RPI’s EcoEd Research Group
Middle School Research Program, Spring 2012
PAPER OUTLINE
Intro:
An opening story or set of figures that quickly shows readers why your topic is important
A brief overview of your topic, including a list of stakeholders and details on scale
How many golf courses are there in the U.S.?
- There are a total of 18,514 golf courses in America (Hoyt, 2010)
Amount of land covered by golf courses: 3,507 square miles. (Oshinsky, 2009)
Golf courses across America have a large impact on the environment.
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/golf/index.htm - this website has a list of other articles that
have good info
- Pesticide use + also leads to health issues in humans and animals (Feldman)
o
-
“Beyond Pesticides' work on golf and the environment continues to be an important strategy for
outreach to the land area with one of the most highly concentrated per acre use of pesticides. The
extensive use of pesticides on golf courses raises serious questions about people's toxic exposure, drift
over neighboring communities, water contamination, and effects on wildlife and sensitive
ecosystems.” (Beyond Pesticides)
Water use
o There simply won't be enough to go around for golf courses to continue to do what they've
been doing (one report says U.S. courses each use on average 300,000 gallons a day). Water
is going to have to be increasingly carefully managed by everyone (Barton, 2008)
-
o
Effect on the wildlife
o
By making wildlife programs visible, golf courses can reduce public misconceptions
concerning pesticides and habitat loss, and increase recreational and educational opportunities
in a wildlife-friendly setting we can give the wildlife a better habitat. (Golf)
In today’s time where environmental sustainability has become important, some golf courses are
trying to reduce their environmental impact. One course, The Vineyard Golf Club, has worked to
1
become environmentally friendly. The Vineyard Golf Club is one hundred percent pesticide
free..
0
2
3
Body
1) A thorough description of your topic’s environmental problems
a. Pesticide use
b. Water Use
c. Effects on wild life
4
2) A description of various efforts to find solutions to your topic’s environmental problems
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/golf/principles/index.htm
3) A description of what you think should be priority actions to address your topic’s
environmental problems. In other words… what should we do to fix the environmental problems
that golf courses cause? And why
5
6
Conclusion
- A closing story that conveys what your topic would look like after concerted effort to improve
its environmental sustainability. In other words… explain
7