemistry. Project components include a one paragraph pitch, submission of a draft for peer-review, and submission of the final proposal with a response to peer comments. A final, oral or poster presentation is an optional component. This is a multi-week assignment, and typically a significant componenent of the course grade.
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Environmental science draws on knowledge and methods from many fields of the …
Environmental science draws on knowledge and methods from many fields of the sciences and social sciences, including biology, chemistry, economics, ethics, geography, geology, medicine, physics, political science, sociology, and statistics. Many environmental specialists adopt an interdisciplinary approach to integrate these different ways of knowing in order to help understand and prevent environmental damage. This book also adopts an interdisciplinary approach by drawing on a variety of disciplines. At the same time, however, the choice of topics and the interpretations offered reflect my own experience and world view as an ecologist – one who has had a rather specialized career examining the ecological dimensions of environmental problems.
Environmental Science is a free and open textbook that enables students to …
Environmental Science is a free and open textbook that enables students to develop a nuanced understanding of today’s most pressing environmental issues. This text helps students grasp the scientific foundation of environmental topics so they can better understand the world around them and their impact upon it. This text draws largely from open sources, in addition to new content from the editor.
Students cooperatively conduct original research in Marine Geology utilizing marine practices on …
Students cooperatively conduct original research in Marine Geology utilizing marine practices on Lake Champlain, NY - Vermont. The lab section of the course is used to develop and implement a research project. The students are given a research question to solve. To proceed, they must first review all available literature and then design a research program. They then implement that program using marine and laboratory equipment that is available to them and report on their outcomes after a semester-long investigation.
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