Tying a Local Environmental Issue to Human Drivers of Environmental Change
2/25/21, 9:17 PMWeek 7: Learning Activities - ENVM 600 9041 Fundamentals of Environmental Systems (2212)
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Week 7: Learning Ac!vi!es
Group Discussions Here! Discussion Forum
ENVM 600 904… Kelvin Rodriguez
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Please take a look at this document, which explains why we are using
group discussions:
ENVM600-GroupDiscussionExplana!on.pdf
You have each been assigned to a group. The members of your group are
the only students who have access to your group discussion area. This is
where you will discuss the weekly topics as a group. If you are the first
person to post each week, please post the discussion topic for that week
to start the discussions off!
Here is how your group discussions will work:
Your instructor will create groups of about five students.
Each student volunteers to summarize the group's discussion for one week
within the grading period.
The group discussion in the group area should occur between Wednesday and
Sunday each week. (There can be some flexibility a#er the first four weeks as
you integrate class work with all other aspects of life.)
Comple!ng the group discussion by Sunday allows the student who will be
crea!ng the summary !me to summarize the group's discussion and post the
summary in the classroom by the end of the day on Tuesday. Note that in this
first course in the master's program, we have integrated an Effec!ve Wri!ng
Center tutor into this class to help students write effec!ve summaries. Please
find direc!ons for how best to make use of this tutor in Course Content.
Overview
Bookmarks
3Course Schedule
59Table of Contents
Syllabus
Ask Your Professor
Course Introduc!on
Effec!ve Wri!ng Center
Support
Week 1: Introduc!on to
Environmental Systems
Week 2: Origin of Life
and Evolu!on of the
Earth's Systems
Week 3:
Anthroposphere:
Humans as Key Drivers
of Environmental
Change
2/25/21, 9:17 PMWeek 7: Learning Activities - ENVM 600 9041 Fundamentals of Environmental Systems (2212)
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Week 7 Discussion Discussion Topic
Summary Paper Assignment Assignment
Due March 2 at 11:59 PM
Grading occurs for group discussions at the end of Week 4, Week 8, and
Week 12.
For groups of five, there will be one week in which two students will do
separate summaries for the same discussions. Please take a close look at the
group discussion grading rubric, as each of you will be individually graded
every four weeks.
For more detailed explana!ons on group discussions and the grading
rubric, please see the a$ached document.
A recurring theme throughout this course is the interconnec!on
between the different environmental systems. How is the atmosphere
connected to the hydrosphere? To the lithosphere? Here it is useful to
review the group summaries from the previous two weeks.
Once again, think back to the human drivers of environmental change
you learned about, and consider now how these—human popula!on
growth and consump!on, energy use, and land use—affect the
atmosphere. Help each other make connec!ons and ask cri!cal
ques!ons. This will help you as you finalize your summary paper.
Summary Paper Assignment: Tying a Local Environmental Issue to
Human Drivers of Environmental Change
We live in a complex world and deal with a variety of environmental
problems. Being able to create concise summary papers on
environmental issues is an important skill. Summary papers provide
relevant informa!on about environmental issues, how the issues were
created, and ramifica!ons of the issues.
As we have learned, human ac!vity is the driving force behind
environmental change today.
For this course, you are asked to prepare a summary paper on a local
environmental issue, tying it to the human drivers responsible for the
underlying environmental changes and ramifica!ons of the issue you
Week 4: The Biosphere
in the Global Earth
System
Week 5: The
Lithosphere in the
Global Earth System
Week 6: The
Hydrosphere in the
Global Earth System
3Week 7: The
Atmosphere in the
Global Earth System
Week 7: Learning
Resources
2Week 7: Learning
Ac!vi!es
9Week 8: Pollu!on:
Natural and Man-Made
Changes to the Earth
System (Part 1)
7Week 9: Pollu!on:
Natural and Man-Made
Changes to the Earth
System (Part 2)
11Week 10: Global
Changes in the
Anthropocene
2/25/21, 9:17 PMWeek 7: Learning Activities - ENVM 600 9041 Fundamentals of Environmental Systems (2212)
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summarized.
Please write a concise summary paper addressing the following:
Briefly describe the environmental issue and its history (10
points).
Iden!fy two to three major stakeholders, such as local residents
and groups interested in the issue, and briefly describe the
problem from the perspec!ve of one of the stakeholders (15
points).
Iden!fy major environmental and human health concerns related
to this issue (15 points).
Discuss how the issue is !ed to each of the human drivers of
change we learned about:
human popula!on growth and consump!on (10 points);
energy use (10 points); and
land use (10 points).
Briefly discuss the ramifica!ons of not addressing this problem
(10 points).
Each sec!on of your paper should be clearly and concisely wri$en and
based on suppor!ng evidence and scien!fic principles. In addi!on, you
will also be assessed on the following:
Wri!ng style (10 points): Your paper should be wri$en in your
own words, with no grammar or spelling errors. You should use of
topic sentences for each sec!on and have clear transi!ons
between sec!ons.
References and cita!on (10 points): You should use reliable
sources, include in-text cita!ons where necessary, and create a
references list in APA format.
The summary paper assignment is worth 15 percent of your overall
grade.
Summary Paper Grading Rubric
Criteria
Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1
Criterion 1 –
Descrip!on
and History of
10 points
8 points
5 points
2 points
15Week 11: Addressing
Changes with
Environmental
Management Systems,
Pollu!on Preven!on,
and Waste
Management
7Week 12: Conclusion
and Moving Forward
7APA and Other Helpful
Resources
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the
Environmental
Issue
(10 points
possible)
Provides a
clear, concise,
and accurate
descrip!on of
the
environmental
issue and its
history based
on evidence.
(8.1-10
points)
Provides a
descrip!on of
the
environmental
issue and its
history that
lacks clarity
and/or
contains a
minor
science/logic
error, and/or
is only partly
based on
evidence.
(5.1-8 points)
Provides a
descrip!on of
the
environmental
issue and its
history that is
incomplete
and/or
contains some
science/logic
errors and/or
is weakly
based on
evidence.
(2.1-5 points)
Does not
provide a
descrip!on of
the
environmental
issue and its
history,
and/or
contains many
science/logic
errors or is
not based on
evidence.
(0-2 points)
Criterion 2 –
Major
Stakeholders
and Their
Perspec!ves
(15 points
possible)
15 points
Iden!fies
two-to-three
major
stakeholders
and provides
a clear,
concise, and
accurate
descrip!on of
one
stakeholder's
perspec!ve
based on
evidence.
(12.1-15
points)
12 points
Iden!fies two
major
stakeholders
and provides
a descrip!on
of one
stakeholder's
perspec!ve
that lacks
clarity, and/or
contains a
minor
science/logic
error, and/or
is par!ally
based on
evidence.
(8.1-12
points)
8 points
Iden!fies one
major
stakeholder
and provides
a descrip!on
of one
stakeholder's
perspec!ve
that is
incomplete,
and/or
contains some
science/logic
errors, and/or
is weakly
based on
evidence.
(4.1-8 points)
4 points
Does not
iden!fy any
major
stakeholders
and/or does
not describe a
stakeholder's
perspec!ve,
and/or
contains
several major
science/logic
errors or is
not based on
evidence.
(0-4 points)
2/25/21, 9:17 PMWeek 7: Learning Activities - ENVM 600 9041 Fundamentals of Environmental Systems (2212)
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Criterion 3 –
Environmental
and Human
Health
Concerns
(15 points
possible)
15 points
Provides a
clear, concise,
and accurate
descrip!on of
environmental
and human
health
concerns
based on
evidence.
(12.1-15
points)
12 points
Provides a
descrip!on of
environmental
and human
health
concerns that
lacks clarity
and/or
contains a
minor
science/logic
error, and/or
is only partly
based on
evidence.
(8.1-12
points)
8 points
Provides a
descrip!on of
environmental
and human
health
concerns that
is incomplete
and/or
contains some
science/logic
errors and/or
is weakly
based on
evidence.
(4.1-8 points)
4 points
Does not
provide a
descrip!on of
environmental
and human
health
concerns,
and/or
contains many
science/logic
errors or is
not based on
evidence.
(0-4 points)
Criterion 4 –
Connec!on to
Human
Popula!on
Growth and
Consump!on
(10 points
possible)
10 points
Provides a
clear, concise,
and accurate
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to
human
popula!on
growth and
consump!on
based on
evidence.
(8.1-10
points)
8 points
Provides a
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to
human
popula!on
growth and
consump!on
that lacks
clarity and/or
contains a
minor
science/logic
error, and/or
is only partly
based on
5 points
Provides a
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to
human
popula!on
growth and
consump!on
that is
incomplete
and/or
contains some
science/logic
errors and/or
is weakly
based on
2 points
Does not
provide a
connec!on to
human
popula!on
growth and
consump!on,
and/or
contains many
science/logic
errors or is
not based on
evidence.
(0-2 points)
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evidence.
(5.1-8
points)
evidence.
(2.1-5 points)
Criterion 5 –
Connec!on to
Energy Use
(10 points
possible)
10 points
Provides a
clear, concise,
and accurate
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to
energy use
based on
evidence.
(8.1-10
points)
8 points
Provides a
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to
energy use
that lacks
clarity and/or
contains a
minor
science/logic
error, and/or
is only partly
based on
evidence.
(5.1-8
points)
5 points
Provides a
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to
energy use
that is
incomplete
and/or
contains some
science/logic
errors and/or
is weakly
based on
evidence.
(2.1-5 points)
2 points
Does not
provide a
connec!on to
energy use,
and/or
contains many
science/logic
errors or is
not based on
evidence.
(0-2 points)
Criterion 6 –
Connec!on to
Land Use
(10 points
possible)
10 points
Provides a
clear, concise,
and accurate
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to land
use based on
evidence.
(8.1-10
8 points
Provides a
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to land
use that lacks
clarity and/or
contains a
minor
science/logic
error, and/or
5 points
Provides a
connec!on of
the
environmental
issue to land
use that is
incomplete
and/or
contains some
science/logic
errors and/or
2 points
Does not
provide a
connec!on to
land use,
and/or
contains many
science/logic
errors or is
not based on
evidence.
2/25/21, 9:17 PMWeek 7: Learning Activities - ENVM 600 9041 Fundamentals of Environmental Systems (2212)
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points)
is only partly
based on
evidence.
(5.1-8
points)
is weakly
based on
evidence.
(2.1-5 points)
(0-2 points)
Criterion 7 -
Ramifica!ons
of Not
Addressing
the Issue
(10 points
possible)
10 points
Provides a
clear, concise,
and accurate
discussion of
the
ramifica!ons
of not
addressing
the problem
based on
evidence and
logic.
(8.1-10
points)
8 points
Provides a
discussion of
the
ramifica!ons
of not
addressing
the problem
that lacks
clarity and/or
contains a
minor
science/logic
error, and/or
is only partly
based on
evidence and
logic.
(5.1-8
points)
5 points
Provides a
discussion of
the
ramifica!ons
of not
addressing
the problem
that is
incomplete
and/or
contains some
science/logic
errors and/or
is weakly
based on
evidence and
logic.
(2.1-5 points)
2 points
Does not
provide a
discussion of
the
ramifica!ons,
and/or
contains many
science/logic
errors or is
not based on
evidence and
logic.
(0-2 points)
Criterion 8 -
Wri!ng Style
(10 points
possible)
10 points
Contains no
gramma!cal
and spelling
errors,
provides clear
topic
sentences and
good
8 points
Contains
minor spelling
and
gramma!cal
errors, lacks
some
transi!ons,
and/or
5 points
Contains
distrac!ng
errors in
grammar and
spelling,
provides
weak topic
sentences
2 points
Contains
mul!ple
distrac!ng
spelling and
gramma!cal
errors, and/or
does not
provide topic
2/25/21, 9:17 PMWeek 7: Learning Activities - ENVM 600 9041 Fundamentals of Environmental Systems (2212)
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transi!ons,
and is
wri$en in
student's own
words with
less than 10
percent direct
quotes.
(8.1-10
points)
contains more
than 10
percent direct
quotes.
(5.1-8 points)
and/or lacks
transi!ons,
and/or
contains more
than 30
percent direct
quotes.
(2.1-5 points)
sentences and
transi!ons,
and/or
contains more
than 50
percent direct
quotes.
(0-2 points)
Criterion 9 -
References
(10 points
possible)
10 points
Lists all
references at
the end,
includes in-
text cita!ons,
and uses
correct APA
format.
(7.1-10
points)
7 points
Misses one
reference or
some in-text
cita!ons,
and/or has
minor
problems with
APA format.
(4.1-7
points)
4 points
Misses
several
references
and/or does
not include
in-text
cita!ons,
and/or has
major
problems with
APA format.
(0.1-4
points)
0 points
Does not cite
any
references.
(0 points)
Overall Score Level 4
85 or more
Level 3
70 or more
Level 2
50 or more
Level 1
0 or more