BIOL 106
Environmental Science
Spring 2014
Dyer
ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE SCIENCE
Spring 2014
Instructor:
Phone:
Email:
Lecture:
Lab:
Dr. Andrew Dyer
641-3443
AndyD@usca.edu
Sec 001
Sec 002
M-W
T
Th
Office:
Office hours:
1:00-2:15
9:25-12:05
9:25-12:05
SBDG 101E
by appointment
Science 327
Science 107
Science 107
Required reading:
World on the Edge
Unquenchable
Food, Inc.
Garbology
Lester Brown
RJ Glennon
P Pringle
E Humes
2011
2009
2005
2013
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. Traditional exams will be used to evaluate student progress
in the class. These exams will include multiple choice, terms/definitions, and short answer.
Students should bring a pencil and a long-form Scantron to each exam.
There will be weekly quizzes and in-class assignments during the semester. Students are expected to have
reviewed the material from the previous lecture in preparation. Quizzes will be given during the first 10
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):
Quizzes on the readings
14 x 5pts
70
Tests
3 x 50 pts
150
Group assignments
8 x 10pts
80
Term paper on topic of choice (both sides) with sources
50
~350 pts for lecture
Lab assignments
11 x 20 pts
220
Taking Sides
25
~250 pts for 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.
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. Lecture exam dates are clearly stated
in the syllabus, and all students are expected to take the exams at the regularly scheduled time. Make-up
lecture exams will be considered only for a documented, excusable reason. If there is an illness or
emergency, you are expected to contact the instructor immediately. Be prepared to show documentation
(e.g., doctor’s excuse). Failure to contact the instructor within 24 hours will forfeit any chance of making
up the test.
Attending lecture and taking notes is the sole responsibility of the student. Under no circumstance
will the instructor provide copies of lecture notes or slides for students.
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: Plan to be out of touch and to have your cell phone stored out of sight
during lecture and lab time. This includes leaving the room to answer silent rings or using the phone for
text messages. 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.
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
1
Date
Jan 13
Topic
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Reading
2
Jan 22
Water, water wars, water woes
WOTE 1-2; UnQ Prologue,
Conclsion,1
3
Jan 27-29
Water crazy
UnQ 2, 17 (for lab)
4
Feb 3-5
Video- Salton Sea
Water – domestic and recreation
WOTE 4, UnQ 13
5
Feb 10-12
Water – hydrocycle, energy
UnQ 3, 5
6
Feb 17-19
Water solutions
WOTE 2, 3; UnQ 16 (lab)
Test 1
7
Feb 24-26
Food and water
Food and populations and poverty
WOTE 5, 6
8
Mar 3-5
Food and politics
Food 3:38-39, 45-47, 51-54
Food 4:61-65, 68-77
Spring Break
9
Mar 17-19
GMOs
Who owns food?
Food 6:96-107, 114-120
Food 8:146-149, 152-157
10
Mar 24-26
Food for 9 billion
WOTE-12
Food 10: 184-194, 200-203
Test 2
11
Mar 31-Apr 2
Waste- A big problem
Garb: 1-14, 256-262, 3652, 75-93
12
Apr 7-9
Waste- Plastic and biomagnification
Garb: 65-71, 97-114, 187220
13
Apr 14-16
Waste- Solutions
Garb:187-220
Test 3
14
Apr 21-23
Poverty and nature
15
Apr 28
Personal choices
WOTE 10, 11
Tentative Laboratory Schedule
Week
2
Topic
Your Ecological Footprint
3
EcoBeaker Computer Lab Exercise #1 (Nutrient Pollution)
4
Finish EcoBeaker 1
5
Video- Blue Gold
6
Daphnia and chemical toxicity
7
Finish Daphnia lab
8
Video- Waste Land
Spring Break
9
EcoBeaker Computer Lab Exercise #2 (Keystone Species)
10
Finish EcoBeaker 2 and report
11
Water Quality lab- campus water
12
13
Finish water quality lab
Begin Taking Sides
Taking Sides
14
Video- AIT