Environmental Science

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1 Environmental Science Environmental Science ESCI 1 ESCI Z CRN LECTURE: TBA (ONLINE) (SEPT 24-DEC 5) (FINAL ASSESSMENT: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5 BY 5:00 PM Julie Phillips/Pat Cornely FALL Quarter Units DE ANZA COLLEGE, DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL, HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT KIRSCH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (KCES) DESCRIPTION An introduction to environmental science as a branch of the sciences and its relation to the scientific field. Review of the principles of environmental and ecological literacy as well as trends in restoration ecology, regenerative/sustainable studies, including Agenda 21 and other environmental indicator tools as they relate to humans including all cultural, ethnic/gender groups & the earth s systems. INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION: JULIE PHILLIPS, Facilitator for Planet Earth Pat Cornely (KC 218) Office Hours Online: Will be posted on the course website Office/Phone: (408) KC 219 ES Dept office KC 217 Address: Catalyst ESCI 1 page phillipsjulie@deanza.edu ES Dept website: Protocols for ESCI 1-62Z class: You are expected to participate in all class activities (provided online and selfpaced); expect to put in 4 hours per week viewing videostreams and completing in-class assignments; and 2-4 hours per week on chapter readings and required assignments/assessments. You will receive a detailed agenda for each week of class. All assignments, communications and other information are available only on the Catalyst website: Your ESCI 1 Binder (including all assignments) are to be turned into the Stewardship Resource Center (SRC) located on the 2 nd floor at the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies (south entrance to De Anza College Campus, Parking Lot D). Any other accommodations must be made directly with Julie Phillips prior to October 10. Student Learning Outcomes for ESCI 1: SLO #1: Assess (apply) the criteria necessary to be successful in the ESCI 1 class. SLO #2: Utilize the scientific & environmental methods and ecosystems thinking (including ecological principles including ecosystem services, major aquatic life zones & terrestrial biomes) and a team approach (including scientists, public, decision-makers & others) to implement ecosystems thinking into the public policy process utilizing a local case study ESCI 1-62Z Mediated Learning Course 1 J. Phillips

2 OBJECTIVES After completing this course you should be able to: 1. Help save this great planet and the Earth s remaining intact ecosystems! 2. Examine environmental science as a branch of the sciences and its relation to the scientific field & most importantly, its relevance to you and your day-to-day life! 3. Examine and survey ecological concepts and vocabulary and apply to your life! 4. Assess and apply ecological literacy to modern life and a technologically based society 5. Examine and survey the world's natural resources including water, air, soil, species, ecosystems, energy and minerals (WASSEEM) 6. Assess and survey the environmental indicators utilized to assess current trends in our environment 7. Examine the environmental method as a problem-solving tool to develop solutions to the problems created by overuse of the world's resources 8. Examine the worldwide strategies developed to address global environmental issues including Agenda 21, the Montreal Protocol, ISO and the Kyoto Protocol Guide to Lecture Topics /Binder Journal Entry/Reading Schedule WEEK One: Jour #1 Introduction to ESCI 1 & ESCI 1 Syllabus/greensheet Review Sept 24 Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies Worksheet/Cheeseman ESA Introduction to the class, team process & ESCI 1 Sustainability Binder Environmental Science the science of hope, scientific method Sustainability, Sound Science & Stewardship; Sustainable Societies Introduction to ESCI 1 Binder Protocol (Binders provided by us!) HOMEWORK FOR WEEK ONE: CHAPTER 1 reading: Environmental Science (pg 9) Figure 1-7 (pg 11) 3 Unifying Themes: Sound Science, Sustainability & Stewardship Figure 1-11 (pg 17) Sustainable Solutions What will it take to transition to a sustainable future? (pg 17) HOMEWORK EACH WEEK: TEXTBOOK READING SECTION one page required for each chapter! (PUT IN TEXTBOOK SECTION OF BINDER) WEEK Two: Jour #2 Planet Earth: Ecosystems Approach Oct 1 Hierarchy of Ecology: species, ecosystems, habitat/niche, matter & energy Ecosystems: What are they? (4 Components of an Ecosystem) Species, populations and biotic communities HOMEWORK FOR WEEK TWO: CHAPTER 3 reading: Ecology (pg 51), Species (pg 51), biological definition of species (pg 51) Figure 3-1 (pg 52) The Hierarchy of Life Populations (pg 53), Biotic Communities (pg 53), Ecosystems (pg 53) Landscape (pg 54), Biome (pg 55), Biosphere (pg 55) A Fundamental Biological Principle (pg 55) Habitat (pg 56), Niche (pg 57) Table 1-1 (pg 6): Global Status of Ecosystems MEA Table 9-2 (pg ) 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Law of Conservation of Matter (pg 56) Atmosphere (pgs 57/58), Hydrosphere (pgs 57/58), Lithosphere (pgs 57/58) All life on Earth is dependent upon 2 things: One way flow of energy from the sun (pg 66) and the ESCI 1 Environmental Science 2 Julie Phillips

3 cycling of nutrients (Figures 3-15 & 3-16 (pg 65) Producers, consumers & photosynthesis (pgs 64-66) Figure 3-17 (pgs 67/68) Carbon Cycle: cycling of matter in ecosystems HOMEWORK EACH WEEK: TEXTBOOK READING SECTION one page required for each chapter! (PUT IN TEXTBOOK SECTION OF BINDER) WEEK Three: Jour #3 Ecosystems are the functional units of sustainable life on Earth Oct 8 Ecosystems as a model for a sustainable society Ecosystems Thinking Ecosystems: How do they work? Ecosystem Services! Evolution, Populations, Communities, Biodiversity & Saving Wild Species, The Public Trust HOMEWORK FOR WEEK THREE: CHAPTER 5 reading: Figure 5-1 (pg 104) Yellowstone National Park: Recovery from fire Trophic level (pg 105), Food feb (pg 105/106) Figure 5-2 (a) OR (b) Producers (pg 107), Consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores (pg 107) Decomposers (pg 108) Biomes (pg 111) Table 5-1 (pg 112) Major Terrestrial Biomes Table 5-2 (pg 115) Major Aquatic Systems Ecosystem capital (pg 124), Table 5-3 (pg 125) 17 Ecosystem Services Can Ecosystems be restored? (pgs ) Managing Ecosystems (pgs ), Ecosystem Management (pg 127) HOMEWORK EACH WEEK: TEXTBOOK READING SECTION one page required for each chapter! (PUT IN TEXTBOOK SECTION OF BINDER) WEEK Four: Jour #4 Case Study Tule Elk flagship species for Diablo Range Oct 15 The Science of Conservation, Ecosystems models of sustainability Diablo Range/Coyote Valley Landscape Ecology Careers in Environmental Science: Energy Management, Pollution Conflict Resolution & Mediation Team Building Skills Prevention, Wildlife Corridor Technician, Biodiversity Specialist & Environmental Education and Nature-Based Learning HOMEWORK FOR WEEK FOUR: CHAPTER 4 reading: The Golden Frog (pgs 75-76), change in population (pg 76) Biotic potential (pg 78), environmental resistance (pg 78) Density-dependent limits (pg 80), density-independent limits (pg 80) Table 4-2 (pg 82) Major types of interactions between 2 species Fig 4-7 (pg 83) Predator-prey relationships, Fig 4-8 (pg 84) Plant/herbivore Overgrazing, predator control, Keystone species (pg 84), competition (p85) Selective pressures (pg 89), natural selection, biological evolution (pg 89) Limits of change: A species has 3 alternatives (pg 90) Reproductive isolation (pg 92), Fig 4-21 (pg 93) Darwin s Finches Implications for human management (pgs 95-96) HOMEWORK EACH WEEK: TEXTBOOK READING SECTION one page required for each chapter! (PUT IN TEXTBOOK SECTION OF BINDER) ESCI 1 Environmental Science 3 Julie Phillips

4 WEEK Five: Ecosystems Thinking Jour #5 Loss of Biodiversity & Predators Video: Cougars Ghost of the Rockies Oct 22 Diablo Range Ecosystem preparation team assessment Ecosystem Capital: Use & restoration HOMEWORK FOR WEEK FIVE: CHAPTER 6 reading: Ecosystem Capital by Constanza (pg 132) Biological wealth (pg 132), instrumental value & intrinsic value (pg 133) Wild genes (pg 134), sources for medicine (pgs ) Value for their own sake (pg 137), The Land Ethic (pgs ) Biodiversity (pg ), Table 6-2 (pg 138) Estimated Species on Earth The Decline of Biodiversity North America & Global (pg 139) Reasons for decline: HIPPO (pgs ) Saving wild species (pg 147), Science of Conservation (pg 147) The Public Trust Doctrine (pgs ) Protecting Endangered Species (pg 150) Lacey & ES Acts Return of the Gray Wolf (pgs ), Fig 6-18 (pg 154) Bald Eagle Figure 6-20 (pg 157) Biodiversity Hot Spots Global Biodiversity Assessment 4 themes (pgs ) WEEK Six: Jour #6: Oct 29 WASSEEM: Water, Air, Soil, Species, Ecosystems, Energy & Minerals Components of an Ecosystem & the Diablo Range Ecosystem HOMEWORK FOR WEEK Six: Chapter 7 reading: Table 7-1 (pg 161) Ecosystems on Earth s Surface 8 terrestrial and aquatic systems provide all our food, much of our fuel, wood for lumber and paper, fibers-leather, furs and raw materials for fabrics, oils and alcohols and much more Figure 7-1 (pg 162) Services from various types of ecosystems (Pg 162) A team of natural scientists and economists calculated the total value of a year s global ecosystem goods and services to be????? Trillion? (Pg ) If the natural services performed by ecosystems are so valuable, why are we still draining wetlands and removing forests? (Pg 163: Valuing, Private versus Public Lands, Domesticated Nature (Pg 164: An ecosystems remarkable natural capacity to regenerate makes it (and its biota) a renewable resource in other words.... (Pg 164) Conservation versus Preservation Table 7-2 (Pg 169) Principles that should be incorporated into public policies to protect Natural Resources Figure 7-8 (Pg 170) The Everglades Restoration Plan goal Biomes and Ecosystems under Pressure (pgs ) Forests, Tropical Forests, Ocean ecosystems, Marine Fisheries, International Whaling, Coral Reefs and Mangroves (Pgs ) Public and Private Lands in the U.S., 2009 Omnibus Public Lands Management Act (Obama), Wilderness, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, National Forests, Protecting Nonfederal Lands (between 1996 and 2005, voters approved more than $25 billion... (Pg 187) UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan included in his millennium report to the General Assembly a warning that far too little concern was being given to the sustainability of our planet: If I could sum it up in one sentence, I should say that we are plundering our children s heritage... ESCI 1 Environmental Science 4 Julie Phillips

5 WEEK Seven: Jour #7 WASSEEM: Water, Air, Soil, Species, Ecosystems, Energy & Minerals Nov 5 Earth Systems WASSEEM (Air/Atmosphere) Water, Air, Soil, Species, Ecosystems, Energy & Minerals HOMEWORK FOR WEEK Seven: Chapter 10 reading: (one-half page) (Pg 246) Water: A Vital Resource Figure 10-1 (Pg 246) Earth s Water Figure 10-3 (Pg 248) The Hydrologic Cycle Draw! Table 10-1 (Pg 249) Terms Commonly Used to Describe Water list 3 (Pg 251) Groundwater, Watershed, Recharge (Pgs ) Human Impacts on the Hydrologic Cycle Table 10-2 (Pg 254) U.S. Demands on Fresh Water (Pgs ) Water Stewardship: Supply and Public Policy Chapter 11 Reading: (one-half page only) (Pgs ) Gabino Lopez attended classes on sustainable agriculture (Pgs ) Soil, Soil Science & Figure 11-2 (Pg 273) Figure 11-7 (Pg 277) Plant-soil-water relationships Figure 11-8 (Pg 278) Soil as detritus-based ecosystem (Pg 281) Soil degradation, (Pg 289) Soil conservation WEEK Eight: The Good News! Restoration Ecology! Jour #8 Energy Management, Pollution Prevention or Species Project Nov 12 Energy Management, Pollution Prevention or Species Assignment: You will learn about and research an energy, pollution prevention or species topic. You will research & collect information about the assigned topic; and Develop a written presentation educating the public about your energy, pollution prevention or species project topic (minimum 2 pages) Earth Systems WASSEEM (Energy) Coyote Valley Landscape Case Study De Anza College Wildlife Corridor Technician (WCT) Program Coyote Valley Safe Passage (Sustainability Plan due Wednesday November 28 by 5:00 pm) HOMEWORK FOR WEEK Eight: Chapter 18 Reading: (Pgs ) It was a disaster waiting to happen... (Pgs ) Troposphere, tropopause, stratosphere, weather, climate Figure 18-2 (pg 451) Structure & temperature profile of the atmosphere Figure 18-3 (pg 452) Solar-energy balance (Pg 453) 2007, IPCC published Fourth Assessment Report that concluded (Pg 453) The IPCC report stated that it is very likely (greater than 90%).. (Pgs ) Ocean and atmosphere, What If (tipping point) Figure 18-9 (pg 458) The greenhouse effect Draw! (Pgs ) Evidence of climate change, Fig Decline of Arctic Ice (Pgs ) Rising Greenhouse Gases (GHG s) Carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone & CFC s (Pgs ) Climate change impacts in the U.S. (Pgs ) Ethical principles why respond at all? Summarize all 3 (Pg 475) U.S. Policy President G.W. Bush opposed Kyoto Protocol for 2 reasons and critics response ESCI 1 Environmental Science 5 Julie Phillips

6 ESCI 1-62Z Binders due Wednesday, Nov 28 (by 5:00 pm) All chapter readings due when you turn in your binder on Nov 28! WEEK Nine: Jour #9 Conflict Resolution & Mediation/Team-Building Skills Nov 19 Topic for Research: Reintroduction of Wolves into Yellowstone National Park (1995): You will learn about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park topic. You will research & collect information about the assigned topic; and Develop a written presentation educating the public about your findings on this historical restoration of a North American mammal (minimum 2 pages) Include the perspectives of the various stakeholders including scientists, ranchers, the public, politicians and the role of a national park For 10 points extra credit, find an online video link highlighting the restoration of wolves into Yellowstone NP or other area (including OR-7 in California) HOMEWORK FOR WEEK Nine: Chapter 16 Readings: Figure 16-3 (pg 399) Renewable-energy use in the U.S. (Pgs ) Solar energy reaching Earth, solar constant, total amount of solar energy reaching Earth is vast, how natural ecosystems overcome hurdles of collection, conversion & storage (Pgs ) Solar Heating of Water, Solar Space Heating, Solar production of electricity, Fig 16-8 (pg 402) Solar building siting (Pgs ) The future of Solar Energy the good news! Check out Wind Power, Biomass & Biofuels if you have time! WEEK Ten: Jour #10 Nov 26 Pollution Prevention & Environmental Indicators Student of the 21 st Century! Ecological Systems & Human Systems Earth Song Preparation for Final Assessment - Scheduled to be done by Wednesday, December 5 at 5:00 pm! Turn in ESCI 1 class binders by Wed, Nov 28 at 5:00 pm at SRC HOMEWORK FOR WEEK Ten: Chaps 21 & 23 Readings: (one-half page for each chapter) Final chapter readings! (Pgs ) Danehy Park Case Study Fig 21-2 (pg 547) U.S. solid-waste composition (Pgs ) The Recycling Solutions (Pgs ) Integrated Waste Management (Pgs ) Greenprint, Green Network, Showcase Community, Urban sprawl, highways, Highway Trust Fund (Pgs ) Livable Cities, Livable equals Sustainable, Sustainable Cities & Communities, Sustainable Lifestyles, the Common Good & Lifestyle changes ESCI 1 Environmental Science 6 Julie Phillips

7 WEEK Eleven: Dec 5 Final Assignment due by 5:00 pm on Wed, December 5 Wed, Dec 5: Final Assessment by 5:00 pm! No exceptions! Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. ~Bradley Millar We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace. ~Albert Schweitzer, The Philosophy of Civilization Required Textbook & ESCI 1 Student Packet: (available at De Anza Bookstore & Pearson.com for e-book for text ) Phillips, Julie, Environmental Science (ESCI 1) STUDENT PACKET, 2012/2013 PDF files will be provided for you on the Catalyst website! Wright, R.T. & D.F. Boorse Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. Prentice Hall. De Anza Custom Edition, 2010 Point Breakdown: Grading Scale: Lecture: A % Mid-term Assess 25 points B Final Assess 25 C Homework-Chap reading 50 D (1,3,5,4,6,7,10/11,18,16,21/23) F 54 & below (10 chapters x 5 pts per chapter) Sustainability Plan 25 ESCI 1 Binder Assignment: Class Activities 80 Journal Entries 50 Total for class 255 points The stark truth is this, if we want wild animals, we have to make sacrifices Colin Tudge (Wildlife Conservation) General Information: 1. This is an intensive mediated learning environmental science course! Class work is required every week in class with multiple class activities, assignments & binder entries. 2. You are expected to participate in every class activity - weekly! 3. Make a commitment today September 24, to participate (through mediated learning process) in every class, committed to learning and building and leadership skills in a quest to find sustainable solutions to the challenges we face 4. Take the pledge to be strongest person you can be clear mind and healthy attitude towards yourself, others and the planet! In our search to understand the landscape and other life forms, we can all find our passion for fellow creatures that inhabit this great planet with us Class Requirements and Assignments: 1. Weekly lectures on the key vocabulary and concepts will be available each week. Each lecture is to be summarized and placed into your ESCI 1 binder for that week (along with any other assignments). See your weekly class agenda posted on Catalyst website! ESCI 1 Environmental Science 7 Julie Phillips

8 2. Homework from Textbook readings: Weekly Wright/Borose Textbook Chapter Readings and one-page summary: There are weekly chapter reading homework assignments. There are a total of 10 chapters readings required with a one-page summary required for each of the following chapters: Chapters 1, 3, 5, 4, 6, 7, 10/11 (1/2 page for each), 18, 16 and 21/23 (1/2 page for each). The highlighted chapter readingvocabulary/key concepts and/or case studies are located at the end of each weekly journal entry. Use this as your guide for your homework each week. The textbook chapter reading summaries should be placed in your ESCI 1 Binder in the Textbook Readings section of the binder. (Chapter readings Due when you turn in your ESCI 1 Binder-Nov 28) ESCI 1 Binder. Each student is required to complete an ESCI 1 binder, which includes weekly journal entries including class lecture notes, class activities, website assignments, research and case studies. The binder is an important component of this course and provides both a current and historical overview and archive of the critical and key concepts, vocabulary and issues necessary for an environmentallyliterate society and student of the 21 st century! Onward... we have much to do this quarter! (Due date: Wednesday, November 28 by 5:00 pm at the SRC at Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies, De Anza College) 3. Mid-term and Final Assessments: Mid-term and final assessment - Communicating about these key issues facing us in the 21 st century is an integral component to ESCI 1! The mid-term and final assessments will be discussed in the weekly lectures online! You have an opportunity to learn about these unique and critical topics through research and then writing and communicating what you have learned. The mid-term and final assessment will apply the vocabulary and concepts you have learned throughout the quarter. 4. Sustainability Action Plan (25 pts) (Due date: Wed, November 28) Science is a kind of understanding, albeit incomplete, and a kind of problem solving. The number of problems that need solving in the field of conservation are not becoming any fewer. Science in the form of conservation biology is a set of principles, empirical generalizations, and techniques for protecting nature-a toolbox for saving the earth. It is not a perfect toolbox (some tools are rusty, others lost, and still others yet to be invented) but it is the best we have. We feel confident enough about the science of conservation biology that we want to share it with others. And we want to see it applied in the real world, not just pontificated about in lecture halls, journals, or books. Science is only the toolbox, of course; ultimately it provides no reason at all for conservation. Something deeper puts us on this quest. Maybe it is just the simple caring for our fellow creatures and our one common home. Caring, it seems, leads to ethical commitments. The only science worth doing is one firmly grounded in an ethic and an emotional commitment. Without values and commitments, science is perilous or at least irrelevant. Strangely enough, we remain hopeful about the long-term future of biodiversity. Reed F. Noss and Allen Y. Cooperrider, Saving Nature s Legacy: Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity ESCI 1 Environmental Science 8 Julie Phillips