Environmental Science (SUNY ESF)

Course Description

The Global Environment encompasses a wide variety of physical, environmental, and social sciences. The same forces at work today, which define the current state of our world, have been at work for Earth’s entire history. This course will help you to understand the role of these forces in the evolution of humankind and the development of human culture, thus giving you a context to understand the roots and complexities of today’s environmental challenges. Through investigating current environmental issues from multiple perspectives, students will develop skills for making the informed decisions needed to address environmental challenges.

MR. R. BROWN

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Quarter 1

Topic #1: Environmental Studies

I Can:

Describe the subject of Environmental Studies
Describe and provide an example of an environmental Trade-Off
Make Connections between a given current environmental issue and the Tragedy of the Commons.

Topic #2: Lithosphere

I Can:

Compare and Contrast how different Agricultural practices impact the quality of soil health
Develop a plan for a small farm to restore the health of their soil that has been depleted through years of modern agricultural techniques

Quarter 2

Topic #3: Development of Agriculture & Civilization
Weigh the pros and cons to the development of agriculture and civilizations
Use Jared Diamond’s theory of Guns, Germs & Steel to describe how a power balance between continents could have arised.

Topic #4: Environmental Ethics

I Can:

Apply a variety of ethical orientations to a given environmental issue
Intrepret the role that values, cultures and beliefs play in environmental decision making.

Quarter 3

Topic #5: Energy

I Can:

Weigh the pros and cons to 8 different energy sources
Evaluate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, Identifying the existing challenges and unsovled problems.

Topic #6: Environmental Legislation

I Can:

Analyze the implementation and impact of environmental legisaltion across scales of governance

Quarter 4

Topic #7: Environmental Justice

Topic #8: Sustainability

I Can:

Differentiate

Scientific Skills and Practices taught

I can use what I have learned to ask two unique scientific question about a specific topic that furthers my understanding:

-Students will use Tragedy of the Commons to ask two unique scientific questions to understand how ownership is related to stewardship.

- Students will use Invasive species to ask two unique questions to understand how invasive species are affecting our local waterways and what can be done to combat this.

I can carry out an investigation to perform experiments that test my hypotheses (If….then…because)

Students will carry out an investigation that tests an original hypothesis on the amount and types of leaf litter on our campus and determine what organisms are present in a community and what relationships the organisms have.

Students will carry out an experiment that tests an original hypothesis to determine what particulates are in the air in various locations and then determine where they came from.

I can analyze and interpret data that supports or does not support my hypothesis.

Students will use human population growth data to accept or reject their hypothesis for how growth rate and conditions influence human carrying capacity.

I can build a model that shows the scientific idea I am learning.

Students will model a food web using organisms from the North Pacific to demonstrate the feeding relationships of organisms we are studying (Kelp, urchin, otter, orca etc.)
Students will be able to model and label the layers of the atmosphere.

I can create appropriate methods to organize and represent the data of my experiment.

Students will be able to collect water samples and test them for pH, … and organize the data into a table and graph and then predict the species of fish that would be found in that ecosystem.

I can explain phenomena using a specific scientific explanation and apply it to solving a problem.

- Students will be able to explain the issues surrounding e-waste using their understanding of material cycles to determine how we can better handle the waste we produce from technology.

- Students will explain land use: landfill ratios to better understand problem of sustainability and determine ways we can have a more sustainable school.

I can display scientific findings from an investigation using the organized logical step of the scientific method.

Students will develop a hypothesis that will correlate to pH and its effects on aquatic environments.

I can evaluate a claim using accepted scientific evidence.

Students will evaluate data from temperature changes, carbon dioxide levels, and sea level change as it relates to climate change.

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