Ocean Science and Public Policy - 1

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1 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate Ocean Science and Public Policy CAS NS 320 (3 credits) Course Catalog Description: Culture, history, political systems and science can shape ocean policy. Practice current strategies to build, analyze, and communicate about diverse policy issues. Examine the power, use and limitations of science and the scientist's voice in determining ocean policy. Instructor(s): Sea Education Association Maritime Studies and Ocean Policy Faculty and visiting scholars and guests. Location: SEA campus in Woods Hole, MA. Prerequisites: Admission to SEA Semester. Sophomore standing or consent of instructor. Course Philosophy and Approach: Ocean Science and Public Policy (OSPP) is a 6- week course taken by all Oceans & Climate SEA Semester students while studying onshore in Woods Hole. It focuses on U.S. and international policy controlling marine energy resources and practices. Topics include: the science- policy dialectic; recent U.S. marine environmental policy history and process; international law of the sea; U.S. climate- related and clean energy technology policy; whaling; petroleum- related policy; renewable energy sources and political controversies; writing in varied styles about climate- and energy- related issues; and energy policy and practices in the region through which the ship will sail during the sea component. World ocean space provides energy resources, energy- generation locations, transportation and commerce routes, and a place to dispose of waste (including carbon). Currently, many energy- industry externalities occur. For example, the burning of fossil fuels like gasoline, heating oil, and coal produces greenhouse gases thought to trap heat in Earth s atmosphere and contribute to climate warming. We will explore effects of, communication of, adaptation to, and mitigation of climate change followed by sustainable energy resources, and related policy. We will consult experts working in marine conservation, port management and development, marine chemistry, science in policymaking, coastal management, economics, physical oceanography, and marine energy transport. Federal and international laws set guidelines for how marine energy resources may be sought and exploited. Local concerns significantly impact how policies are implemented. We will investigate aspects of the energy resource and technology development process and attempt to discover wise ways forward for marine energy policy. We will apply our studies as we examine energy perceptions, needs, and resources in the island nations we will visit. This three- credit course consists of 45 contact hours of official instruction, through lectures, discussion sessions, student presentations, and field trips. The course calendar that follows provides preliminary details. Ocean Science and Public Policy - 1

2 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate If we each do a little, we ll achieve only a little. David MacKay, Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air Learning Outcomes: 1. Critically evaluate scientific information; does this argument or statement have a scientific basis? Assess and evaluate an array of climate- related material and pose questions about it. 2. Assimilate vetted data from multiple disciplines and apply it to decision making that helps people and ecosystems. Evaluation: Climate Policy Timeline Presentation, Outline, and Reflective Essay Climate Atlas Entries and Presentation Energy Survey Report and Presentation Public Meeting Testimony and Outline Participation/Engagement: posts and discussion 15% 30% 15% 15% 25% Assignments: Climate Policy Timeline Presentation, Outline, and Reflective Essay: Working in small groups, you will prepare a creative product or presentation related to a topic in marine policy and an outline of content conveyed. Finally, working individually, you will write a reflective essay. Each group will pick an area of interest related to marine policy e.g., sea- level rise adaptation strategy policies, changes in frequency/duration/location of droughts and related impacts/strategies, changes in temperatures, storminess, precipitation and related impacts/strategies, etc. Each group will work together in conducting research to develop a comprehensive foundation about the topic and an understanding of the laws, policies, science and timeline of historical events important to the topic. Each group will write a short paper outlining and explaining their findings, and develop a creative presentation that both educates and engages the audience (your classmates) in the significant aspects of your topic. This is an opportunity to be creative and have fun; just about any type of presentation format you can imagine is acceptable (e.g., song, game, mural timeline painting, skit, sculpture, and more!), but you must discuss your concept with your instructor beforehand. Each student will prepare a reflective essay after their presentation, analyzing their successes and challenges. Climate Atlas Entries (2): Exploration of regional climate challenges, concerns and activities in a human context will overlay scientific, sustainable- development, resource- use, and economic implications to help us appreciate the complex relationship between people and their environment. The Atlas Entry assignment offers an opportunity to contribute 1) a science- focused essay and 2) a policy- focused essay to an ever- expanding effort throughout SEA to document the natural processes acting upon the places we visit as well as human impacts on and relationships with local coastal and marine environments. You are asked to draw upon information from many disciplines, merge it with first- hand experiences, and create a final product for possible web publication. In a small group of two or three students, you will Ocean Science and Public Policy - 2

3 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate undertake a research effort culminating in two polished entries for our online Atlas. Each entry includes text (~2 pages each), several visuals, and complete references. The existing SPICE Atlas ( is an example you may browse, but you are encouraged to be creative in envisioning the format and structure of your Atlas entries. This project will comprise several steps. During the shore component you will complete a draft of your atlas entries, make a brief presentation to the class about the information they contain, and prepare a field research plan for further investigating the entry topics. Once we are at sea, you will continue to gather information, visuals, and observations about your topics, with final Atlas Entries due during the final days of the voyage following all our port stops. Energy Survey Report and Presentation: It is hard to talk to strangers, and even harder to design low- bias questions. This assignment offers an opportunity to do both and also add to SEA s Energy Perceptions Database. As a class we will first design interview questions relating to energy issues and perceptions. Then, in groups, you will administer your energy survey in interviews with people in public places in Falmouth or Woods Hole, using good interviewing practices which we will discuss in class (e.g., obtaining subject s name and signature on consent form, etc.). Each group will write a short energy survey report in the style of the journal Marine Policy that introduces the project, describes methodology, summarizes their findings, discusses limitations and compares their results to those of similar studies gauging energy- related or climate science and policy- related perceptions. Each group will also present their results in a 5-10 minute class presentation. These presentations should not only summarize your findings, but also reflect upon your experience talking with strangers about energy and climate changes; discuss difficulties you encountered, what you learned about interviews, and how you might improve upon this experience. Public Meeting Testimony and Outline: All students together will run a congressional hearing simulation to consider vulnerabilities and resources affected by allowing offshore oil drilling in the Arctic. The motivation here is to think about how to maximize safety for people working in energy industries and maximize ecosystem health. Arctic oil exploration happening now is analogous to the practice of whaling in the 19th century we can t always predict the conditions where we are going and there are lots of hazards, many associated with isolation from infrastructure. Industry cannot safely plan to drill for oil in Arctic offshore areas in the same way as in other U.S. coastal waters. The goal of this congressional hearing simulation is to present and discuss information that we need to know in order to: 1) assess resources needed for offshore oil exploration and exploitation in the Arctic; 2) assess natural resources present in the Arctic s offshore areas under U.S. control; and, 3) determine whether the U.S. federal government should allow offshore oil exploration and exploitation in the Arctic. In order to hold this congressional hearing we need experts; you will be those experts. Each student will be assigned a specific stakeholder role (e.g., White House, United Nations, Alaskan or Canadian indigenous people, U.S. Coast Guard, oceanographic institution, fishing industry, U.S. oil industry, Alaska coastal resources management, etc.). You will research your role using appropriate sources (government, university/college, peer- reviewed academic articles, mainstream media reports, and publications by the entity being represented) in order to accurately represent your assumed persona s perspective, expertise, and political agenda. During the simulation, each student expert will present their information in a 5- minute Ocean Science and Public Policy - 3

4 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate testimony (PowerPoint and other visuals encouraged), and answer a few questions from the audience. Each student expert will also prepare and submit a written outline of information presented and a list of references consulted. Students will be provided full instructions for all assignments during class meetings at the beginning of the course. Expectations and Requirements: Punctual attendance is required at every class meeting. Participate actively in class discussion. Late assignment submissions are not accepted. The policy on academic accuracy, quoted below, will be strictly followed in this class. The papers that you submit in this course are expected to be your original work. You must take care to distinguish your own ideas and knowledge from wording or substantive information that you derive from one of your sources. The term sources includes not only published primary and secondary material, but also information and opinions gained directly from other people and text that you cut and paste from any site on the Internet. The responsibility for learning the proper forms of citation lies with you. Quotations must be placed properly within quotation marks and must be cited fully. In addition, all paraphrased material must be acknowledged completely. Whenever ideas or facts are derived from your reading and research, the sources must be indicated. (Harvard Handbook for Students, 305) Considerations for use of internet sources: As you browse websites, assess their usefulness very critically. Who posted the information and why? Can you trust them to be correct? Authoritative? Unbiased? (It s okay to use a biased source as long as you incorporate it knowingly and transparently into your own work.) Keep track of good sources that might be useful for subsequent assignments, and annotate in your bibliography any sites you cite. Your annotation should include the name of the author or organization originating any material that you reference. If you can t identify the source, don t use it! Readings: Avery & Madin, Protect the Scientific Deliberative Process, 2012 Columbia University Law School Center for Climate Change Law, Climate Regulation Tracker and Climate Change Litigation Chart, 2014 Craik, et al, Eds, Climate Change Policy in North America: Designing Integration in a Regional System, 2013 Goldberg, Drowning Kiribati, Bloomberg Businessweek, Nov Graetz, The End of Energy, Ocean Science and Public Policy - 4

5 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate Hansen, Storms of My Grandchildren, 2009 Hoagland and Jin, Developing Annual Estimates of the Economic Consequences of Shoreline Change in the United States, 2004 ( Lomborg, The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World, 2001, and responses MacKay, Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air, 2009 Mann, The Hockey Stick and The Climate Wars, 2012 Oliver, Polynesia in Early Historic Times, 2002 Oreskes & Conway, Merchants of Doubt, 2010 Osofsky & McAllister, Climate Change Law and Policy, 2012 Pielke, The Honest Broker, 2007 Reddy & Camilli, Science out of Context, June 3, 2012 (Boston Globe) Romney et al., Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan, 2004 The Kohala Center, County of Hawai i Energy Sustainability Program Five Year Roadmap, 2012 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Assessment Report 5 Summary for Policymakers, 2013 U.S. Energy Information Administration ( Film: Cape Spin: An American Power Struggle (2011) The Daily Show, on Cape Wind (2007) Optional readings: Banerjee, The most hated climate scientist in the US fights back: Michael Mann is taking a stand for science, Yale Alumni Magazine, 2013 Englander, High Tide on Main Street, 2013 Melville, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, 1846 Nelson and Vucetich, On Advocacy by Environmental Scientists: What, Whether, Why, and How, Conservation Biology, 2009 Revkin, Fresh Views on Climate Scientists as Advocates, The New York Times, 2014 Sachs, The Price of Civilization, 2011 Troost, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, 2004 Vaite, Breadfruit, Ocean Science and Public Policy - 5

6 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate Course Calendar: Topic Required Readings/Assignment(s) Due Week 1 (5 hours) What is climate? Is there a problem? How do science & policy interact? Introduction to O&C Program and OSPP Readings: Goldberg (2013) Oreskes & Conway (2010): Chpt. 6 + Concl. United Nations IPCC (2013): Exec. Summary Lecture/Discussion Topics: What is climate? Is there a problem? What is climate change? Sustainability? Kiribati Case Study Science and policy dialectic End users of science U.S. Marine Environmental Law intro Human migration around the Pacific International Law of the Sea Optional reading: Sachs (2011): Chpt. 13 Optional pre- reading: Melville, H. (1846); Troost, J. (2004); Vaite (2000) Posts: Your climate- related questions about cruise track ports of call; your questions about the assigned readings. Choose climate policy timeline topic. Week 2 (7 hours) What do we need in order to understand climate concerns? Lecture/Discussion Topics: Who works to understand climate change and policy? Role of scientists in policy making U.S. Marine Environmental Law, continued Sea level rise/shoreline change/ma StormSmart Coasts program Energy policy survey design and implementation Readings: Hansen (2009) Hoagland and Jin (2004) Lomborg (2001), and responses Mann (2012) Orekes & Conway (2010): Epilogue Pielke (2007) Romney et al. (2004): Exec. Summ. (pp. 5-12) Optional readings: Banerjee (2013); Englander (2013); Nelson and Vucetich (2009); Revkin (2014). Posts: Your questions about scientists in policymaking and about shoreline change, based on readings. Climate Policy Timeline Presentations Atlas topic ideas due. Climate policy timeline outlines and presentations due. Ocean Science and Public Policy - 6

7 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate Week 3 (7 hours) Adapt to climate change? Lecture/Discussion Topics: IOL USCG map activity Pacific legal and political land/seascape Maritime law Climate change impacts on small island developing states Readings: Columbia University Law School Center for Climate Change Law (2014) Craik et al. (2013) Osofsky & McAllister (2012) Posts: Your questions about Pacific organizations readings SeaWeb, SPREP, AOSIS, World Bank. Energy Survey Presentations Climate policy timeline reflective essays due. Energy survey presentations and reports due. Annotated bibliography & outline due for climate atlas entries. Week 4 (10 hours) Mitigate climate change? Lecture/Discussion Topics: Marine energy law Waste- to- energy power generation BP oil spill chemical and legal residue Readings: Avery & Madin (2012) Graetz (2011): Chpt. 13 MacKay (2009): Chpt. 19, Reddy and Camilli (2012) U.S. Energy Information Administration: read page on dependence on foreign oil Atlas Entry Presentations Field Trip to Rochester SEMASS waste- to- energy power plant (joint w/ OGCC) Posts: Your questions about assigned readings. Climate atlas entries and presentations due. Week 5 (10 hours) Alternative energy sources Lecture/Discussion Topics: Offshore wind energy Readings/Films: Cape Spin: An American Power Struggle (film) The Daily Show (film) Kohala Center (2012): Executive Summary Field Trip to New Bedford Energy pursuits from whaling to wind Posts: Your questions about assigned readings. Public Meeting/Congressional Hearing Simulation with Student Experts Public meeting testimony & briefing outline due. Ocean Science and Public Policy - 7

8 SEA Semester : Oceans & Climate Week 6 (6 hours) History and policy of cruise track locations Lecture/Discussion Topics (case studies will vary with specific cruise tracks): French Polynesian kinship, mythology, and gifts Regulatory adaptation or mitigation strategies Case Study: Biodiversity; UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Management Case Study: Tropical Cyclone Inundation in French Polynesia Readings: Oliver (2002) Case study assigned readings will vary with specific cruise tracks. Posts: Your questions about case study readings. Climate atlas field research plans due. Weeks 7-12 at sea Optional readings: Selections on cruise track locations: politics, culture, history, economics At Sea: Final Energy Perceptions survey report. Atlas entry field research & completion of final atlas entries. Ocean Science and Public Policy - 8