Textbook Rental: The Environmental Predicament: Four Issues for Critical Analysis, Carol F. Verburg, Bedford Books, St. Martins' Press   Rachel Carson, 1994 (orig. 1962), SILENT SPRING. Houghton Mifflin, New York. "Selected in 1992 as the most influential book of the last fifty years."

2 Aldo Leopold, 1966 (orig. 1949), A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC. Ballantine Books, New York.    "An established environmental classic."

   Overview

The central concepts in this course are: "system" and "sustainability."We will study the systemic nature of life on earth and problems of sustainability created by human lifestyles.  We will seek ways to increase system sustainability. In that quest, we ask three questions:

1. How do our lifestyles in the United States relate to global environmental problems?
2. How does poverty, particularly in Third World countries, relate to environmental problems?
3. How can we increase the sustainability of human lifestyles locally and globally.

1. A speech. This five minute persuasive speech on one side of an issue would inform your classmates about the issue and why it is important to care, behave, or act positively toward your selected side of the issue.  For example: Using sustainable stamped wood products. You would explain the need for these products, how they are available and grown and what kind of impact citizens can have on the global economy and/or American/global forest survival.  We expect that you would make it persuasive by using current information and logical appeal to citizens' lifestyles, habits, and choices. Your grade will not be on your opinion but on the persuasiveness and informational quality of the speech. Submit typed copy.

2. A poster. A poster would be created to both educate citizens about some issue AND education citizens about their lifestyle choices that affect the issue.  You would display this poster for a week in a business, classroom, club meeting room or some other area of your choice. Put with the poster some kind of poster evaluation form.  You could have small sheets of paper with questions on it asking questions related to the information on the poster. You would need to seek permission to display this poster in most cases. The poster must be brought to class and you must explain it and have it passed around to members of the class in order to receive credit for the action assignment. Submit typed report.  Also give us a summary of what the evaluations said.

3. Watershed Nature Center or Tree House Wildlife Center volunteer work. Visit the Watershed Nature Center and assist in environmental education or take on a regular volunteering position at the Tree House Wildlife Center near Fosterburg Illinois.  This activity would need to be approved ahead of time by Dr. Elaine AbuSharbain and Marie Hackett, who is the coordinator at the Watershed Nature Center, 692-7578 is the number for the Watershed Nature Center.  Call her and leave some times that you are available if the answering machine picks up. Elementary education majors are encouraged to take part in this experience.

Or contact Elaine to make arrangements at the Tree House Wildlife Center. A minimum of one shift per week.  Day and evening peopoe are greatly needed.  There are no set hours, but most people come in at 9 or 10.  Everybody there does what has to be done such as feeding the daytime animals (excluding owls), cleaning cages, and often medicate new adoptees and do their paperwork, band them and do emergency work.  All work is done on site except surgery and x-rays.  The shift lasts until everybody is done.  Usually they end up finishing up at around noon, sometimes later.  Students learn a lot about raptors, mammals, and other hurt and sick wildlife.  Students will learn how to handle animals and how to correctly cage animals, and how to help create less stress for the animal.  This experience is limited to 2 - 3 students only on a given day of the week.  Four months of volunteering would be the minimum. It is not glamorous and it may be hot.  Students should wear grubby clothes.  Students should be courageous when handing out feed (dead roadkill deer, rats, mice).  An initial tour for intested students will be available.  Pam is the supervisor and is all engagements or volunteering times must be okayed by her at 372-8092.

After your activity, you would write an activity summary (150 words) and report of results (150 words). For example, you may have led six year-old children on the marsh walk helping them to identify animals and plants that live there. The summary  would include factual information such as how many children, the time of day, what the weather was like, what the activity was, how long it took, etc. The results portion of your report would discuss your  impression on student impact , your feelings about the activity, your opinion, how it might have been better, any ways it inspired you to other actions, any memories it aroused, and or ways it related to ideas from IS 363. This experience is limited to 10 students for WNC and 15 at Treehouse. Submit typed report of two parts:  A.) summary -150 words and B.) Results - 150 words.

4. Eco-management. Eco-management is a physical action that enhances the environment toward sustainability.  Examples are activities such as roadside trash pickup, planting native trees for a park or other suitable area, providing a water supply for wildlife such as a small yard pond, or bird bath, building bat or bird houses, native plant landscaping in your yard or assisting a schoolyard at your neighborhood school, testing water for lead or other poisons, or the removal of alien invader species like garlic mustard, bush or vine honeysuckle, wintercreeper, kudzu, or purple loosestrife. Bring in bat house or bird house for the class to see. Please note that these houses have specifications and you should know size of hole, height, and width for the kind of species you are building the house for.  Explain this to the class.  Submit typed report.

5. Political. Pick an issue that you think is important and write three letters, either to one to a local, state, and federal elected official or to three local politicians if it is a local issue. For your report, summarize the issue, state your belief about it and report on their responses.  Include copies of your letters and their responses. Your opinion will not be graded. Your grade will depend on thoroughness and the extent of your self-education on the issue. Submit typed report.

On the next page are due dates for all assignments. All assignments are due at the beginning of class.

Topics and Assignments
- - - -Tuesday-		- - - - - - - - - - - - -Thursday - - - - - - - -
	Topic		Topic	Reading	Most work Due Thursday
Aug. 22	Living ecologically Intro.  Natural Step  Pt. 1 (E)  HO: NS  HO:  Taking Stock Pt 1	Aug. 24	Affluenza video	TS 1 "The Natural Step." is due next Thursday	Taking Stock is Due participation grade (P grade).
Aug. 29	Natural Step Part II (E)  Natural Step Presentation	Aug. 31	Discussion: Taking Stock on Your Lifestyle. 4 parts (group work)	DoubleTS #2:  Read "The circle is the Way to See. Pg 54 - 61.  AND: The Case for Human Beings	Due : TS #1 on Natural Step
Sept. 5	Prairie system sustainability. Walk to Prairie	Sept. 7	Sustainability.  Watersheds, Buffalo demise	Double TS #3 "Rivet Poppers" p.13 & The Loggers Lament & "Biodiversity VS Bioengineering	Double TS #2 is due.
Sept. 12	Biosphere II Video	Sept. 14	Biodiversity VS Bioengineering: Pro & Con,	TS #4 "Sand Couty Almanac" pg 3- 98	Double TS #3 Rivet Poppers due
Sept. 19	Sea of Oil Video	Sept. 21	Discussion:SCA  Land as a system vs a commidity	TS #5 Aldo Leopold, 237-295 SCA:The Upshot & Taking Stock, Part II	Special TS #4 SCA pg.3-98 due. 1.  What is Leopolds purpose 2.  who is the audience?
Sept. 26	Our virtual reality.  Typed action plan is due	Sept. 28	What is our Responsibility to other species?	Double TS #6: Whats in a landfill? pg 93-105 &  the 30 year old carrot pg 106 - 108. Verburg	TS #5 The Upshot is due.
Oct. 3	Questions for Midterm write in Class	Oct. 5	Midterm	Double TS #7 on "The Advantages of Incineration, pg 126-131, "Fetal Harm not Cancer, pg. 131-133, "The Hazards of Incineration", pg 134-144, "Massachusettes Ships OUt its Waste, pg 147 - 149, "Trashing the reservation, pg 150 - 152. 5 summaries, 1 definition from each article, one integration that covers all articles	Double TS #6 due & Turn in Dump Worksheet.
Oct. 10 Toxic racism video		Oct. 12	Midland Waste Landfill Trip		TS #7 is still due.
Oct. 17	Pesticides for Export Only Video	Oct. 19	Short Quiz on Rachel Carson. Carson Biography	TS#9 Read Carson Chapters 7,8,15,16,17	TS #8 Racism think sheet.
Oct. 24	Bioaccumulation  worksheet, What can you do?  Wild ones, EPA	Oct. 26	Global Climate Change Discussion	Double TS #10, The Greenhouse Effect, pg 161 - 175 Verburg.& pg 176 - 179.	TS #9 Rachel Carson Assigned chapters due.
Oct. 31	Taken for a Ride video	Nov. 1	Transportation Options	TS #11 "Earth First!, pg 234-240; A New Conservation Ethic, pg 241 - 243, & "the problem with Earth First, pg 244- 247.	Double TS #10 is due.
Nov. 7	First Action Reports	Nov. 9	Action Reports	TS #12 "The Green thumb of Capitalism", pg 260-272 & "Should we Conserve", pg 302-313.	TS  #11 due
Nov.14	Sustainable Economics Presentation	Nov.16	Sustainable Economics Discussion		TS #12 due.
Nov.21	No class.	Nov.23	Thanksgiving.	No class.
Nov.28	Action reports.	Nov.30	Action reports.
Dec. 5	Commitments.  Form groups for exam questions.	Dec. 7	Evaluations & Make up Final Exam questions.
Dec. 14 Thursday  Final Exam 12:00 — 1:40

Late work will not be accepted. The work for the class must be turned in at the beginning of class on the day that the assignment is due. We want you prepared to participate in class discussions by having done the readings and given them some serious thought in advance of the class.

Because you may need to miss a class for various reasons, the lowest 2 grades on assignments will be dropped. This cannot be done until the end of the course and midterm grade estimates will not reflect this future adjustment. Therefore, if you are ill, oversleep, or have any other problem regarding attendance, the grade replacement policy will account for this. Absences for a funeral, hospital stay or military duty will require documentation and/or prior approval by a teacher.

ITEM	REDUCE?	REUSE?	RECYCLE?
Newspaper	Use the Internet.	Share with neighbor.	Remake into paper.
Plastic cup	Buy glassware.	Wash it.	Put in recycle bin.
Glass Milk Bottle	Buy 1/2 gallons.	Yes, 8 times	Yes, via milkstore
Plastic Milk Bottle	Buy glass.	for watering plants	Remade into new bottles
Pringles chips can	Buy chips in bags.		Compost the bag.
Plastic razor	Grow a beard.	Use a razor with replaceable blades.
Eggshells	Eat tofu?	No.	Compost them.
Banana peel		No.	Compost it.
Grass clippings	Plant trees.	No.	Compost them.
Sprite soda can	Don 't drink soda.	No.	Aluminum recycling
Disposable ink pen	Buy refillable ink pens

• 1. Understand ecological concepts.
• 2. Be awareness of the environmental issues.
• 3. Develop your ability to investigate issues.
• 4. Learn action skills.
• 5. Follow through with an action of your interest.

Your Name:____________________________ Date ___________________Fall 2000

Author(s): _______________________________________________

Article Title: ____________________________________________________________________

Copy this form using a computer word processor. Then type your answers into each section.
I. Summary (4 Points)  In your own words, summarize the major ideas and arguments of the assigned reading.  Write as though you were the author.  Do not give your opinion here.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need a minimum of 12 lines for this part.)
II Definitions (2 points)  Select four significant words or terms from the article and define them using a dictionary.

1. _Affluenza is ....______________________________________________________________

2. __________(You will need four lines for this part.)

III.  Integration (2 points).  Relate the ideas in this article to ideas in some prior assignment in this class. Compare or contrast. Do these ideas support or contradict ideas in another reading assignment? How are they alike or different?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need six to eight lines for this part.)

IV. Your Own Opinion (2 points). Here is where you get to express your opinion about this article. You can praise it or criticize it, agree or disagree with it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need six to eight lines for this part.)

Your Name:____________________________ Date ___________________Fall  2000

Author(s): _______________________________________________

Article Title  I: ____________________________________________________________________
Article Title  II: ____________________________________________________________________

Copy this form using a computer word processor. Then type your answers into each section.
I.A.  Summary A (2 Points)  In your own words, summarize the major ideas and arguments of the assigned reading.  Write as though you were the author.  Do not give your opinion here.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need twelve lines for this part.)

I.B Summary B (2 Points)  In your own words, summarize the major ideas and arguments of the second assigned reading.  Write as though you were the author.  Do not give your opinion here.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need twelve lines for this part.)

II.A. Definitions (1 point)  Select four significant words or terms from the article and define them using a dictionary.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________(You will need four lines for this part.)

II.B. Definitions (1 point)  Select four significant words or terms from the second assigned article and define them using a dictionary.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________(You will need four lines for this part.)

III.  Integration (1 points).  Relate the ideas in this article to ideas in some prior assignment in this class. Compare or contrast. Do these ideas support or contradict ideas in another reading assignment? How are they alike or different?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need six to eight lines for this part.)

III.  Integration (1 points).  Relate the ideas of the second article to ideas in the other article. Compare or contrast. Do these ideas support or contradict ideas in the other reading assignment? How are they alike or different?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need six to eight lines for this part.)

IV. Your Own Opinion (2 points). Here is where you get to express your opinion about BOTH articles. You can praise it or criticize it, agree or disagree with it or with a point in the article.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (You will need six to eight lines for this part.)