ENV-1010: Introduction to Environmental Science

Fall 2010
Wednesdays 1:00-3:45pm (3 credits)
Community College of Vermont
Upper Valley
Instructor: Elizabeth Mills
Office Hours: After class or by appointment
Contact: elizabeth.mills@ccv.edu; (603) 631-1198

Course Description:
This course is a multidisciplinary study of the interrelationship between living things and their
environment. The fundamentals of biology, chemistry, geology, and energy flow are studied so that
current environmental issues can be understood and discussed from a scientific perspective. Emphasis
is placed on maintaining and restoring sustainable ecosystems.

Essential Objectives:
The successful student will be able to:
1. Describe the components, function and formation of ecosystems and factors that influence their
stability.
2. Explain the basic concepts of ecology.
3. Understand population dynamics from a broad evolutionary perspective that includes a
consideration of genetics, adaptation and extinction.
4. Discuss energy from a physical, chemical, geological and biological standpoint, and trace the flow
of energy through at least one ecosystem.
5. Summarize the key biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from a
biological, geological and chemical perspective.
6. Analyze the causes and effects of the major pollution issues (eutrophication, sewage, hazardous
wastes, air pollution, acid rain, greenhouse warming and ozone depletion) and outline strategies to
restore ecological balance.
7. Compare and contrast methods, impacts and sustainability of systems used to generate energy for
human use.
8. Discuss land use principles as they relate to agriculture, forest and wildlife resources, water
management and pest control.
9. Evaluate and compare the influence of science, economics, ethics and culture on environmental
management.
10. Analyze environmental issues and solutions from a global, national, local and personal perspective.
11. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, evaluating and applying quantitative data
and information.

Textbook:

Environmental Science (10th Edition) by Richard T. Wright

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Assignments:

In a typical college course, you should expect 2-3 hours per week of homework for every hour of class
time. Therefore, for our 3-credit course, please plan to spend an additional 6-9 hours per week outside
of class on readings, assignments, and studying.
• Readings – You are expected to read the assigned chapters before coming to class. We will
typically cover two chapters per week, approximately 50-75 pages total. Please take advantage of
the review questions at the end of each chapter and/or the online materials available from the
publisher to aid in your studying.
• Reaction Papers – As an incentive to keep up with the reading and a means of processing what you
have learned, you will turn in a two-page, typed, double-spaced reaction paper on each week’s
readings (10 weeks total). The paper should address the following:
1) Briefly summarize in your own words what you learned from each chapter.
2) What did you find most interesting about the reading?
3) How do the topics apply to your everyday life?
4) Which concepts did you find most challenging and why?
Reaction papers should demonstrate your effort to understand and synthesize the material. They
will be graded on a 2-point scale: 2 points if you demonstrate an effort to read and process the text;
1 point if your coverage of the reading is incomplete or lacking; 0 points for no effort and/or no
paper. In the event of an absence, papers must be submitted to the instructor by e-mail by the start
of the normal class time to be considered on time. Late papers will be accepted up until the
following week’s class and will automatically lose 1 point.
• Movie Review – Once during the semester, each student is required to watch a film outside of class
and write a two-page, typed, double-spaced review that addresses the following:
1) Briefly summarize the main points of the film;
2) Discuss your reaction to the film and what you found most (and/or least) interesting;
3) Critique the style of the film and suggest how it could be improved.
Students will choose their films by the second week of class.
• Field Trips – By its very nature, this course requires a hands-on approach to studying the world
around us. Therefore, we will seek to expand our studies outside the classroom whenever possible.
This may involve shorter trips both on and off school grounds during the class period. Please
dress comfortably for spending time outdoors. Advance notice will be given if we are
planning to be off campus, and students will need to carpool to the site and/or provide their
own transportation. CCV requires students to sign a waiver form for all off-site field trips.
One all-day field trip on Saturday, October 9th is required. Students will carpool to the
field site in Newark, Vermont and bring their own lunch. We will study a variety of Vermont
ecosystems and review key concepts for the midterm exam. Details will be discussed in class.
Students will be asked to turn in a field trip report due on Wednesday, October 20th. There will be
no class the week following the field trip.
• Exams – There will be a midterm exam in class on Wednesday, October 20th and a final exam
in class on Wednesday, December 15th. Exams will include a mix of objective (i.e. multiple-
choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching) and essay questions. Review for the midterm will take place in
the field on Saturday, October 9th (see “Field Trips” above). We will have a student-led review
session the week before the final exam on Wednesday, December 8th. Make-up exams will not be
possible unless the student is in good academic standing and provides documentation of a severe
illness or emergency.

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• Class Participation – Our small class size affords the opportunity for an interactive lecture and
discussion format. Students should come to class prepared to answer questions, explain concepts
from the reading, discuss their reactions to the material, and work in small or large groups.

Grades:

Assignments will be given the following weight in calculating your final grade:

Participation 10 points
Reaction Papers 20 points (10 papers x 2 points each)
Field Trip Reports 15 points (up to 3 reports, TBA)
Movie Review 5 points
Midterm Exam 20 points
Final Exam 30 points
Extra Credit Up to 5 points
TOTAL 100+ points

Your final letter grade will be based on the total number of points (including extra credit) that you
earn, according to the following scale:

A+ 98-100 B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69

A 94-97 B 84-86 C 74-76 D 65-66
A- 90-93 B- 80-83 C- 70-73 F 0-64

Extra Credit

Up to 5 points of extra credit may be earned over the course of the semester toward a student’s final
grade. Extra credit assignments are worth 1 point each (unless noted otherwise), any may be earned as
follows:
• Bring in a copy of a recent article from a newspaper or magazine that relates to a current
environmental issue relevant to the course. Summarize the article in class, and turn in a 2-page
typed essay (double spaced) in which you review the article and relate it to the themes of the
course.
• Watch and review a documentary or feature film that is relevant to the week’s topic. Write a 2-
page typed review, and come prepared to share what you learned with the class. Please consult
the instructor for film suggestions (some are listed in the syllabus). Check with the instructor
first for approval on films not listed.
• Write a 2-page typed essay in which you reflect on how you have applied something we
learned in class to your own life. For example, you might share a conversation you’ve had with
a friend or family member about an environmental issue; talk about how you’ve changed your
everyday habits or purchases; or grapple with the relative ease or difficulty of becoming an
“ecological citizen.” The style and organization of this essay should be a step up from what
you write in your weekly reaction papers, and should be fun and interesting to read. See the
instructor for an example.
• Take an environmental action in your home, neighborhood, or community, and write a
minimum 2-page typed essay on what you did and why, and describe the impact you expect it
will have. (Examples might include: changing your light bulbs to be energy-efficient; starting a
home composting bin; planting an organic garden; organizing a neighborhood trash clean up or

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 tree planting; getting the school to use 100% recycled paper; etc.) Actions involving
significant time or effort, and with correspondingly more detailed write-ups, may earn extra
points (please consult the instructor in advance).
• Volunteer with a local conservation or environmental group or at a farm, either one day or
multiple times, and write about your experience (up to 5 points, based on number of hours
volunteered and length of write-up). You might participate in a volunteer trail crew, help a
conservation group with a local event, or spend a day working at an organic farm. The
volunteer activity must somehow relate to the course (i.e. if you’re already a regular volunteer
at the community kitchen, this wouldn’t count – unless perhaps you start a new project to
supply fresh organic produce to the kitchen, or start a composting program there, or something
similar).

Course Policies

1. Attendance at all class sessions is expected. You will be allowed one excused absence in the event
of a documented illness, emergency, or personal situation. Please discuss your absence with the
instructor in advance or as soon as possible following the missed class. Repeated, unexcused
absences or tardiness will lower your grade. More than three absences will result in a failing
grade.

2. In the event of an absence, students remain responsible for all readings, assignments, and other
material presented by the instructor or guest speakers. It is the student’s responsibility to check with
classmates and the instructor to catch up on missed material.

3. I will contact you by phone if class is cancelled due to inclement weather or instructor illness.
Please make sure I know where you can be reached during the day (i.e. home/work/cell). If illness or
travel conditions in your area prohibit you from coming to school, please call before class to let me
know.

4. Participation in all field trips is required. If you already have a commitment that cannot be
changed, please inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester to schedule a make-up activity.
Arrangements may be made to attend only part of a field trip if you have a scheduling conflict; this is
preferable to missing the trip altogether. Please discuss with the instructor in advance.

6. In order to receive accommodations for disabilities in this course, students must make an
appointment to see the Americans with Disabilities Coordinator in their site and bring documentation
with them.

Academic Honesty: CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects
the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present as your
own work something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else
cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is)
does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic
dishonesty is taken very seriously. If academic dishonesty has occurred, the student will receive a
zero on the assignment and an Academic Incident report is placed in the student’s file. Two such
reports will lead to dismissal from the college.

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Course Schedule:

DATE TOPICS READING ASSIGNMENT FILM

9/8 What is
Environmental
Science?
9/15 Ecosystems Chapters 2, 3 Reaction paper #1
9/22 Ecology Chapters 4, 10 Reaction paper #2 “Planet Earth”
Biodiversity
9/29 Water Chapters 7, 17 Reaction paper #3
SAT. EXTRA CREDIT:
10/2 Source-to-Sea
River Clean-Up
10/6 Land Use Chapters 8, 11 Reaction paper #4 “Dirt”
Soil
SAT. FIELD TRIP: Field trip report
10/9 Vermont Ecosystems due 10/20
10/13 NO CLASS Review for exam
10/20 MIDTERM EXAM
10/27 Food Chapters 9, 16 Reaction paper #5 “The Future of
Pest control Food”
11/3 Environmental Health Chapters 15, 19 Reaction paper #6 “Blue Vinyl”
Hazardous Chemicals
11/10 Waste Chapter 18 Reaction paper #7 “Trashed”
11/17 Energy Chapters 12, 13 Reaction paper #8 “A Crude
Nuclear Power Awakening”
11/24 Climate Change Chapters 20, 21 Reaction paper #9 “An Inconvenient
Air Pollution Truth”
12/1 Renewable Energy Chapters 14, 23 Reaction paper #10 “Who Killed the
Sustainable Electric Car?”
Communities
12/8 Review Session Prepare for student-
led review
12/15 FINAL EXAM