ENVR 102: Earth Literacy

Salisbury University, Fall 2008

 

Instructor: Dr. Joan Maloof, Department of Biological Sciences

Office: 224 Henson Science Building

Office phone: (410) 548-5788; Home phone (410) 546-1038

e-mail: jemaloof@salisbury.edu

 

            “Institutions of higher education bear a profound moral responsibility to increase the awareness, knowledge, skills and values needed to create a just and sustainable future.”

Anthony Cortese, President of Second Nature.

 

 

            We depend on the natural world to provide the raw materials for our food, clothing, and shelter (to name just a few things); we also depend on the natural world to absorb our wastes. Our increasing human population has turned to industrialization to make this process more efficient, but what are the costs to the natural world? Is our behavior sustainable? Is it fair to other generations, to other nations? If not, then how should we live? The answers to these questions are complex, and they cannot be answered by one discipline alone. Scientists, economists, politicians, and even artists will be called upon to address this interface between industry and nature.

            There are numerous indications that our current behaviors are unsustainable. Many have suggested that one important function of the university is to point out the unsustainable nature of our actions, and to educate about alternatives. Ideally campuses should be role models for the communities that surround them. “Campus Sustainability” is a new movement and assessment methods are currently being developed to monitor progress toward sustainability.

In this class we will examine where our campus, and the individuals on it, interface with the natural world. In addition, each student will research some aspect of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) for Colleges and Universities and determine where Salisbury University is on the path toward sustainability.

            During our discussions we will consider the role of science, and the scientific method, in the creation of both environmental problems and solutions. By definition, scientific knowledge is continually changing. We will discuss some of the ways that science-related attitudes toward environmental issues have changed in the past fifty years.

 

Prerequisite: none

This course satisfies General Education IIIB requirements. It is a core course in the Environmental Issues major.

 

Texts:  

This course will be web enhanced. Many readings and all homework assignments will require internet access. Students are responsible for arranging a dependable source of access. Inability to connect to the internet will not be a valid excuse for missing deadlines.

 

Attendance:

            Because this class only meets once a week, and it is experientially based, attendance is critical. After the first absence, additional absences will lower your grade 5% per absence. The only valid excuse will be if the University is closed. Please speak with the instructor if there are exceptional circumstances.

 

Other: See student handbook for policies on cheating; writing across the curriculum; and the writing center.

Grading:

            Homework assignments = 50%

There will be 10 weekly homework assignments, mostly about assigned readings or internet research. Each homework assignment will be worth 5% (10 x 5% = 50%). Late assignments will lose 1% per day of lateness. No assignments will be accepted that are more than five days late.

            Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating Documentation (STARS) = 20%

Using a universal rating system for measuring colleges and universities according to sustainability, students will research and document Salisbury University’s ranking. Individual topics will be assigned the first week of class.

            STARS presentation = 10%

 Students will create one or two PowerPoint slides to illustrate the STARS credit they were assigned to research, and present these slides as part of a final presentation. 

            Final Exam = 20% 

There will be a comprehensive in-class final exam. The final exam is “open notes” so I suggest keeping your course materials well organized.

 

 

Class Schedule

 

Date

activity

work due

Sept 4            

Sustainability, Living Planet Index, AASHE – STARS, 11th Hour

 

Sept 11

Agriculture - experiential

Assignment #1

Sept 18

Dining Hall and Campus Waste Procedures - experiential

Assignment #2

Sept 25

Bank of Eden Compost & Sharon Carson Compost - experiential

Assignment #3

Oct 2

Solid Waste & Methane- experiential

Assignment #4

Oct 9

Chip Mill and Biofuels – experiential

Assignment #5

Oct 16

Drinking Water - experiential

Assignment #6

Oct 23

Wastewater -experiential

Assignment #7

Oct 30

Stormwater - experiential

Assignment #8

Nov 6

Green Festival in DC* –class moved to weekend

 (Nov 7 is last day to drop with a ‘W’)

 

Nov 13

Toxins and Ecological Footprint

Assignment #9

Nov 20

Senator Winegrad 10am Nanticoke A

Assignment #10

Nov 27

No class- Thanksgiving

 

Dec 4

Production of STARS presentation

 STARS report and Powerpoint slides

Dec 11

STARS final presentation

 

Dec 18, Thurs.

Final Exam, 7 p.m., same room

 

* Sat. Nov 8, 10-8, and Sun. Nov. 9, 11-6, Washington D.C., Convention Center