BIOL 106
Environmental Science
Fall 2015
Dyer
ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE SCIENCE
Fall 2015
Instructor:
Phone:
Email:
Lecture:
Lab:
Dr. Andrew Dyer
641-3443
AndyD@usca.edu
Sec 001
Sec 002
T-Th
W
T
Office:
Office hours:
9:25 - 10:40
9:00 - 11:40
1:40 - 4:20
SBDG 101E
by appointment
Science 327
Science 107
Science 103
Prof. Reinhart
Prof. Reinhart
Required reading:
World on the Edge
Unquenchable
Garbology
Chasing the Red Queen
Lester Brown
Robert Glennon
Edward Humes
Andy Dyer
2011
2009
2013
2014
Required lab material: SimBio Lab packet
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The course will provide students with an understanding and appreciation of
the complex interactions between humans and the environment. The course will focus on natural
resources and human population growth, and specifically on resource use/depletion/degradation, types of
pollution, pollution reduction and prevention, and strategies for local and global sustainability. Case
studies will be used to illustrate how solutions to environmental problems have been addressed.
METHODS OF PRESENTATION AND EVALUATION: Information will be presented through
lectures discussion, and team-based learning. There will be no traditional exams. The lecture grade will be
based on daily quizzes and short summaries from the books. The quizzes will usually be a few multiplechoice questions.
The quizzes evaluate whether you are reading the assigned portions of the books and will also cover
material from the previous lecture. You are expected to have reviewed the material from the previous
lecture in preparation. Quizzes will be given during the first 5 minutes of class, and there will be no
make-up opportunities for absence or late arrival.
The final course grade will be based on the following (these are approximate point totals):
Almost daily quizzes on the readings/lecture
20 x 5pts
100
Chapter summaries from the books and videos
20 x 10pts
200
Other assignments
4 x 10pts
40
~340 pts lecture
Lab assignments (see lab syllabus)
~280 pts lab
GRADING SCALE: A (90-100%), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69), F (0-59).
The grades and graded material in this course will not be curved, but I typically drop 2-3 quiz grades or
replace them. More information on that toward the end of the semester.
CHANGES: The instructor reserves the right to make changes in the lecture or laboratory schedule, the
number of quizzes and exams given, and the contents of each exam as deemed necessary.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students are expected to adhere to the USCA attendance policy as stated in
the Student Handbook. The instructor may impose a penalty for absences in excess of 25% of regularly
scheduled class meetings (lectures and labs) by assigning an “F” in the course. Absences, neither excused
nor unexcused, absolve the student from meeting class assignments. Although it is considerate to contact
the instructor in the case of an absence, it is not necessary. If you have a medical condition that may
require multiple absences, see your instructor.
LABORATORY ATTENDANCE: Because labs are often group efforts and often require special
instruction, laboratory investigations cannot be made up. Therefore, students must make every effort
to attend laboratory sessions. If you miss a laboratory investigation, you will not be allowed to take the
associated quizzes or turn in a lab report the following week even if you get the information from your lab
partners. This also applies if you come in late, leave early, or do not participate fully. You cannot write a
report on a laboratory investigation that you did not do.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES: It’s very useful to have one handy- a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone- because
I frequently ask question that you could potentially answer with the internet. HOWEVER, plan to be out
of touch for casual contact with friends. Your device is a tool, not a toy. If you have reason to need to be
in cell phone contact, let the instructor know.
COMPUTER USE AND EMAIL: All laboratory reports will require the use of a computer. You must
be able to log on to the USCA computer system in order to accomplish these laboratory exercises. If you
do not know how to sign on to the USCA computer system, you should contact the CSD HELP desk as
soon as possible.
All official email communications, including class announcements, are made to USCA email accounts,
often via Blackboard. Students should check their USCA email account on a regular basis and use this
account for communication with the instructor. In order to protect the privacy of the student, the
instructor will not reply to emails sent from non-USCA accounts (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.). Also,
because of federal law, no grades or scores can be communicated by phone or email; you must come to
the instructor’s office.
DISABILITY STATEMENT: If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability which
might affect your performance in this class, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 126A B&E,
(803) 641-3609, as soon as possible. The Disability Services Office will determine appropriate
accommodations based on medical documentation.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
It is the instructor’s right to remove from the classroom any student who disrupts or disturbs the
proceeding of the class. Disruption of the class includes but is not limited to the use of any portable
electronic devices, including cell phones, MP3 players; iPods, etc. unless prior approval has been given to
a student or unless required for the course. In extreme cases the faculty member can request assistance
from University Police. If the student who has been ejected causes similar disturbances in subsequent
meetings of the class, he/she may be denied admittance to the class for the remainder of the semester and
assigned a grade of F.
WRITING AND WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
If you refer to a written source, you may not quote the source even if you use quotation marks. That is, do
not use the author’s words, parts of the sentence, the entire sentence, anything. Rewrite the ideas in
YOUR words.
Does spelling count? Yes, it does. And so does grammar. How you use words is a reflection of the
quality of your thought and expression, the effort you put into the assignment, and your ability to
recognize poor English.
A short note about PLAGIARISM
Any and all work turned in for credit is assumed to be your work and the product of your brain and your
brain alone. Every word and every sentence is your work. Work can be considered plagiarism even if it
is not exact copying. My advice is “don’t make me look” because when I get suspicious enough to look, I
usually find. For your information, it is plagiarism….
*if you fail to cite a reference after giving a factual statement;
*if you fail to use quotation marks (and I do not allow quoting in science papers so there are no
quotation marks anyway);
*if you rephrase someone else’s work or merely change a few words;
*if you have the same order and form of sentences as the source material;
*if you consistently mis-cite or mis-use cites in a way that suggests intentional avoidance of
detection;
*if you and a lab partner work together and turn in work that is substantially the same.
If a “draft” of a paper has any of the above problems, it is still plagiarism.
If I cannot tell who produced a piece of work, no credit will be assigned.
If the references given are not accessible to the instructor, no credit will be given. Therefore, if you use
obscure or unusual references, it is your responsibility to turn in a copy with the assignment or make it
available to me.
Be aware that what was allowed in high school does not necessarily apply at USCA. If there is anything
about the above statements that are not clear, don’t wait until an assignment is due to find out more.
Many students believe that having no more than three consecutive words from an original source will fool
the electronic programs that detect plagiarism. I don’t use those programs; I read the papers that are given
in the reference list and compare them to the student’s work. If I find any of the problems listed above,
there will be no first warning. There is no latitude given because there is no excuse for plagiarism.
Therefore, if I find any work that is too similar to other work, either in the class or out of the class, please
understand that I have no options but to follow the rules as outlined in the USCA Faculty Manual. The
student(s) involved will be summoned to my office, the situation will be explained, there will be no
options for “redoing” the work, a zero will be given to the assignment, and a formal letter will be sent to
the student and to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs documenting the situation. As
with all academic issues, there is an avenue for appeal (detailed in the USCA Student Handbook), but it is
not with me.
Tentative Lecture Schedule
Week
Date
Aug 20
Topic
Overview
Reading
All readings below are for THAT day
1
Aug 25-27
Environmental Science and
Sustainability
WOTE 1
2
Sep 1-3
Water, water wars, water woes
WOTE 2; UnQ Intro, 1, Conclusion
3
Sep 8-10
UnQ 2, 17, Epilogue
4
Sep 15-17
Water crazy
Video- Salton Sea
Water – domestic and recreation
5
Sep 22-24
Water – hydrocycle, energy
UnQ Tues- 3, 5, Thur- 16
6
Sep 29-Oct 1
Water solutions
WOTE Tues- 2, Thur- 3
7
Oct 6-8
Food and water
Food and populations and poverty
WOTE Tues- 5, Thur- 6
8
Oct 13-15
Farming and biology/science
CRQ Tues- 1, 3, Thur- 4
9
Oct 20
Adaptations and resistance
CRQ Tues- 7, 8, Thur- 9, 10
10
Oct 27-29
Food for 9 billion
WOTE-12
11
Nov 3-5
Waste- A big problem
Garb. Tues- Intro, 2, Epilogue, Thur- 4
12
Nov 10-12
Waste- Plastic and biomagnification
Garb. Tues- 3, 5, Thur- 6
13
Nov 17-19
Waste- Solutions
Garb. Tues- 10
14
Nov 24
Poverty and nature
WOTE 10, 11
15
Dec 1-3
Personal choices
Final
Dec 8, Tuesday
8:00am
WOTE 4, Thur- UnQ 13