AP Environmental Science Summer Assignment 2015
Welcome to APES! Environmental science’s goal is to help humans better
understand and solve the problems facing the Earth and its inhabitants. The
field of environmental science is relatively new (for a science) and
extraordinarily interdisciplinary, drawing on many different natural and social sciences; including
geology, chemistry, biology, physics, meteorology and atmospheric sciences, ecology, agricultural
sciences, engineering, economics, political science, history, anthropology and philosophy.
Instructions: Below is a list of items to complete for your summer assignment. Pay attention to due
dates, as late work will not be accepted.
Due Dates: All assignments must be completed.
1. Signed syllabus & safety contract: due by June 26th, must be returned in person to room 214.
2. Letter of introduction: due by July 20th.
3. No-research project: due by July 20th.
4. Read/Watch/Explore/Write Paper is due by the first day of class.
Assignments:
2 • LETTER OF INTRODUCTION: We are going to spend a lot of time together next year, so it’s best if I
get a head start on learning a bit about you. Also, we will use the internet a lot next year for this
course, so let’s get you used to communicating via Google Classroom and e-mail. Your first digital
assignment is to successfully send me an email from an address that you check regularly. Due date:
July 20.
Draft an email to me following these rules:
a. Use clearly written, full sentences. Do not abbreviate words like you are texting. Use
spell check! This is a professional communication like you would have with a college
professor, so let’s practice for your rapidly nearing future!
b. My email address: asmith@braintreema.gov
c. Make the Subject: “APES: Introduction to <Insert Your Name Here>”
(Do not include the quote marks or the brackets, just the words)
d. Now introduce yourself (your name) and tell me a little bit about you, like:
· What do you like to do (hobbies, sports, music, interests, etc.)?
· Do you have a job?
· Tell me a little bit about your family (Mom? Dad? Guardian? Siblings? Pets?)
· Was there anything that you liked about your earlier science classes?
· What was the last book you read for fun?
1
What are you looking forward to the most in APES? Why did you sign up for
this course?
· What are you most anxious about in APES?
· What is your favorite subject? Which subjects do you usually find easy? Which
are difficult for you?
· How comfortable are you with technology? Do you have a computer, tablet,
smart phone? What apps or programs do you use mostly frequently?
e. End the e-mail with a formal closing: “Cordially”, “Sincerely”, “Best”, etc. and add your
name as if you signed a letter.
·
3 • NO-RESEARCH PROJECT. I’m sure you have had research projects before. This is a no-research
project. There are no wrong answers to these questions. Base your answers off of your current
knowledge and life experience only, no additional sources of information. Just answer “off the cuff”.
If you do not know anything about an issue addressed in a question or you have no opinion
regarding an issue, it is okay to say so (but I won’t believe you if you do that for every question!). Do
this before beginning the Read/Watch/Explore/Write part of the summer assignment!
For each topic listed below, tell me your current opinion and thoughts on the issue.
What do you know about the issue? Do you think the issue is a problem? Why or why
not? What positive and/or negative impacts are we (humans) having on this issue?
What should we be doing about this issue, if anything? I’ve intentionally combined
some issues together in the hope that you will know something about at least one of
the paired issues.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Climate change and global warming
Water pollution and depletion
Suburban sprawl and increased urbanization
Air pollution, acid rain and ozone depletion
Extinction and loss of biodiversity (including aquatic biodiversity)
Waste disposal, hazardous and nuclear wastes, and recycling
Global population increase and population control
Industrialized agriculture, nutrition issues and genetically modified
organisms (GMOs)
9. Renewable vs. nonrenewable energy sources
10. Energy efficiency and consumption
11. Consumerism, public education and apathy
12. Role of governments in the environment, in the lives of citizens and in
the economic marketplace
2
Answer in a Word document or similar word processing program, and add the file or link
to your introduction letter email as an attachment or URL. Add a header to the document
containing your name and the date.
4 • READ/WATCH/EXPLORE/WRITE. This is going to be the most difficult and time consuming part of
the summer assignment by a wide margin. The purpose of this summer assignment in general is to
introduce you to the major themes and issues to be covered in AP Environmental Science. This
portion of the assignment will focus on achieving sustainability for our global society, the primary
goal of environmental science. The more you engage with this material over summer, the more
prepared you will be for the class. The average student will spend no less than 15 hours on this
portion of the assignment. Do not procrastinate!
READ
WATCH
1) “Entering a New World”, by the Earth Policy Institute (http://www.earthpolicy.org/images/uploads/book_files/pb2ch01.pdf)
2) “Lessons from Environmental Collapses of Past Societies”, by Jared Diamond
(http://www.ncseonline.org/sites/default/files/2004%20Chafee%20Report.pdf)
3) “Plan B: Building a New Future”, by Lester R. Brown (http://www.earthpolicy.org/books/pb4/pb4_table_of_contents)
-These are dense and important texts; be sure to annotate & analyze as you go!
1) “HOME” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU)
2) "The Story of Earth" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYOarZKipnU)
-Jot down your thoughts & questions as you watch, and look for connections to the reading and
the writing question!
EXPLORE
WRITE
Additional resources found below - mostly awesome science stuff that will expand your overall
knowledge base and skills in interesting ways. Poke around and find stuff that looks interesting
to you!
Compose a 500 word paper (~2 pages double-spaced) in which you answer this prompt:
●
Humanity has come to totally dominate Earth in a relatively short time period. Despite
this tremendous success, we face many challenges to achieving long-term
sustainability. What are the greatest threats to sustainability humanity now faces, and
what measures will be most effective to shift us onto a sustainable societal trajectory?
-Be sure to assert and defend a thesis in which you clearly and directly answer the question,
and support your argument by drawing on the readings, videos, and other sources/knowledge
directly. You will submit electronically via Google Classroom by the first day of school.
The written response will be due the first day of school and will count towards your grade. Electronic
submission is required and paper submissions will not be accepted. We will also be discussing the
3
readings & videos, and the ideas they contain during that week, so be prepared to discuss your
assignment so we can hit the ground running.
I answer email during the summer and will be checking up on your progress on Google Classroom
periodically. Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions/issues as they arise. I look forward to teaching
you all next year, and I hope you will find APES to be an interesting course!
Adam T. Smith
asmith@braintreema.gov
Awesome Documentaries
If you liked the 2 assigned videos, here are some more that will help connect and expand upon them:
1) "Journey Through the Universe " (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vOU6-1yNZs)
2) "History of the World" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWKijOdOloc)
3) "Planet Earth 100 Million Years in the Future" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ91AxUqHck)
eteRNA (http://eterna.cmu.edu/web/)
A very fun puzzle game (designed by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University) in which you design
RNA molecules based on real problems in biology to advance scientific research. If you are interested in molecular biology
or genetic engineering, YOU HAVE TO PLAY THIS!! TRUST ME!!
Free Online Courses from Universities!
What would it be like to sit in on a lecture at Harvard or Berkeley? Now you can find out! Many prestigious universities
contribute their courses to one or more of the sites below FOR FREE. There are tons of courses available, ranging from "The
History of Rock and Roll" to "The Diversity of Exoplanets Around Other Stars" to "Genomic Medicine". There is no limit to
what you can learn here, and knowledge is power...
https://www.coursera.org/
https://www.edx.org/
http://academicearth.org/ (check out the "Playlists" section at the top and find something interesting!)
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
http://www.openculture.com/ (Free courses, movies, books, & great lectures by important thinkers)
AskScience (www.reddit.com/r/askscience)
A website where anyone can ask science questions and get answers. Check out the interesting questions other people ask,
or ask one yourself. There is no shortage of interesting discussion here!
More interesting websites:
4
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/ (On population growth, economic development, global health, etc)
http://www.brightstorm.com/science/ (Reviewing general Biology, Chemistry and Physics concepts)
http://www.ted.com/ (A collection of fascinating talks from important people, mostly 15-20 minutes)
http://palaeos.com/ (The history of life on Earth, back through 3.5 billion years)
http://blog.ted.com/2013/02/05/fun-interesting-science-10-amazing-online-sources/ (Cool stuff!)
https://www.youtube.com/user/APESinaBOX/videos (Videos on most of the major topics in APES)
https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse (Crash Course, by the amazing John Green!)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/ (Great site with interesting stories on a wide range of science topics)
http://www.grist.org (Cutting edge journalism on the intersection of environment and society)
http://www.npr.org/sections/environment/ (Easily digestible news stories about the environment)
Books
For a more traditional book-based reading assignment, try something from this list. There’s something for everyone here!
5