Department of Geography, IUPUI F. L. Bein
Geography 315, Section C262 Office: CA 213,
274-1100
Environmental Conservation, 3 credits Office
Hours: 12:30AM -1:30 PM or by appointment
Spring 2001,11:00 AM 12:15
PM TR, CA 211
TEXTS:Living in the Environment, 11th Edition, G. Tyler
Miller, Jr.,
Wadsworth Publishing Company 2000
Subscription to a National Newspaper; suggestion: Christian Science
Monitor
COURSE FOCUS: Man's use of his environment: a study of continued survival and comfortable use of planet earth, an ecosystem approach to the study of population and resources. Five themes of the course are resources, ecosystems, population, pollution, and land use.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
| Letter | Jan. 18 | 5% |
| Project Proposal | Jan. 25 | % |
| Quizzes | Anytime | 20% |
| Field Trip | April | 5% |
| Midterm Project | March. 22 | 40% |
| Final Exam | Tues.,May 1 (1:00-3:00) | 30% |
Five elements contribute to the final grade: a letter, a field trip, a project, occasional quizzes and a final exam. The letter, typed and sent to a decision maker, should deal with an environmental issue on which the student takes a stand and solicits the "official's" response. This should be completed by the second week of classes so that responses can be read to the class before the course has terminated. A copy of the student's letter goes in the instructor's file.
Occasional quizzes (usually unannounced) will be given over particular lectures and/or readings. The quizzes are objective (multiple choice, short answer). There are no "make ups" for being absent when a quiz is given, however, the lowest quiz score will not count in the final grade, and therefore the quiz you missed will be the one not counted.
The midterm project (valued at 40% of the final grade) should deal with a local environmental problem with which you have first-hand experience, one which you personally confront, or one which directly confronts your community. Local data should be collected, explained, and evaluated in context of the environmental impact of the problem. Quantitative and visual illustrations such as tables, graphs, maps and/or photographs would be helpful in supporting your theme. Suggestions for final project theme:
| 1. | Environmental problem associated with your profession: | ||
| a. | caused by your company or agency | ||
| b. | encountered by your company or agency | ||
| c. | dealt with by your company or agency | ||
| d. | measure or examine with the facilities of your profession or agency | ||
| e. | methodology in communicating or teaching about environmental problems | ||
| 2. | Environmental problem, associated with you personally: | ||
| a. | hobby | ||
| b. | university major subject | ||
| c. | working conditions | ||
| d. | curiosity | ||
| e. | neighborhood | ||
| f. | residence | ||
| g. | using personal skills | ||
The research topic should be approved by the instructor during the third week of classes. In preparing the project it should be remembered that this project is not a typical library term paper, but one where the student collects the primary data. The library should be consulted and documentation (footnoting) may be necessary, but the theme and thrust of the paper should be locally and personally based. Also, the student should be very careful in the written dialogue to explain the context and circumstances under which the project is prepared. This should be included in the (a) hypothesis about the problem; (b) a methodology section follows which discusses the process of testing the hypothesis and the process of getting information; (c) the next subheading on the "results" should report only the findings while (d) the "analysis" section should evaluate the results and overall meaning of the effort. It is hoped that the project has additional value to you in some way and is not just a necessary step in completing this course. This should be mentioned in your introduction. Two typed copies of your project should be turned in to your instructor. The original and all non-typed material (photos, etc.) would be returned to you if you provide a copy. Use subtitles when organizing your report. Each student may be expected to spend five minutes telling the rest of the class about their project results.
The final exam is essay style allowing choices of questions from the five themes of the course to be answered. Participation is expected but attendance is not taken; your presence is noted and would affect a marginal final grade.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the use of the work of others without properly crediting the
actual source of the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, entire articles,
music or pictures. Using other students' work (with or without their
permission) is still plagiarism if you don't indicate who initially did
the work. Plagiarism, a form of cheating, is a serious offense and will
be severely punished. When an instructor suspects plagiarism, he/she will
inform the student of the charge; the student has the right to respond to
the allegations. Students whose work appears to be plagiarized may be
asked to produce earlier drafts of work or all the books/articles used in
a paper or speech. Students should, for this reason and as a protection
in cases of lost papers, retain rough drafts, notes and other work
products for 2 or 3 weeks after the end of each semester. The penalties
for plagiarism include reprimands, being failed for a particular take-home
exam, paper or project or the entire course, disciplinary probation, or
dismissal. Faculty, after consulting with their chair and/or the School
of Liberal Arts Dean of Students must notify students in writing of their
decision.
Students have the right to appeal such decisions by submitting petitions to the Academic Affairs Committee. Petitions can be obtained in CA 401. For further information, see the IUPUI's "Student rights and responsibilities," also available at CA 401.
| Dates | Topics | Readings |
| 9 -11 Jan | Introduction | Hardin, "Tragedy of the Commons;" Miller, Part 1(Ch. 1, 2) Page 781 |
| 16 Jan | Definition of Resources | Miller, Ch.3 and Part III (Ch 11-16) Spoer; Zimmerman |
| 18, 23 Jan | NUBA Mountain People Resource Use | |
| 25, 30 Jan | Water Resources | Bein, "Domestic Water Resource Use in Sudan;" Miller, Ch. 13 |
| 1, 6 February | Soils Resources | Miller, Ch. 5, 14 |
| 8 Feb - 8 Mar | Ecological Issues | Miller, Part II (Ch. 4 -10) |
| 13 - 15 March | SPRING BREAK | |
| 20 - 22 March | Tropical Rain Forest Land Use | Miller; Ch. 23, 24 |
| 27 - 29 March | Sahel Land Use | Bein,"Response to Drought in the Sahel" |
| 3 - 5 April | Population Issues | Miller, Ch 10, Part III (Ch. 11-12) Bongaarts |
| 10 -12 April | Case Study: Mexico | |
| 17 -26 April | Pollution Issues | Miller, Ch. 17-22; DaSilva & Bein |
| 1 May | FINAL EXAM Tuesday (1:00-3:00) | |
Bein, F. L., 1980. "Response to Drought in the Sahel," Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, V. 35: No. 3, pp. 121-124.
Bein, F. L., 1981. "Domestic Water Resource in Rural Sudan," Ekistics: V.48, No. 291, pp. 440-443.
Bongaarts, John. "Can the Growing Human Population Feed Itself?" Scientific American, March 1994.
DaSilva, A. and Bein, F. L., 1981. "The Effects of a Blizzard on Urban Air Pollution," Journal of Geography: V. 80, No. 3, pp. 91-97.
Goldfarb, T. D., 1989. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Environmental Issues. 3rd Edition. Duskin.
Igbozorike, U. M. "The Concept or Carrying Capacity." Journal of Geography, V. 80, No. 4, 1981.
Hardin, G., 1968. "The Tragedy of the Commons," Science 161: pp. 1234-1248.
Hynes, H. P., 1989. The Recurring Silent Spring. Pergaman Press.
Miller, Tyler, 1982. Living in the Environment, Wadsworth.
Rifkin, Jeremy, 1981. Enthropy: A New World View, Bantam, New York
Sauer, Carl O., 1956. "The Agency of Man on the Earth," Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, editor: William L. Thomas, Jr., University of Chicago Press, pp. 46-69.
Spoer, Alexander, 1956. "Cultural Differences in the Interpretation of Natural Resources," Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, editor William L. Thomas, Jr., University of Chicago Press, pp. 93-102.
White, L., 1964. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis," Science 155: pp. 1203-1207.
Zimmerman, Erich W., 1933. "Meaning and Nature of Resources," World Resources and Industries (revised edition): pp. 3-20.