Lecture summaries for Spring 2020
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The first presentation for this course will be held on Wednesday, 22 January 2020 and start at 10:00 a.m.; we will meet in Bentley 308. Class discussion will introduce the concepts of ecology, ecosystems, ecosystem services, ecological footprint, exponential growth, energy, environmental problems, and environmental activism.
Lightning rounds, debates, and poster presentations will be used to stimulate thought and dialogue centered around environmental problems. Lightning rounds will allow each person to conduct research and practice making a case for their position. Debates will help focus the issues, and provide opportunities for respectful disagreement, constructive criticism, and reflection. Knowledge gained through critical thinking and dialogue will be shared in the poster presentations.
The debates are based on a model presented by Wheeldon et al. (2013). Textbooks are not required for this course, yet there will be sufficient literature available Online, in the library, and in the news.
Student presentations in this class will not be assessed for the JSC Graduation Oral Communication Standard. The PowerPoint slides associated with the presentations must incorporate the Assertion-Evidence model (see the following two sites about the design of PowerPoint slides):
Consider adding the Printfriendly extension to the Chrome browser on your computer if you want to print web pages. This add-on removes extraneous advertisements, cleans up the page, and makes the document much easier to read.
Install a free, full version, of Microsoft Office 2019 on your PC or Mac. Get the software from the NVUJ website at http://johnsonsc.onthehub.com/WebStore/ProductsByMajorVersionList.aspx
The ideas generated through this work will help choose a research topic for the i) lightning rounds, ii) debates, and iii) poster presentations.
Plan for Monday:
PowerPoint lecture slides: the basic concepts
Plan for Wednesday:
A thesis statement is a proposition laid down or stated, as a theme to be discussed and proved, or to be maintained against attack (Oxford English Dictionary, 1979). Take a position and state it in few sentences. Defend your thesis in the subsequent slides.
Monday: discuss lightning rounds and debate topics. We choose debate team membership; each team chose who will represent either side of the argument.
Wednesday: build PRO-CON concept maps for the debates, and discuss ecology.
Debatable arguments should be about fact, value, or policy. Arguments of fact are about things that can be proven or disproven. Arguments of value are arguments of belief, theories, or epistemological starting points. Arguments of policy are about things that can be practically done based on the facts and values as described.
Ecology, ecosystems, and the Law of Tolerance was introduced.
PowerPoint lecture slides: ecology
Read an article just published in the Guardian; the subtitle is: Climate, extreme weather, biodiversity, food and water crises could lead to ‘systemic collapse’. Another interesting article from the Guardian is: Bumblebees' decline points to mass extinction.
We should all be concerned, we should all take action. My philosophy is: Learn → Decide → Act.
Types and roles of species were discussed on Monday.
Plan for Wednesday:
There was a brief discussion of non-material and material resources (potentially renewable, non-renewable and perpetual).
PowerPoint lecture slides: resources
Monday: discussion of energy
Wednesday: Lightning Round presentations
PowerPoint lecture slides: uranium
The atomic mass of an element represents a weighted average of all of the isotopes of that type of atom. For example, the average atomic mass of carbon, C, is 12.011 amu. Some isotopes of carbon have 5, 6, 7, or 8 neutrons (11C, 12C, 13C, or 14C respectively). Most isotopes of carbon have 6 neutrons and therefore the average atomic mass of carbon is about 12 amu (6 neutrons + 6 protons). See the table of nuclides produced by Brookhaven National Laboratories. Isotopes are atoms of the same type (same atomic number, i.e. same number of protons) but have varying atomic mass (i.e. varying numbers of neutrons). Some isotopes are stable and others are unstable (radioactive). There is no magic formula for determining which isotope of an atom is unstable; the stability of an isotope is governed by the weak nuclear force. Read more about isotopes from the US Geological Survey. Hydrogen has numerous isotopes: 1H (hydrogen), 2H (deuterium), and 3H (tritium); read about the sources and health effects of tritium.
Unstable isotopes generate radiation as the nucleus undergoes spontaneous decay. The weak nuclear force controls the rate and mechanism of the decay of the nucleus. Common decay mechanisms include:
Half-life is the average amount of time required for one half of the original number of radioactive atoms (parent atoms) to decay to child (daughter) products. Unstable isotopes are used for absolute dating. Each isotope has a defined half life. After five half lives, only 1/32 of the parent isotope remains; this small amount is difficult to measure accurately so we choose an isotope that has a half life appropriate to the age of the feature of interest (for example, depositional age, age of crystallization, or age of metamorphism).
The isotope of choice for nuclear power is 235U because it is easily fissile, yet 235U represents only 0.7204% of all uranium; 99.2742% of all uranium is 238U. Enriched uranium is represented by a concentration of 3-5% of 235U. Enriched uranium is used in nuclear power plants where the uranium splits (nuclear fission), gives off heat, and numerous daughter products that have long and varied decay chains. The decay chain for 238U is also long and varied that it spawns numerous unstable isotopes that give off radiation in perpetuity. The heat given off when splitting 235U is used to boil water, that turns to steam, that turns a turbine, that spins a generator, that makes electricity. Nuclear power is an expensive way to boil water.
Highly enriched uranium is represented by a concentration of 90-95% of 235U and is used in nuclear weapons. By concentrating 235U, that is enriching the sample with respect to 235U, what is left behind is referred to as depleted uranium (depleted with respect to 235U). Depleted uranium is used in armor-piercing bullets.
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Outline for the PRO-CON debate map.
Grading rubric for the second series of lightning rounds.
Discussion of atmospheric chemistry, the ozone layer, and global warming.
Grading rubric for the poster presentations
Spring break arrived early do to an overabundance of caution expressed by NVUJ regarding the COVID-19 virus. I do hope you are able to settle into your new surroundings.
The schedule, and some activities in this course, will be reorganized, so please keep checking back to this web page. For example, the Second Lightning Round, and the Debates, are scheduled during the period we are off campus. We will have to be flexible. I am open to your suggestions, and I have a few below:
We previously decided that I was not going to collect the PRO-CON Debate Map, but that each group was to work together and develop an appropriate map.
Please continue to work on the Second Lightning Round. Should we have the Second Lightning Round Online? If so, I think we should make them a bit longer than two minutes – how about four minutes? They were originally due this week (on the 18th). Let's talk about this Online on Monday, 23 March 2020.
The first draft of the poster is now due on 8 April 2020. Please let me know if you do not have access to PowerPoint. Remember, that you can download a free version of the Office Suite from http://johnsonsc.onthehub.com/WebStore/ProductsByMajorVersionList.aspx
All future assignments will be submitted through Canvas.
The Zoom link for this course can be found on Canvas, on the Announcements tab. Recordings of lectures may also be found on Canvas.
Please send me an email if you have any questions about this class, about NVUJ, or anything else that you think is appropriate. I will do whatever I can to make accommodations.
Thanks for joining the discussion on Monday. It sounds like we are going to have a second lightning round and posters developed for the web.
Please watch an eight-minute clip of Bill Gates talking about pandemics.
Please choose a topic, based on the discussion we had today (Mon, 23 Mar 2020) or from the Lifestyle Choices note below, that you will use for the poster and lightning round.
Each of us will share our ideas and solicit feedback from others (sort of like an impromptu lightning round).
As always, the thesis of your topic must be defensible.
But first, consider the following...
Lifestyle Choices (by Leslie Kanat, 20 March 2020)
The foundations of our success include ecosystem services, functioning societies, strong healthy families, and adequate resources – it touches all areas of how we choose to live and how we interact with others. The gross domestic product (GDP) is one indicator of the economic success of a society. It measures the use of goods and services and is an indicator of the success of a nation. It excludes the importance of community, and the daily work conducted by those who do not get paid (including those who work at home raising their family, and those who are paid in cash). A high GDP often comes at a cost to the long term well-being of our life support systems. The challenge we, as a species, face today is to balance prosperity (wealth inequality and consumption) with long-term thinking (sustainable lifestyle choices rather than immediate gratification). Clean water to drink, safe air to breath, healthy food to eat, and global health are all compromised by our successful lifestyles. What choices must we make in order to ensure that future generations have the safe, healthy, and nurturing lifestyle experienced by our ancestors? The decisions we make today will impact us and future generations. The 7.6 billion people living today is so substantial that we now have the power to change the planet – and the population will continue to grow until 2100 where it is expected to level off around 11 billion people. The human population is large enough to be considered a geological force and we are making changes to ecosystem services at ever-increasing rates (there is serious discussion about creating a new era for the geological time scale called the Anthropocene – the age of humans). At what point do we take stock of our capital and decide to live sustainably, and live respectfully, such that future generations may enjoy the beauty that previous generations have been gifted?
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One goal of this class, Introduction to Environmental Problems, is to learn about the numerous environmental problems humanity faces. I was hoping that the class debates would allow us to learn more about the views of others. Yet things have changed, and quite rapidly, due to the corona virus disease, COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. SARS coronavirus is the virus responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – it was identified in 2003. We have known about SARS for a long time. We have known about the climate crisis for a long time. We have known about the harms associated with nuclear power for a long time. We have known about the multitude of problems associated with fossil fuels for a long time. It is time for us to translate the science and share it with others. I think this class should focus on the pressing problems listed above. Some of these problems are more immediate, like COVID-19, and the others are just around the corner. Northern Vermont University indicated that “Classes will transition to remote instruction beginning Monday, March 23, 2020 for at least two weeks, continuing to at least Friday, April 3, 2020.” I think it is probable that we will be out for the rest of the semester. With that in mind, we should forgo the opportunities for debate and the poster presentations, and make other plans. Bummer. This is what I suggest, yet I do want your input. We should learn more about the pressing issues listed above. We should devote the rest of the semester to producing something that expresses our understanding of these issues, and provides suggestions for solutions. Instead of posters, we create web pages (using PowerPoint). That is, I will provide a template (narrow and tall), and you add the content. The PowerPoint file will be converted into a .pdf file that will get posted Online Click here for an example. Basically, we change our focus from the debatable topics that we have been working on this semester, to those listed above. What do you think? I am open to suggestions.
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Monday: i) discuss future assignments and ii) global warming
Wednesday: i) work on posters and ii) global warming
On Wednesday, we worked with PowerPoint on posters to publish Online (get the poster template).
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Below are links to a few papers that address much of the Zoom discussion last Wednesday:
Ozone, O3, absorbs incoming ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths (short), and re-radiated longer-wavelength infrared (IR) heat from Earth. The ozone in the stratosphere protects organisms from the harmful UV radiation, yet is also a greenhouse gas that traps heat from Earth, and is a major component of smog in the troposphere. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), such as refrigerants, electronic parts cleaners, degreasers, and blowing agents, destroy ozone. Find out the UV index in Johnson today, see a daily contour map of the UV index for the US, or learn more about the science of ozone depletion. See the EPA's article on ozone: Good up high bad nearby. Read a recent report that describes a slightly smaller ozone hole.
There is no such thing as a safe tan. See the American Academy of Dermatology views on skin cancer and tanning booths. The Mayo Clinic recently reported a dramatic rise in skin cancer in young adults (and particularly in women in their 20's and 30's). Read about the Mayo Clinic's views on UV light. Review state laws regarding use of tanning booths, or a recent article in JAMA Dermatology. The University of Vermont Health Network just purchase a pulsed xenon UV disinfection machine that uses UV to sterilize rooms in the hospital; click here for the Xenex website.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are used as refrigerants, fire suppressors, degreasers and more. It takes about ten years for these synthetic CFCs to rise into the stratosphere, into the layer where ozone is concentrated, and destroy ozone molecules. Ozone protects life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer is slowly being depleted by CFCs. The Montreal Protocol of 1987 proposed the elimination of CFCs and replacement with hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC). As a result of this action, the destruction of the ozone layer is slowing, yet it still continues. Unfortunately, however, HCFCs are potent greenhouse gases and thus help to accelerate global warming. We, the people, make choices that have global significance.
The greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, H2O, O3, NOx, and CFC) absorb the heat radiated from Earth's surface and warms the atmosphere. Earth's surface is warmed by a wide range of wavelengths coming from the sun and passes through the atmosphere. Earth's warm surface radiates infrared (IR) radiation back into the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases are just the right molecular size to resonate (vibrate) with the infrared radiation and thus warms Earth's atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap IR coming from Earth's surface.
The ozone layer is slowly being depleted by chlorofluorcarbons (CFCs). As the ozone layer thins, more ultraviolet (UV) passes through the atmosphere and results in skin cancer.
The depleting ozone layer is not causing global warming, and global warming is not a cause of the ozone problem.
Watch a visualization of how CO2 circulates in the atmosphere.
The PowerPoint file for the discussion of climate change can be found here.
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COVID-19, like other pandemics before, are very painful, and will change how people interact with others. Yet this pandemic, and many other problems, are related to the climate crisis. The climate crisis is the most enduring and pressing issue we face.
A 12 April 2020 paper in Scientific American reports that methane levels have reached an all-time high (see also https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends_ch4/).
A 16 April 2020 paper in Science reports a long-term mega drought in the US is already under way (see also the BBC World Service).
A 8 April 2020 paper in Nature (or abstract) argued that entire ecosystems could abruptly go extinct in this decade as a response to the climate crisis (see a summary in Gizmodo).
A 16 April 2020 article in the New York Times describes the relaxation of rules regarding coal burning power plants and the additional release of toxic chemicals.
On 1 May 2020 António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, warns the world about COVID-19 and climate change.
A 30 April 2020 paper describes how the loss of biodiversity aggravates the transmission of infections diseases.
A 1 May 2020 article n Scientific American argues that stopping deforestation can prevent pandemics.
Learn about the climate crisis and the choices we have to make by running simulations. Illuminate the conversation with information. Model the situation to provide context and remove sloppy thinking, illogical thinking, and poor understanding of basic science.
Start with a simple question: What will happen if we electrify all cars? Look for positive and negative feedback loops.
Use En-ROADS Climate Interactive, and this worksheet, and make models of reality. The PowerPoint about this model can be found here.
Each person will present their vision and describe their solution.
This didn't quite work out as planned, so everyone who attended received a 100% for the assignment.
For the first half of the class we will break up into four Zoom groups and talk about the debate topics. Each group will present their findings during the second half of the class. Please share your ideas and data.
Tuesday: Discuss the demographic transition model.
Thursday: Discuss a decision making model.
Note: The final draft of the posters must be submitted as a .pdf file through Canvas on 29 April 2020. You will have an opportunity to discuss the posters at the Final Exam. Indeed, the discussion of the posters is the Final Exam.
Some comments on the first draft of the posters:
The link to a few first drafts may be found here: http://kanat.nvu.vsc.edu/env1110/webPoster/poster.html
Lightning Round presentations – build on the information you presented on 19 February 2020. The guidelines for the first set of lightning rounds should be used, yet there one change: be sure to have a clear take-home message slide as the last slide.
I am hoping that the arguments are well formulated in succinct assertion statements, data are presented to support the clearly written thesis, and the take home message is something that one can can immediately act on.
Submit the PowerPoint, as a .pptx file, via Canvas, by 4 May 2020.
Follow the grading rubric below for the lightning round:
Watch Planet of the Humans for yet another perspective on the green movement, human nature, and the choices we must take.
We will not have time to discuss this film in class, nor will it show up on any exam or paper or project required for this course. Yet, I would be happy to speak with you about it outside of class, at any time.
Final Exam week. This course will have its final exam on Wednesday, 13 May 2020 at 8:00 AM in our Zoom room. It is not an exam, there is nothing to study for, but you must be able to talk about your poster. The poster will be available at http://kanat.nvu.vsc.edu/env1110/webPoster/poster.html. You can find your poster on that page by using the browser search command: Control-F, enter your last name, and tap enter.
Each person will have four minutes to describe their poster, and one minute to answer questions -- be sure to elicit responses from your peers.
Good luck on all your finals.
Celebrate at home and please stay safe.
