Dr. Ron Kaufmann

Office: Shiley Center 274; x5904; kaufmann@sandiego.edu or rkaufmann@gmail.com

Office Hours: Monday 1:30-2:30, Tuesday 2:30-5:00, Friday 12:30-2:00, or by appointment

 

FINAL EXAM  Thursday, December 20, 8:00-10:00     Review Sheet

Required Texts
Easton (2013) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues, 15^th Edition

Gerdes (2009) Opposing Viewpoints: The Environment

Other Sources
Balkin (2005) Opposing Viewpoints: Population

Bily (2006) Opposing Viewpoints: Global Warming

Chapin et al. (2000) Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature 405: 234-242.

Easton (2005) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues, 11^th Edition

Easton (2011) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues, 14^th Edition

Egendorf (2005) Opposing Viewpoints: The Environment

Gerdes (2006) Opposing Viewpoints: Pollution

Gerdes (2011) Opposing Viewpoints: Pollution

Haugen & Musser (2009) Opposing Viewpoints: Genetic Engineering

Haugen et al. (2010) Opposing Viewpoints: Global Warming

Langwith (2010) Opposing Viewpoints: Water

Lomborg (1998) The Skeptical Environmentalist

Purvis & Hector (2000) Getting the measure of biodiversity. Nature 405: 212-219.

Tilman (2000) Causes, consequences and ethics of biodiversity. Nature 405: 208-211.

- Most assigned readings will be available through Blackboard.

Grades
 

Debates (2)	50 points	each
Debate I Paper	50 points
Midterm Exams (2)	100 points	each
Final Exam (non-cumulative)	100 points
Attendance/Participation	50 points
TOTAL	500 points

Course Objectives
    The goal of this course is to expose you to multiple perspectives (opinions) on current environmental topics and present some of the data and principles on which those opinions are based.  My main purpose is NOT to impose my opinions on you, but rather to expose you to various and often widely differing viewpoints and give you the chance to draw your own conclusions.  By the end of this course you should know more about current environmental issues than you do at the beginning.  Perhaps more importantly, you should have learned to think critically about those issues, evaluate the evidence for and against particular opinions, and form your own opinions based on facts and reason rather than hearsay and hyperbole.

    This course covers a lot of information, and it's easy to get behind if you’re not careful.  If you attend lectures, follow the reading, and participate in class discussions, you should be able to keep up.  I expect that this class will be challenging; I hope you also find it to be interesting and fun.  If you are having trouble or are concerned about your performance in this course, please contact me as soon as possible.  I will try my best to answer your questions and help you succeed.  Besides coming to my office hours, the best way to reach me is by e-mail.

Learning Outcomes
    After taking this course, you should be able to

• Understand the basic scientific principles on which natural systems operate and the connections between human activities and natural systems.

• Understand the scientific method and the interpretation of environmental data collected with various approaches.

• Acquire, evaluate and critique information about environmental issues from a variety of scientific and non-scientific sources.

• Synthesize and effectively communicate scientific and non-scientific information about environmental issues in oral and written form.

Participation
    Class attendance and participation are important components of the learning experience.  In this class especially, participation in class discussions is a vital part of the course.  As a university student you are responsible for your own attendance and conduct.  I will not take formal attendance in class.  However, if you don't show up regularly or if you consistently arrive late, your final grade may suffer as a result.  Participation in class includes asking questions, being involved in discussions, and generally behaving like a real, live, interested, person.  If you tend to be shy by nature, don’t worry: I don’t expect each of you to ask three questions every day.  However, if you go the entire semester without uttering a word in class, apart from the debates, you aren’t trying hard enough.  If I go over material too rapidly or too slowly, or if I explain something that doesn’t make sense or that you don’t understand, please raise your hand and bring the problem to my attention.

Exams
    There will be NO make-up exams in this course without prior approval from the instructor.  This means that if you give me enough advance notice and there is a compelling reason why you must miss a scheduled exam we can probably work something out.  If you wait until the last minute before telling me that you can't make it to an exam I'm likely to be much less forgiving.  Travel plans do NOT constitute a legitimate excuse for missing ANY exam.  If there is an emergency that prevents you from taking an exam, please contact the instructor PRIOR to the exam time.  This policy includes the final exam.

Debates
    During the course of the semester, each student will be required to participate in two debates.  For each debate, you and a group of your classmates (4 people per group) will select a controversial environmental issue that interests you and choose a viewpoint to present.  Another group from the class will take an opposing viewpoint on the same issue, and the two groups will carry out a debate in front of the rest of the class.  During a debate, each group will have 20 minutes to present their position and 10 minutes for rebuttal of the other group’s position.  The order of presentation (i.e. which group goes first) will be determined by flipping a coin.  After the two groups are done presenting their positions and rebuttals, the rest of the class will have the opportunity to address questions to either group (or both).  Students in the audience will write brief evaluations of each group; these evaluations will not be graded but will be used by the instructor in grading the presentations.
    There will be two sets of debates during the semester.  A group that argues a “pro-environment” viewpoint in the first debate will argue an “anti-environment” viewpoint in the second debate, and vice-versa.  Groups will be organized by the instructor during the first two weeks of class.  Topics and viewpoints will be chosen in class during the second full week of the semester.

    In conjunction with the first debate, each student will write INDEPENDENTLY a brief paper (8-10 pages) dealing with the major issues associated with their topic.  This paper should include:

    - An introduction to the topic
    - Some analysis of the current state of understanding regarding the subject
    - Presentation of both sides of the issue under consideration and the most important evidence in support of each viewpoint
    - A conclusion that includes a synthesis of the viewpoints as well as some predictions for the future, if appropriate

    I expect you to research and prepare your presentations as a team, but the papers must be written on your own.  Papers will be due by 11:59 pm one week after the day of your debate and should be submitted by e-mail as a Word document (preferred) or pdf file.  Hard copies also will be accepted, but not at 11:59 pm!  Late papers will be penalized at a rate of 5% for each day the paper is tardy.  Feel free to talk to me about any questions you might have during the course of your preparations - I'll try to help to the best of my ability.

Extra Credit
    In addition to the 500 "mandatory" points, it will be possible to earn up to 25 extra credit points by successfully completing an additional assignment.  Select an article on a current environmental issue not covered in class.  The issue should have at least two distinct viewpoints that you can identify.  After having the article (and issue) approved by the instructor, you should research the topic and write a 6-8 page paper covering both sides of the issue and the evidence supporting each perspective.  This paper should be written in the same format as your paper for the first debate topic.  Completion of an extra credit paper is not sufficient to earn 25 points, and substandard assignments will earn fewer extra credit points.  Extra credit papers may be turned in until 11:59 pm on Friday, December 14. Papers received after that time will not be accepted.

Academic Integrity
    The use of information from published sources can create some confusion about proper use and referencing of material that you did not generate yourself.  Here are some guidelines to help you use but not misuse information produced by others.  It is expected that you will read publications and incorporate into your papers some of the findings and ideas contained in those published works.  When you refer to information generated by someone else, it is important to credit the source of that information.  Commonly, that credit comes in the form of a parenthetical citation.  For example:

    Global climate change has been implicated in the decline of zooplankton biomass in the eastern Pacific during the second half of the 20th century (Roemmich and McGowan, 1995).

Information from the Internet
    The internet contains a great deal of useful information, some of which may be valuable to you as you learn about the issues covered in this course.  However, please remember that web content may not be reliable, especially if the web site is operated by a person or organization with an interest in promoting a particular viewpoint.  It is important to recognize whether the author(s) of a web site can be regarded as reliable.  For example, Greenpeace is likely to present different views than a group that supports commercial whaling.

This page and all contents copyright 2005-2012 by Ron Kaufmann
All rights reserved
Last modified 4 Dec 2012 by Ron Kaufmann