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Environmental Science II INCS 318E

COURSE OUTLINE	COURSE RATIONALE	COURSE GOALS
COURSE UNITS	COURSE CONTENT	EVALUATION
GRADING	COURSE POLICIES	COURSE SCHEDULE
	TEXT(S)

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SCHOOL FOR STUDIES
IN
LEARNING COGNITION AND EDUCATION

COURSE OUTLINE (Back to the top)

COURSE CODE:INSC318E	COURSE NAME: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE II - Stewardship of Renewable Resources		COURSE LEVEL: Undergraduate	YEAR:2009-2010
COURSE CODE:INSC318E			COURSE LEVEL: Undergraduate	SEMESTER : 2
HOURS PER WEEK: 03	TOTAL HOURS:45	CREDITS: Three (3)	START DATE:	END DATE:
PREREQUISITES:INSC313E			Jan 2010	Apr 2010
COURSE COORDINATOR:	Phone: Office: 662 2417		Office Hours:
INSTRUCTOR: Kishore Lal	Phone: Other: 359-1457		Office Hours:	E-mail: kishore.lal@utt.edu.tt

COURSE RATIONALE (Back to the top)

Environmental issues affect everyone’s lives as evidence of this is easily available in the daily stories in the print and electronic media. To develop a truly democratic society and to critically analyze these issues one must be informed with the knowledge and skills to shape attitudes which lead to education for sustainable development.
In this challenging and incredibly interesting era there is a growing awareness that human activity cannot continue to degrade the natural environment. Change in human behaviour can only be accomplished by developing new cultural transitions in which we learn to live in harmony with nature. Understanding the environmental concepts and issues in the barrage of information encountered daily is crucial to development of attitudes for sustainable development.
Environmental Science draws on the content of several disciplines to present a balanced scientific and holistic approach to the search for solutions to environmental problems.

COURSE DESCRIPTION (Back to the top)

Environmental Science II, carrying 3 credit points, is a comprehensive course that explores the impact of obtaining our food and natural fibers from natural ecosystems. Some of these ecosystems are well managed and others are not. The basics for production is these natural systems are the renewable resources contained in the energy flows and water and nutrient cycles that have sustained life on Earth in the past. Our Ecosystem Capital is being depleted when soil erodes, waste degrades, pests multiply, climate changes unfavourably, floods occur and other natural disasters occur due to man’s attempt to modify natural systems. In Environmental Science II, you will investigate how we embrace the beauty of both wild and settled ecosystems when we turn to them for enjoyment and renewal while making use of its goods and services in the context of a growing world population. To effectively manage water and soil for food production, forest growth and fisheries you must examine the science and the stewardship in a paradigm of sustainable development.

COURSE GOALS: (Back to the top)

Stimulate interest in the environment
Expand the understanding of Earth and its history and dynamics, environmental changes, natural resources, hazards, and sustainability.
Provide an intellectual, collegial, and productive working environment
Build links between the Environmental sciences and other disciplines as required to address increasingly complex problems of compelling intellectual and societal importance

COURSE GENERAL OBJECTIVES (Back to the top)

The student will be able to

Develop a picture of the path to a sustainable future.
Understand the hydrological cycle and human use of water.
Understand the value of soil as the foundation for land ecosystems.
Understand the production and distribution of food.
Appreciate the relationship between people wild species and diversity.
Understand the use and restoration of ecosystem capital
Develop knowledge, practical and analytical skills in the areas covered.
Appreciate the need for sustainable development

COURSE UNITS: (Back to the top)

Water: Hydrologic Cycle and Human Use
Soil: Foundation for Land Ecosystems
The Production and Distribution of Food
Wild Species and Biodiversity
Ecosystem Capital: Use and Restoration

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Laboratory equipped with facilities to conduct activities.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION: Lectures, power point presentations, group presentations, Laboratory demonstrations and assignments, Field Trips.

RECOMMENDED COURSE CONTENT: (Back to the top)

Learning Outcomes	Recommended content	Teaching-Learning Resources
Students will Develop a picture of the hydrological cycle and human use of water. Explore the factors which impact on the hydrological cycle and human use of water Explore the importance of science in developing successful and sustainable stewardship of the earths natural environment Explore cultural changes required in the 21st century environment	UNIT 1: Water: Hydrologic Cycle and Human Use 1.1 Hydrologic Cycle: Natural Cycle, Human Impacts Evaporation, Condensation, and Purification Precipitation Groundwater Pools and Fluxes in the Cycle Human Impacts on the Hydrologic Cycle 1.2 Water: A Resource to Manage, a Threat to Control Uses and Sources Surface Waters Groundwater 1.3 Water Stewardship: Public Policy Challenges Obtaining More Water Using Less Water Public-Policy Challenges	Website Text Audiovisual materials Laboratory Activities Field Trips
Students will Understand the value of soil as the foundation for land ecosystems Understand the structure of soils Understand the factors which affect soils Explore the historical human interactions with soils	UNIT: 2 Soil: Foundation for Land Ecosystems 2.0 Soil and Plants Soil Characteristics Soil and Plant Growth The Soil Community 2.1 Soil Degradation Erosion Drylands and Desertification Causing and Correcting Erosion Irrigation and Salinization 2.2 Conserving the Soil Public Policy and Soils Helping Individual Landholders	Website Text Audiovisual materials Laboratory Activities Field Trips
Students will Understand the production and distribution of food Evaluate the production and distribution of food	UNIT: 3 The Production and Distribution of Food 3.1 Crops and Animals: Major Patterns of Food Production The Development of Modern Industrialized Agriculture The Green Revolution Subsistence Agriculture in the Developing World Animal Farming and Its Consequences Prospects for Increasing Food Production 3.2 From Green Revolution to Gene Revolution The Promise The Problems Policies 3.3 Food Distribution and Trade Patterns in Food Trade Food Security 3.4 Hunger, Malnutrition, and Famine Nutrition vs. Hunger Extent and Consequences of Hunger Root Cause of Hunger Famine Hunger Hot Spots Food Aid Closing Thoughts on Hunger	Website Text Audiovisual materials Laboratory Activities Field Trips
Students will Explore the relationship between people wild species and diversity Understand how ecosystems respond to disturbance Understand the decline of biodiversity Evaluate how humans try to protect natural ecosystems	UNIT: 4 Wild Species and Biodiversity 4.1 The Value of Wild Species Biological Wealth Two Kinds of Value Sources for Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Animal Husbandry Sources for Medicine Recreational, Aesthetic, and Scientific Value Value for Their Own Sake 4.2 Saving Wild Species Game Animals Protecting Endangered Species 4.3 Biodiversity and Its Decline The Decline of Biodiversity Reasons for the Decline Consequences of Losing Biodiversity 4.4 Protecting Biodiversity International Developments Stewardship Concerns	Website Text Audiovisual materials Laboratory Activities Field Trips
Students will Understand the use and restoration of ecosystem capital Understand the factors which affect Conservation, Preservation, Restoration Evaluate the consequences of pressure on Biomes and Ecosystems Evaluate the use of Public and Private Lands in managing ecosystem capital	UNIT: 5 Ecosystem Capital: Use and Restoration 5.1 Global Perspective on Biological Systems Major Systems and Their Goods and Services Ecosystems as Natural Resources 5.2 Conservation, Preservation, Restoration Conservation Versus Preservation Patterns of Human Use of Natural Ecosystems Restoration 5.3 Biomes and Ecosystems under Pressure Forest Biomes Ocean Ecosystems 5.4 Public and Private Lands National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges National Forests Protecting Nonfederal Lands Final Thoughts	Website Text Audiovisual materials Laboratory Activities Field Trips

EVALUATION (Back to the top)
Evaluation consists of Field Trips Reports and assignments together with Mid-term Test. Final evaluation comes at the end of the course in the form of final examination. The pass mark is 50%.

Source of Marks	Marks
Field Trips	15%
Assignments / Presentations	15%
Mid Term Assessment	20%
Final examination	50%

Field Trips
There will be two field trips. For each field trip, there is a 5% for attendance and discussions in the field and 5% for the written report.

Presentations will be marked with the following rubric:

Criterion	0	1	2	3	Your mark
Body Language	No movement or descriptive gestures.	Very little movement or descriptive gestures.	Movements or gestures enhance articulation.	Movements seemed fluid and helped the audience visualize presentation.
Eye Contact	No eye contact with audience.	Displayed minimal eye contact with audience.	Consistent use of direct eye contact with audience.	Holds attention of entire audience with the use of direct eye contact.
Poise	Tension and anxiety is obvious; has trouble recovering from mistakes.	Displays mild tension; has trouble recovering from mistakes.	Makes minor mistakes, but quickly recovers from them; displays little or no tension.	Student displays relaxed, self-confident nature about self, with no mistakes.
Voice	Consistently uses a monotone voice.	Displays some level of inflection throughout delivery.	Satisfactory use of inflection, but does not consistently use fluid speech.	Use of fluid speech and inflection maintains the interest of the audience.
Pacing	Delivery is either too quick or too slow to meet apportioned time interval.	Delivery is in bursts and does not meet apportioned time interval.	Delivery is patterned, but does not meet apportioned time interval.	Good use of drama and meets apportioned time interval.
Resources	No use made of any resources.	Few or inappropriate resources used.	Appropriate resources used.	A variety of resources used.
Preparation	Poor preparation.	Somewhat prepared.	Fairly well-prepared.	Excellent preparation
Use of Language	Frequent lapses in Standard English usage.	Switches arbitrarily between Standard English and local dialect/creole.	A good command of Standard English, but with occasional lapses in grammar, clarity and/or vocabulary.	Uses grammatically correct Standard English with clarity and appropriate vocabulary. Uses local dialect/creole appropriately when needed.
Introduction to presentation	No introductory remarks or introductory activity used.	Introductory remarks or activities used but unlikely to arouse learners’ interest or link to what follows.	Introductory remarks or activities likely to capture learners’ interests.	Clear, meaningful opening remarks or activities that will certainly capture the attention of the learners and sets the mood.
Under-standing of Content	Demonstrates poor understanding of content.	Demonstrates a vague understanding of content	Demonstrates an understanding of most of the content.	Demonstrates full understanding of the content.

Written Reports will be marked with the following rubric:

Criterion	0	1	2	3	4	YOUR MARK
Cover page Title page Table of Contents Secured in folder or binder	None submitted	Only one element included with accurate and complete information	Up to two elements included with accurate and complete information	Up to three elements included with accurate and complete information	All four elements included with accurate and complete information
Language Competence Clarity Grammar Punctuation Spelling	Clarity, coherence and organisation of the content is severely compromised by major language errors of all types.	Clarity, coherence and organisation of the content is compromised by many deficiencies in language competence.	Ideas are fairly well expressed but several deficiencies in language competence compromise the quality of the work.	Ideas are well-organised and expressed. There are a few deficiencies in language competence,	Ideas are well organised, clearly and coherently expressed and free from deficiencies in language competence.
Quality of the report	No details	Details are way below the expected quality	Satisfactory to good details	Good to high quality details	Excellent details
Written Accuracy of the report	Largely Inaccurate	Many inaccuracies	Some inaccuracies	Few inaccuracies	No inaccuracies
Diagrams and Photos	None	Diagrams and photos included for few areas visited	Diagrams and photos included for some visited	Diagrams and photos included for many areas visited	Diagrams and photos included for all areas visited

GRADING: (Back to the top)

Lower Boundary	Upper Boundary	Grade	Grade Points
90	100	A+	4.0
85	89	A	4.0
80	84	A–	3.7
77	79	B+	3.3
73	76	B	3.0
70	72	B–	2.7
67	69	C+	2.3
63	66	C	2.0
60	62	C–	1.7
55	59	D+	1.3
50	54	D	1.0
0	49	D–	0.0

COURSE POLICIES: (Back to the top)

Class Structure:
The structure of this class will be a combination of instructor-led discussion, in-class activities, individual lab work, quizzes, field trips and projects. Any final project or assignment is due before the last week of class. No assignments will be accepted after the last day.

Attendance:
The study Science is cumulative (i.e., an understanding of earlier material is necessary to grasp later covered concepts.) Past experience has shown a high relationship between absences and low grades. Furthermore, absences will severely limit interaction with other students. It is very important that you make every effort to attend every class. Please be guided by UTT’s policy on class attendance to qualify to graduate from this course

Late Assignment:
All assignments are due according to the course calendar. Please be guided by UTT’s policy on late assignments.

Schedule

The schedule for the course is listed on the course calendar. All due dates are section specific and will be supplied to you by your instructor at the first class meeting. The Field Trips are not scheduled on this course calendar. The instructor will discuss and assign Field Trip dates. Absence from an evaluation will only be rescheduled if a medical certificate or supporting official documentation in the case of a death in the immediate family is submitted. lease note that it may not be posible to reshedule Field Trips in the current semester.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is submitting one's own work and properly acknowledging the work of others. Any violation of this principle constitutes academic dishonesty and is liable to result in disciplinary action. Forms of academic dishonesty include:

Plagiarism - submitting all or part of another's work as one's own in an academic exercise, such as an examination, computer program, or written assignment. Please note that allowing someone to submit your work also constitutes plagiarism on your part.
Cheating - using or attempting to use unauthorized materials on an examination or assignment, such as using unauthorized texts or notes or improperly obtaining, or attempting to obtain, copies of an examination or answers to an examination.
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty - helping another commit an act of dishonesty, such as substituting for an examination or completing an assignment for someone else.
Fabrication - altering or transmitting, without authorization, academic information or records.

COURSE SCHEDULE (Back to the top)

Week	Unit/Session Topics	Methodology
1 & 2	1 Water: Hydrologic Cycle and Human Use 1.1 Hydrologic Cycle: Natural Cycle, Human Impacts Evaporation, Condensation, and Purification Precipitation Groundwater Pools and Fluxes in the Cycle Human Impacts on the Hydrologic Cycle 1.2 Water: A Resource to Manage, a Threat to Control Uses and Sources Surface Waters Groundwater 1.3 Water Stewardship: Public Policy Challenges Obtaining More Water Using Less Water Public-Policy Challenges	Lectures, group presentations, Laboratory demonstrations and assignments. Field Trips
3 & 4	2 Soil: Foundation for Land Ecosystems 2.0 Soil and Plants Soil Characteristics Soil and Plant Growth The Soil Community 2.1 Soil Degradation Erosion Drylands and Desertification Causing and Correcting Erosion Irrigation and Salinization 2.2 Conserving the Soil Public Policy and Soils Helping Individual Landholders	Lectures, group presentations, Laboratory demonstrations and assignments. Field Trips
5, 6 & 7	3 The Production and Distribution of Food 3.1 Crops and Animals: Major Patterns of Food Production The Development of Modern Industrialized Agriculture The Green Revolution Subsistence Agriculture in the Developing World Animal Farming and Its Consequences Prospects for Increasing Food Production 3.2 From Green Revolution to Gene Revolution The Promise The Problems Policies 3.3 Food Distribution and Trade Patterns in Food Trade Food Security 3.4 Hunger, Malnutrition, and Famine Nutrition vs. Hunger Extent and Consequences of Hunger Root Cause of Hunger Famine Hunger Hot Spots Food Aid Closing Thoughts on Hunger	Lectures, group presentations, Laboratory demonstrations and assignments. Field Trips
8, 9 & 10	4 Wild Species and Biodiversity 4.1 The Value of Wild Species Biological Wealth Two Kinds of Value Sources for Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Animal Husbandry Sources for Medicine Recreational, Aesthetic, and Scientific Value Value for Their Own Sake 4.2 Saving Wild Species Game Animals Protecting Endangered Species 4.3 Biodiversity and Its Decline The Decline of Biodiversity Reasons for the Decline Consequences of Losing Biodiversity 4.4 Protecting Biodiversity International Developments Stewardship Concerns	Lectures, group presentations, Laboratory demonstrations and assignments. Field Trips
11 & 12	5 Ecosystem Capital: Use and Restoration 5.1 Global Perspective on Biological Systems Major Systems and Their Goods and Services Ecosystems as Natural Resources 5.2 Conservation, Preservation, Restoration Conservation Versus Preservation Patterns of Human Use of Natural Ecosystems Restoration 5.3 Biomes and Ecosystems under Pressure Forest Biomes Ocean Ecosystems 5.4 Public and Private Lands National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges National Forests Protecting Nonfederal Lands Final Thoughts
13	Revision and Presentations
14	Revision
15	Final Examination

TEXT(S). (Back to the top)

Environmental Science - Toward a Sustainable Future by Richard T. Wright: Prentice Hall, Inc., 2008.
Environmental Science – Working with the Earth by Tyler Miller: Thompson, 2008

RECOMMENDED READINGS, MATERIALS
Environmental Issues: An Introduction to Sustainability (3rd Edition) by Robert L. McConnell & Daniel C. Abel: Prentice Hall, Inc., 2007

WEBSITE.
http://www.itlrc.com

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Kishore Lal