Current Issues in Environmental Science

Evolving Syllabus: Current Issues in Environmental Science (honors) EEB 3205; Fall 2015, Tuesday-Thursday 12:30-1:45 PM, Room: TLS 301

Target Audience: students who wish to increase their understanding of alternative futures. Discussions of environmental issues and the science behind them will lay the groundwork. Although designed as an honors course, other students in good standing can enroll with permission.

Instructor: Chris Simon, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Texts: G. Tyler Miller & Scott Spoolman. Living in the Environment. 17th Edition (Used copies are available; also available as an “e-book”.)

The Control of Nature, by John McPhee. Section 1 of this book will be discussed in Class in Mid Semester; the book was written in 1989 but is still relevant today. You can get used and new copies on-line very cheaply.

Listen or read each week, Public Radio International’s “Living on Earth” program at www.loe.org

Class Website: Google EEBedia UCONN current issues environmental science, userid: EEB3205, password: environment

Quiz & Current Each Tuesday except the first, there will be a quiz consisting of five to ten Events: questions related to the readings for the previous Thursday and the current Tuesday including from the previous Friday (Week 1 = 4 Sept 15). Reading the text is also required. Each Thursday at the beginning of class current events assignment are due and 3-5 volunteers will present their findings. Each student is required to present at least three of their current events assignments orally.

Attendance: As with all your classes, you will take away knowledge in proportion to the energy you put in. Students are expected to attend every class. However, UCONN policy states that students involved in activities supervised by a University faculty member or official (e.g, scholarly or artistic presentations or etc.) should “inform me in writing prior to the anticipated absence and take the initiative to make up missed work in a timely fashion.”) The same applies to medical and family emergencies that are documented in writing.

Grades: Current Events- 20%, Class participation (including attendance, input to class discussion)and Assignments (Unnatural Foods, Control of Nature, Alternative Futures) - 20%; Quizzes-20%; Term Project/Final Oral Presentation- 20%; Final Exam- 20%.

Seminars: Several scientific lectures (seminars) are listed on the syllabus. Some of these are part of UCONN’s multidisciplinary long- running TEALE Lecture Series, “Nature and the Environment.” Because these generally take place at 4:00 PM on Thursdays and could conflict with your class schedule, they are not mandatory. They are, however, highly recommended. Most represent talks by well-known international experts and relate to course material. These talks can be written up in place of a current events.