An interdisciplinary examination of the global ecological crisis of our time. Global environmental problems will be reviewed, with emphasis being placed on the methods used to analyze and respond to these problems. This course satisfies general education 100 level requirements for either science or social science but not both. This course is a requirement for the Environmental Studies and Environmental Science majors.
Miller, G. T., Living in the Environment: 12th Edition, Pacific Grove, Calif., Brooks Cole PublishingCompany, 2002.
Student Responsibility and Grading:
The student is responsible for attending class, for all material covered or assigned, for completing assignments on time,and for participation in class discussion as appropriate. Reading assignments must be done before they are discussed in class. Late assignments will be penalized. Students should check the associated bulletin board with this class at least twice a week to check for assignment updates, deadline changes, and test schedule changes. Click on the bulletin board at the top or bottom of this web page.There is a general rule of thumb and expectation that you should spend twice as much time outside of class for studying as class time. This would suggest 5 hours per week as the minimum time spent on studying or other assignments. Schedule 5 hours that you can spend on this class every week.
Grading will be based on the following criteria:
Exams and Quizzes
50 Research Paper
20 Attendence
10 Group/Writing Assignment
20
100
Attendance is mandatory and will be taken at each class. +10 points will be given for perfect attendence, +9 points for one absence, +7 for two absences, +5 for three absences, +3 point for four absences. Five absences will be grounds for failure. Three latenesses (arriving after attendence has been taken) counts as one absence. As a courtesy, you should email the instructor about your absence.
If you miss an exam or quiz due to an emergency, contact me immediately. The general policy is that there will be no makeup tests or quizzes. Students with documented absences may be given the opportunity of taking an oral examination or makeup exam on the subject matter at the discretion of the instructor. To ensure that students do their reading assignments, there will be several unannounced quizzes throughout the semester. Other quizzes, the midterm, and final time and place will be announced well in advance.
Office G-434 (Fourth floor of G building)Scheduled office hours will be T,F 1:15-2 PM, Tuesday 4:15-5:15 PM or by appointment.
Telephone 201-684-7752 or just extension 7752 on campus.
Email – bmakofsk@ramapo.edu
Web Page - http://orion.ramapo.edu/~bmakofsk
Mailbox is in G325, opposite the TAS Secretary's Office on the 3rd floor or leave material under my office door, G434.
If any student is registered with the Office of Specialized Services, please see me to discuss any accomodations that might be needed.
I. Overview (M, Ch. 1 and Ch. 11)A. IntroductionB. Interlocking Environmental Crises
C. Population, Resources and Pollution
D. Sustainable Earth
II. Environment and Society (M – Ch. 27, 28, 29)
A. Politics and EnvironmentB. Economics and Environment
C. Ethics and Environment
III. Scientific Models and Systems (M - Ch. 2)
A. Science and TechnologyB. Scientific Models
C. Systems and Feedback
IV.Matter and Energy Flows (M - Ch. 3)
A. Building Blocks - MatterB. Energy Flows
C. Energy Sources
D. Laws of Conservation of Matter and Energy
E. Applications
V. Ecosystems (M - Ch. 4, Ch.5, Ch. 6, Ch. 9)
A. Ecological SystemsB. Energy Flows in Ecosystems
C. Matter Cycling in Ecosystems
D. Species Interaction and Biodiversity
VI. Fundamentals for Planetary Survival: Food, Water, Air and Energy (M - Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 18, and Ch. 16)
A.Food Production SystemsB.Water Supply
C.Air Pollution
D.Energy
VII.Climate, Weather and Life (M - Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 19)
A. Weather and ClimateB. Biomes
C. The Oceans
D. Climate Change
E. Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
To illustrate the interdisciplinary nature and complexity of environmental problems in our local communities, the class will work together on simulated community problems involving pollution and biological threats. In response to requests from the community, the class will act as consultants who will study and present their findings to the class. The appropriate course of action to solve each problem will be debated. Each member of the group will be responsible for developing a written and an oral response to posed questions, and for interacting and communicating their work to a larger group via the internet. Grading will include both individual research work, and working together as a team. The details of this assignment will be developed in class. This assignment is based on Learning Modules being developed at Ramapo College and may be found at www.rst2.edu/ties. Click on Learning Modules and then on Mercury Quest-Start Here and on DDT- Start Here to visit the Web-based material.
The research paper will focus on the effect of your resource consumption on the environment. The analysis should consider the personal, community, national and global levels as appropriate. The paper should incorporate concepts and principles from the course, including matter and energy flows, ecological effects, societal (social, political and economic) effects of the resource consumption, and the concept of sustainability. The research should also consider alternatives to the existing method of resource consumption that would be more sustainable and have less environmental damage. You should have at least 5 references to support your paper and you should build on your course text as much as possible. Two sources should be done using the internet. A detailed outline of your paper and sources is due by mid-March and is worth 5 points out of the 20 point total. Your proposal is subject to my feedback and approval. The completed research paper itself is due by the beginning of May. Lateness will be penalized by grade reductions.
The paper will be graded on writing (spelling, sentence structure, style, etc.), depth of analysis, integration of thought and writing (clarity of purpose, logical flow, substantive conclusions based on evidence, etc.) and quality and use of references.All references should be correctly cited (footnoted) in the paper and listed alphabetically in a bibliography. The paper should be typewritten, double-spaced and about 8-10 pages in length. Please turn in your approved outline (the one with comments and with my signature) with your final paper so you can get your outline grade.
In doing this assignment, you will have to analyze a number of questions. The following list is provided to help you think about the topic. For some topics, there may be some additional questions that are more pertinent. As you explore a topic, you can base your outline on answering these questions. Some general questions are:
Part I:
- Where does the resource come from?
- What transformations does it undergo before it reaches you and what are their effects? (extraction, processing, manufacturing, transportation)
- What effects does the resource have during use?
- How is the resource disposed of and what are the effects of its disposal?
- As much as possible, document direct and indirect economic costs, and political, social and environmental impacts. What are the impacts on a local, community, national and global level?
- Is the present resource consumption sustainable?
Part II:
- What are alternatives to the present process of resource consumption? (Evaluate at least one reasonable alternative to the present consumption in some depth).
- How could the alternative be implemented in society? (laws, behavioral changes, economic incentives or disincentives, etc.)
- What would be the changes on society if the alternative was implemented? (How feasible is the alternative?)
- How is the alternative more sustainable?
- The following is a partial list of some potential topic areas. You will need to narrow these topics down considerably in most cases. You are also encouraged to develop your own topic area of interest.
water
appliances
metals
heating energy
vehicles
furniture
electricity
clothing
gasoline
paper
food
batteries
wood products
lawns
waste disposal
lighting
pesticides
paints
refrigerators
plastic products
personal care products
water heating
chemicals
Community Services
garbage
recycling
water systems
waste systems
road maintenance
utility impacts
Reading and Discussion Assignments:
You are responsible for reading the text assignments on time. Upon completing a chapter, you should answer the review questions at the end of the chapter to see if you have understood the important points in the chapter. If not, you should immediately reread the section and answer the question. It is often helpful to write a summary of the important concepts and definitions in a chapter. It helps you to remember them and also helps in reviewing for tests. In addition to the review questions, the following is a list of assigned critical thinking questions at the end of each assigned chapter. You should come to class prepared to discuss them. On occasion, there may be a surprise quiz based on the review and critical thinking questions to see if you are doing the assignments on time.Review Questions - All
Critical Thinking Questions
Chapter 1: 1,2,4,7,15
Chapter 11: 3,5,7,8,12,13
Chapter 26: 1,3,4,6,7
Chapter 27: 1,4,7,8
Chapter 28: 1,3,9,12,13,15
Chapter 3: 1,3,6,13,14
Chapter 4: 2,3,4,6,8
Chapter 5: 1,3,4,8,8,9
Chapter 8: 2,4,6,10,11
Chapter 12: 1,4,7,8,10
Chapter 13: 3,8,10,13
Chapter 15: 1,3,4,6,7
Chapter 17: 1,2,3,6,7,8
Chapter 6: 2,4,6,9,12
Chapter 7: 1,3,4,5,8
Chapter 18: 1,3,5,7,9,10
Dr. William J. Makofske, Professor of Physics
Environmental Studies Web Page
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Web Site Last Updated January, 2002