ESRM100Project Instructions

The project will entail some aspect of Environmental Science. This project can be done individually, or optionally in groups of up to 4 people.

You need to email eschelp@u.washington.edu by the date on the class syllabus.

The project writeup is due at the date on the class syllabus.  Please turn in your project writeup by email, ideally as an attached file.  Projects turned in past the due date will lose 10% credit for each week they are turned in late. Send to eschelp@u.washington.edu. Make sure that you receive and keep the response from eschelp that shows that we received your project OK.

Project Options

Option 1

A Research Paper

Choose an environmental topic/issue that interests you and do a literature search on it. This research project should involve some environmental science topic which is important to human society. The paper should contain an equivalent of at least 6 typewritten pages of text, double spaced and 12 Times New Roman font for each project participant.  Also, you should insert an equivalent of at least 2 pages of figures, tables and/or photos throughout the paper to enhance your discussion of the topic (this will make the paper an equilavent of at least 8 pages per person).  Your report will be graded on content, research effort, organization and writing (including English, grammar, spelling etc.).  

Remember to reference all your sources and be careful not to plagiarize (see http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#plagiarism for a description  of plagiarism and how to avoid it).  Additionally, this paper should include a literature cited (bibliography) section at the end referencing all your information sources (see below for examples).  You should cite at least 8 different references in your paper for each participant; at least 4 of these references (per participant) must be from a source other than a website.

The content score will be negatively affected if the paper is just a series of quotations.  Though this is not plagiarism, it is poor writing.  The paper needs to portray the knowledge you have gained from your research. Your opinion is welcome in this paper, but it must be supported with more than just your opinion. Published reference materials can greatly support an opinion.

Option 2

Book Report

 This option requires you to read a book from the list below.  These fiction or non-fiction books cover an environmental issue. You will have to write a book report summarizing the main theme, the environmental message of the book, whether you agree with the message of the book, and if the environmental issue is still relevant.  The book report must be 5 pages (per participant), double spaced, and 12 point font.  Your report will be graded on content, organization and writing (including English, grammar, spelling etc).  If you use references, please follow the citation examples below. 

 Environmental Books:

 A Sand County Almanac - Aldo Leopold
 The Botany of Desire - Michael Pollan
 Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond
 The Milagro Bean Field War - John Nichols
 The Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward Abbey
 Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
 Walden - Henry David Thoreau

Option 3

Environmental Service Option

This option involves choosing a local environmental organization/agency and volunteering.  You are required to work with the organization during the entire scheduled work party time. After this day's work, write at least 2 typewritten pages of text (per participant), double spaced and 12 Times New Roman font about what you did and why the organization/agency needed this work and how this work contributes to our environment.  Photos of your activity will add credit, particularly if they clearly explain what you did and how it helped the environment.  If you reference any organizations or cite any information please include a literature cited section (bibliography) at the end referencing all your information sources (see below for examples).  Your report will be graded on content, organization and writing (including English, grammar, spelling etc.) in addition to your volunteer effort.

Completion of the service work option will also require an email notification from the organization/agency that you did in fact contribute at least one day of volunteer work and when that work was accomplished.  Have this email sent to: eschelp@u.washington.edu.  We will check with the volunteer organization that you have completed the whole volunteer shift.  An incomplete volunteer shift will given less than full credt.

After the required project is done (either option 1, 2 or 3), Option 3 can be repeated for additional credit. Follow the same instructions as above and submit it as an extra credit by contacting eschelp@u.washington.edu. A maximum of 0.2 points can be added to your final grade for choosing this additional work.

To see a list of volunteer organizations, click here.

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References must be included underneath all figures, tables, graphs, and images. If you copy written material word-for-word from a book, website, etc., you must put quotation marks around the text and clearly CITE the author/source of the material.  You may do this in one of two ways:
__________________________________________________________________

Example 1: According to the EPA, "there is certainty that human activities are rapidly adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and that these gases tend to warm our planet" (EPA, 2002).

Example 2: "Figuring out to what extent the human-induced accumulation of greenhouse gases since pre-industrial times is responsible for the global warming trend is not easy. This is because other factors, both natural and human, affect our planet's temperature" (EPA, 2002).
__________________________________________________________________

You must also include a full reference to ALL the sources you use by listing them in proper bibliographic format (in alphabetic order) on a separate reference page.  Below are examples of proper MLA Style citations:

Web page citation
:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  "Global Warming - Climate: Uncertainties."  2002. http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/climateuncertainties .html (Accessed 13 Jan. 2003).

Newspaper article citation
:

Hartocollis, Anemona. "New York State Regulators Toughen Standards for Teachers." New York Times 18 Sept. 1999, New England Ed.: A12.

Popular magazine article citation
:
 
Pooley, Eric. 2000. "How Conservative is McCain?" Time, 14 February: 40-42.

Journal citation
:
 
Susskind, L.E., and L. Dunlap. "The Importance of Nonobjective Judgments in Environmental Impact Assessments." Environmental Impact Assessment Review 2 (4): 335-366.

Book citation:
 
Stalson, Helen. 1987. Intellectual Property Rights and U.S. Competitiveness in Trade. Washington D.C.: National Planning Association.