EVS 485-005 Resources for a Sustainable Society

GLY 480

Instructor: Mr. Roger Shew

Phone: 962-7676

Email: shewr@uncw.edu

Office: DeLoach Hall 121

Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 1:00 – 2:00

Other times welcome, just let me know

Class Time: Tue/Thur 1400 – 1515

Resources: No Text Book is Required. However, Environmental Science Textbooks from EVS 195, EVS 205, etc. are useful. Numerous articles and websites and your own reference searches will be fundamental to the course.

Objectives:

The objectives of this course are simple. We will look at the primary issues associated with a Sustainable Society at the global to local level, which includes the broad areas of Energy, Soils, Forests, and the Water and Mineral Resources. For instance, forest issues are not just occurring in the Amazon Rainforest but in the Pacific Northwest and in the southeastern U.S. including southeastern N.C. We will not just look at the above topics though as there are of course many corollary issues to these such as global warming, deforestation, sequestering CO₂, recycling of materials, water quality from dead zones to stormwater, and more. And of course their will be specific issues such as the future of solar and ethanol, loss of biodiversity and habitat w/ the loss of forests and quality soils/wetlands, etc. The goals will be to present basic and sometimes not so basic “factual” information with discussions of disparate opinions and the basis for those opinions and how some of this leads to both sound and questionable policy decisions.

What is a Sustainable Society? There are numerous definitions but really in this course we will use the working definition of:

“Satisfying society’s current needs without jeopardizing the needs of future generations”

Approach:

Read, Assimilate facts, Distill Opinions, Debate the Points (with yourself and others), and then Come to Conclusions that must be presented orally, pictorially, and in summary writings (Executive Summaries).

Grading:

We will have a combination of short tests, position papers, projects, summary presentations, and field trips. Individual, and hopefully group projects, will be assigned.

Tests: 20% (used to make sure that we know some facts)

Projects: 50% (multiple small projects/assignments; may include data collection, write-

ups, research, letters, etc.)

Assignment: 20% (put together a brochure, poster, position paper, lesson plan to highlight a

Sustainable Society Issue that may lead to informing or persuading a group of

people to take action, change habits, and/or sway policy – We’ll Talk)

Field Trip/

Exec. Summaries: 10% (summarizing information, collecting data, determining a problem)

(Note: It sounds like a lot more than it is, I think)

Academic Honor Code: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. It is this Institution’s stated policy that no form of dishonesty among its faculty or students will be tolerated. Please consult the Student Handbook for further information.

UNCW practices a zero-tolerance policy for violence and harassment of any kind.  For emergencies contact UNCW CARE at 962-2273, Campus Police at 962-3184, or Wilmington Police at 911.  For University or community resources visit http://uncw.edu/wrc/crisis.htm.”

Etiquette: Be nice, no cell phones. Your opinions/discussions are critical in this class but be considerate of others opinions.

Topics and Tentative Agenda (subject to change and likely will at any moment depending upon our discussions, current issues, and excitement/interest). A field trip will also be used instead of classes if we can arrange a time. The field trip will cover forests, soils, water, etc. If we do this early in the semester we will move Energy Issues to later.

Week	Topic
August 23	Introduction
August 28 - 30	Energy Use
Sept. 4 – 6	Energy Issues and Movie Time
Sept. 11 – 13	Energy Issues Or Discuss Soils (Analysis and Importance)
Sept. 18 - 20	Who’s Right? Gore vs. Crichton Discuss the “Semester Assignment” Or Discuss Soils, Forests, and Sprawl
Sept. 25 - 27	It’s Politics (The Ethanol Issue and More)
Oct. 2 – 4	Energy Policy, Current Rules, IPCC
Oct. 9 – 11	Fall Break (9^th); No Class 11^th (work on Assignment)
Oct. 16 – 18	Water Issues
Oct. 23 – 25	Water (Global to Local Issues)
Oct. 30/Nov. 1	Rules and Regulations (Stormwater and Field Trip)
Nov. 6 – 8	Soils
Nov. 13 – 15	Soils and Forests
Nov. 20	Work on Project/Assignment
Nov. 22	Thanksgiving
Nov. 27 – 29	Air Quality, Presentations of Materials
Dec. 4	Presentations, Summary, and Test
Dec. 6	Reading Day
Dec. 13	Final Exam (3 – 6)

Topics:

Field Trip – Green Swamp, Bay Lakes, Longleaf Pine Forests

Stormwater Phase II Rules

Forest loss and/or gain in the southeast or deforestation globally. Can trees reduce CO₂?

Desertification

Evidence for Climate change – Or is there? Climate Policy

Alternative Energy (Real or Imagined)

UNC-W Energy Use

UNC-W Grounds Policy

Green Building and Subdivisions

Ethanol (Good, Bad, Stupid)

Nuclear (Why Not?)

Groundwater use (what happens when the snowpacks fail?)

Forest and Land Use policy (forest fires, healthy forest intiative, sprawl in the desert)