UNIT 7.2
I know that many of you spent much of April & May, 2010 glued to the television coverage of the Oil Spill in the Gulf. Please read the article published in October, 2010 from National Geographic, which details the history of drilling in the ocean, the oil rig explosion itself, and the aftermath/cleanup attempts. Once again, I would just like your educated comments. Try to avoid emotionally-driven statements, but rather discuss the issue from a scientific or even economic standpoint. If a disaster like this did not reduce our desire to use fossil fuels as an energy source, will anything?
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UNIT 7.3
This is a loaded question. Do you think we can develop renewable energy resources to replace fossil fuels without great social, economic, and environmental disruption? What steps would we need to take? Will market forces alone suffice to bring about this transition, or will we also need government? Do you think such a shift would be good for our economy? Why or why not. (I warned you it was loaded!)
UNIT 8.2
How much waste do you generate? Choose one day this week and keep track of all the garbage that you throw out (yes, I literally mean document every single thing that you use or do that generates waste), as well as anything someone else throws out on your behalf (no loopholes!!). How much of this waste could have been avoided (recycled, reused, given to charity, or not created in the first place)? What life style change would have been required for it to be avoided? Why do you think that America has a “throwaway society” mentality? Does this go back to the concept of, “I am an American, I have a right to live an unsustainable lifestyle”?
UNIT 8 3
Unit 8 Discussion- Course Conclusions
Most of you are non-science majors, yet you chose to take an environmental science course to fulfill your science requirement. For the final discussion board, I would like you each to discuss what you will take away from this course. First, redo your ecological footprint from the Unit 1 Discussion. Did anything change in the last 8 weeks? Did you come away from the course with the information you had hoped to gain? Do you feel more knowledgeable about how the environment around you works? Do you better understand the environmental agendas of our politicians? What does the phrase economics vs environment mean to you now? Will you make changes in your life to help preserve the earth’s finite resources?