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International
Environmental Issues (EnvS 225)
Syllabus |
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Course Description
This course is designed for individuals who have an interest in
understanding environmental issues from a global perspective. The
course focuses on various social, political, economic, historical, religious,
and physical issues related to the environment and natural
resources.
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Course Objectives
Among other things, students should be
able to do the following after this course:
 | Understand the complexity and
interconnectedness of major environmental issues |
| Understand the processes of international
environmental problem solving |
| Be able to defend in writing, data-based
recommendations to mitigate selected global environmental
problems |
| Demonstrate understanding of selected
environmental problems from different disciplinary perspectives |
Some important tips for success in this
course:
Self-discipline
Online courses require a fair amount of
self-discipline, organizational skills, and the ability to be
self-motivated. Because they move along at a rapid pace and
are concentrated, your success as a student is dependant on your
attentiveness to meeting deadlines. Your colleagues are relying on
you to participate and interact with them in a timely and
appropriate manner.
Reading & research
There are over a hundred pages of reading each week, so it is
imperative that time for reading be incorporated into your schedule
of activities. In addition, outside research is expected
beyond the required readings, so that you will need to plan on a
certain amount of time devoted to research and reading in order to
meet all of your obligations.
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Syllabus
A. Pre-requisites
1. Internet knowledge
2. Access to World Wide Web and email (at least 28.8 Kbps
modem)
3. Background in environmental science not necessary, but
useful
B. General Course
design
All course materials, except certain printed materials described
below, can be accessed from the following Internet address:
http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/envs225 The
course is designed in a weekly assignment format with three required
components: readings, Blackboard postings and responses, and a research
paper.
Students are expected to work through the assignments within the
time period of a week. Assignments are to be turned in no later than
the given due date. There is a threaded discussion area on
Blackboard
for the purposes of facilitating interaction among students. It is
advisable to post by the Friday earlier than the deadline so that
there will be ample time for others to respond to a posting. The
Blackboard discussions will cover specific weekly questions posted under
Questions in the left menu, and will involve readings from both the
course textbook, Collapse, and
E-Reserve readings.
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C. Course Textbook Collapse:
How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
By Jared Diamond
This text can be purchased at the UI bookstore, or ordered through
Amazon.com
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D. E-Reserve
Readings
Weekly e-reserve readings can be accessed directly by a link, or
through the University of Idaho Library webpage:
www.lib.uidaho.edu/access_services/reserve/
HOW TO ACCESS E-RESERVE ITEMS
1) Go
to the UI Library homepage (www.lib.uidaho.edu).
2) Select
“Reserve” from the choices in the left-hand column.
3) Select
the link to perform a “Course Reserve Search”.
4) You
can search for a class either by department (i.e. E for Env.
Science) or the professor’s last name (i.e. H for Harvey).
5) Electronic
resources will appear at the top of the page; books or files on
physical reserve will appear at the bottom of the page. When you
click on the citation links for the e-reserve readings, you will be
prompted to enter the following username and password information:
Username: reserve
Password: Dit39tb
If you have any questions, please call 208 885-6495.
Finding the
Articles:
| Search for the name of the course on
the above website
Environmental Science 225:
International Environmental Issues OR
Instructor: Sharon Harvey |
| Click on the name
of the course OR instructor and |
| Select the reading for the week |
TIPS:
| Login to the
EnvS225
Blackboard course to locate the Username & Password for E-Reserve access |
| Download
Acrobat Reader if you don't already have it to view the
articles. |
The e-reserve
reading questions can be accessed on the left menu of the course
website under Questions.
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E. Threaded
Discussions/Participation
Your active participation is required in this course. You will
participate through threaded discussions. Remember to treat this
like a conversation.
You are required to answer the questions on Collapse and
E-Reserve readings and post them - about 1 page long each.
WARNING: Do not wait until the end for your postings. The postings
should all be up by Sunday to allow adequate time for responses, and
even earlier is better.
You will also respond to any fellow
student's postings on Collapse and E-reserve readings
by Tuesday midnight of each week of the course.
Although the deadline states "midnight" for Tuesday, be
informed that blackboard actually closes at 11:55 p.m. on Tuesdays!
You will post twice and respond twice weekly for Collapse
and E-Reserve questions. A minimum of 10 readings is expected for
full credit, (about 1/3 of the entries), and more entries read is
optimal.
You are also encouraged to respond to
any concerns or questions someone may have regarding your response
to the topic. Your discussions will be evaluated on quantity,
quality, and critical thought. Here are some thoughts that may shed
some light on your discourse:
- Demonstrate an
understanding of:
| The major issues in the
required reading. |
Analyze these issues in the light of
the assigned reading:
| What is the author's
perspective on the issues raised by the presenter? |
| Did the presenter miss the point
given the author's perspective or is it the
other way around? |
In addition to the
presenter's solutions, suggest other solutions to the
current issues. For example, are the presenter's, the
author's, and your solutions. . .
| Economically feasible? |
| Socially & culturally acceptable? |
| Scientifically/technically sound? |
| Politically "palatable"?
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Evaluating Threaded Discussion |
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Quantity |
Quality |
Critical Thought |
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Did the student post
the required number of times?
(i.e., at least
two responses: one to initial question and one
to a fellow student's response)
Did they exceed the minimum number of postings?
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Did the student
utilize the required learning resources in their
response?
Was the student's
response well reasoned and thoughtful?
Did the student
stay on topic?
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Did the student's
response attempt to synthesize the postings of
their fellow students and the learning resources?
Did the student
attempt to engage in professional "dialogue"
with other members of the course?
Did the student respond
professionally to the critique of fellow
students?
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G. White paper
White
Paper Timeline and Guidelines
All weekly drafts are
to be submitted via the assignment drop box on
Blackboard
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A major component of this course is a "White Paper,"
or policy paper. You will be assigned a major environmental
category (air, water, biodiversity, waste management, soil,
or marine and coastal resources) to research in one of the
following countries: India, China, Kenya, Haiti, Australia,
Ecuador, Costa Rica, or Argentina. You will present a problem statement, the
background surrounding the problem (the causes or why such
problem exists, and what has been done already), identify
stakeholders, and propose 2-3 alternatives to mitigate the
problem based on your research. (I will be giving
feedback on your drafts all along the way so that you will
continually revise your work.) Note: The last week is a
shorter week than the rest, so plan your work
accordingly to be done on time. 1. THE PROBLEM:
Selection of an issue to analyze (Issue definition):
(Due on June 12th)
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Write the issue in one sentence (or in the form of a
question). |
| Be sure to mention the
specific environmental issue, country, and specific
locality of your proposed research (see White Paper on
course menu for the general issue and country that is
assigned to you). |
2.
BACKGROUND: Identification of salient variables creating the
problem or hindering its improvement, and efforts of the
past to address the problem:
(Due on June 19th)
| Accompany your problem
statement with a background. Most likely the problem
will be subject to further refinement as you gain more
knowledge and insights into the issue. |
| Consider any relevant
historical, cultural, religious, political, scientific,
or economic variables that have affected the problem. |
| Focus on the cause or
causes of the problem at hand. |
| Research and evaluate
former attempts at addressing the problem. |
3. STAKEHOLDER'S ANALYSIS: Identification of stakeholders concerned
with the issue:
(Due on June 26th)
4.
ALTERNATIVES: Construction of alternatives related to the issue:
(Due on July 3rd)
Identify and analyze 2 or 3 alternatives for mitigating the
problem. Number them, and each
alternative should be stated as conclusive and specific as
possible in the first sentence. You can then elaborate further
the remaining details of implementation, procedure, etc.
5.
DEFENSE: What are the possible outcomes of each of the
alternatives from the perspective of each interest group? What
does each stakeholder gain or lose?
(Due on July 10th)
6.
CONCLUSION:
Choose your BEST policy alternative to mitigate the problem and
defend it. Is the policy alternative:
| Scientifically
(technically) sound? |
| Politically palatable? |
| Socially and culturally
acceptable? |
| Economically feasible? |
(Due on July 17th)
FINAL DRAFT of the Completed White Paper:
Due the last day of class -
July 25th, by 5 p.m.
The
format of the final policy paper is to have clear
designations throughout with each of the section titles
bold or highlighted, (e.g., Problem, Background,...),
rather than a smooth flowing paper style. The papers
should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman, 1.5''
side margins, with
a length anywhere from 8-18 pages. All research should
be clearly documented with a bibliography or references
at the end. Avoid last minute referencing by making
those insertions as you present weekly drafts. Please
note these paper guidelines, as you will lose points for
incorrect formatting, etc.
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Late assignments (drafts) will not be accepted for credit without
prior arrangement with the instructor.
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Activities
This section explains the weekly
required activities for this course.
- Reading assignments in Collapse and E-Reserve
- Threaded discussions on
Blackboard on questions from
Collapse and E-Reserve
- Research and write a paper on an environmental problem from a
selected country
(Drafts of specified
sections of the paper are due weekly)
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Evaluation/Grade Breakdown
Your final grade for the course will be calculated from the
course requirements and will be weighted as follows:
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12 Postings (15 pts. ea) |
180
pts |
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12
Responses (10 pts. ea) |
120 pts
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6 Sections of Paper Draft
(20 pts. ea) |
120
pts
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Final Paper
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215
pts
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Total = |
635 pts
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Your final grade will be determined by the total number of points
you earn. The basis for letter grades is shown below:
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A =
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at least 90% of 100, 572-635
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B =
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at least 80% of 100, 508-571
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C =
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at least 70% of 100, 444-507
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D =
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at least 60% of 100, 381-443 |
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F =
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less than 60% of 100, 380 or less |
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