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