Energy paper

Final Project for AEB 2451: Economics of Resource Use

Economics of Resource Use Final Project (100 points)

Project Goal: Each student in the class must do an individual creative project which extends the material covered each week in class beginning in week 5 and ending in week 14. There are three components of your final grade for this project:

Component	Total points
Project Proposal (2 page research outline)	20
Contribution to other projects (in person discussions and online feedback)	30
Project (news article/poster/art project)	50
Total	100

**A rubric will be available for each of these components**

Learning Objectives:

1. Explore a topic of interest in more depth strengthening understanding of the topic through a creative application

2. Synthesis of complicated issues/topics related to the use of environmental and natural resources

3. Communicate economic theory in a creative way to an audience of fellow undergraduates

4. Contribute to the success of classmates improving interpersonal communication and problem solving

5. Display complex information in a visually appealing and creative way

Topic Selection: Each Thursday during class students will present either in class or online their creative project supplementing course material. Project topics should be as specific as possible. For example, “water economics” is too broad a topic while “The Debate over Water Use in the Everglades” would be a great topic to explore. If you do not have a topic that interests you, the book has “example” and “debate” sections in each chapter which dive deeper into environmental/natural resource topics covered in the corresponding chapters. You may choose to do these topics or use these examples/debates as starting points for you own project. Topic sign-ups will be completed online by August 31st. As a reminder, the weekly topics are as follows:

Topic	Week	Book Chapters
Water Pollution (standards and taxes)	5	Ch. 18 & 14
Air Pollution (cap and trade)	6	Ch. 15 & 17
Climate Change	7	Ch. 16
Introduction to Natural Resources	9	Ch. 7
Population/Land Use/Global Scarcity	10	Ch. 6, 10, 11
Common pool/fisheries	11	Ch. 13
Water	12	Ch. 9
Energy	13	Ch. 8
Resource Use for Sustainability	14	Ch. 20, 21, 22

**please note that sign-ups per week are limited and you may not choose the same topic as anyone else!!!

The Research Proposal and Contribution Components

Part I: Research Proposal (20 points) due Thursday, September 6th before midnight

Given your topic, write a 1 or 2 page (maximum) outline for your final project and submit the assignment in the e-learning graded discussion. This should be original work and plagiarism policies apply (see https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu/students/student-conduct-code/ if you are not sure what constitutes as academic dishonesty). The research should include the following components:

I. Problem statement (thesis statement): What is happening?

a. Include a brief summary of the environmental/natural resource issue and why it is important.

b. Be sure to clearly identify the attributes of the resource that make efficient allocation problematic.

c. Identify who has standing (the population impacted by this issue and those who are expected to contribute).

II. Preliminary analysis: Is there a solution?

a. If there is a policy, discuss the background and the current state of the policy including how this policy addresses or fails to address the problem at hand (hint: look at the incentive/disincentive structure imposed by the policy).

b. If there is no current regulation, discuss why that may be the case and potential for future governmental intervention or the need to avoid government intervention.

III. Describe the deliverables of this project: how will you present the relevant information?

a. Discuss how you will inform the audience about the topic either via a news article, art project or poster. Be sure to include justification for the project choice.

b. Discuss how your project will communicate economic principles/theories and/or market failure at work.

Be sure to consult the rubric regarding required components. You must collect data from at least three outside credible sources, use in-text citations and include a bibliography with all sources (separate from the two page requirement). Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced is preferred.

Part 2: Contribution to other projects (30 points)

There are two components of this part of the assignment.

Component	Total points
Research Proposal Peer Review (10 points each) due September 11th	20
Presentation participation due November 27th	10
Total	30

You must provide a peer review for 2 other students’ research proposals by midnight on Tuesday, September 11th:

1. Comment on what excites you about the project.

2. Discuss what about the project is confusing to you still.

3. Provide feedback about the way the project will be presented—does it seem appropriate or might another project style make more sense? Do you have any ideas on how to enhance the project

For the presentation participation, comment on at least 5 people’s final projects describing what you liked about the project. Please note that there may be exam questions from other students’ presentations so it is in your interest to at least look at all of the projects briefly, particularly if you miss the in-class presentations. This is due by midnight on Tuesday, November 27th.

Research Project Options

Part III: Final Project (50 points) due each Thursday in weeks 5-14

Option 1: News article

This option is best used for controversial topics. Present both sides of an issue, attempting as best as you can to be objective (i.e. do NOT take a side). Your news article should be a narrative no longer than 3 pages and must include in-text citations (these should be linked to the internet resource if it is available), at least one picture, at least one graph, graphic or table, at least one embedded video (can be general or take a side), and a listing of sources (included in the 3 page limit). You will be graded based on having the required components (30 points), the quality of your writing and resources (15 points) and uploading your project in the e-learning discussion (5 points). You will be penalized if your article is too short (less than 2 pages) or too long (more than 3 pages).

Option 2: Art Project

This option is best used for examples and more general topics. Students should create some kind of creative work depicting the topic chosen. This could be a video, a painting or drawing, a sculpture, or some other creative representation for the topic. The required components for this project include the art piece, a 5 minute presentation to the class, and a one page handout that includes a picture of your project, a description of how your artistic choices represent the economic issues at hand and references. You will be graded based on having the required components (30 points), the quality of your presentation and your handout (15 points) and uploading your project in the e-learning discussion (5 points). You will be penalized for exceeding the 5 minute presentation time limit.

Option 3: Academic Poster

This option is best used for topics that have a lot of supporting data and that involve quantitative reasoning. Posters are expected to utilize graphs and pictures with minimal supportive text to introduce a topic. Posters must be printed by the student (https://print.at.ufl.edu/computing-lab-services/frequent-printing-questions/) at the student’s expense. It is easiest to use a UF template (https://print.at.ufl.edu/computing-lab-services/poster-samples-templates/). Any of the sizes of the templates are acceptable for the class. The required components for this project include the printed poster, a 5 minute presentation to the class, at least two graphs/tables depicting the quantitative component of your issue, and a list of references. You will be graded based on having the required components (30 points), the quality of your presentation and your poster (15 points) and uploading your project in the e-learning discussion (5 points). You will be penalized for exceeding the 5 minute presentation time limit.

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