Chapters 15 and 16

We are the Saudi Arabia of coal. In short, we have a ton of it. Make an argument: Use it or find another system? Should we use all that coal to produce electricity? What if that electricity fuels cars instead of gasoline? Is that a good idea?

Of all the non-renewables forms of energy generation, what seems like the least risky? What about the risks for renewable energy?

Thought: We often call wind and hydroelectric generation "carbon neutral." We'll discuss this in class, but what does that mean?

Discussion for November 12, 2009

Due to series of minor catastrophes, this late. I apologize.

Heating costs are rising, and the response in home building is increased efficiency of insulation. OUr houses are tighter than ever, keeping out cold air in the winter and keeping in cool air in summer. Look at the diagram on page 299. By some calculations, indoor air can be 90 times more polluted than indoor air. There is a relationship here. By increasing heating and cooling efficiency, we are taking away the air infiltration that blows out pollution. What is the relationship? What do you think? Where is the middle ground?

Final Paper

The major grades remaining for the term are the final exam and the final paper. Here is the prompt for the final paper:

On the midterm, I asked each of you to describe an environmental problem that means something to you in just a few sentences. Now, I want you to expand those ideas into a full paper. This is a RESEARCH paper and must be accompanied with appropriate citation in the Chicago style. In the paper, I want you to gather the major thoughts about the issue you choose from academia, the news, policy, etc. and use that information to demonstrate an argument that is relevant to you.

In other words, it's not enough to simply describe Global Warming. I want you to give the basics of the problem, but the meat of the paper should be an argument about what YOU think should be done based on your research. You can focus globally or locally, but the important idea here is that your research is supporting your argument.

The paper is 5-7 pages long, Times New Roman font, size 12, standard margins.

Questions? Post them or ask in class!

Chapter 5 Discussion

I'm borrowing this prompt from the book:

"Practitioners of ecological restoration in North America aim to restore communities to their natural state. But what is meant by "natural"? Does it mean the state of the community before industrialization? Before Europeans came to the New World? Before any people laid eyes on the community?

"Let's say Native Americans altered a forest community 8,000 years ago by burning the underbrush regularly to improve hunting, and continued doing so until Europeans arrived 400 years ago and cut the forest for farming. Today the area's inhabitants want to restore the land to its "natural" forested state. Should restorationists try to recreate the forest of the Native Americans, or the forest that existed before Native Americans arrived? What values do you think underlie the desire for restoration?"

Some studies have argued in favor of complete restoration; i.e., retuning big cats and elephant-like creatures to the Great Plains of the Midwest. Good idea? Bad idea?