Personal EcoPlan (250pts)
Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.
~Gandhi
One of the goals of the course is to help you understand your roles as “stewards of the living world”. For this assignment, you will be expected to synthesize the components of this class and place them in the context of YOUR life. You will be drawing on information from class, graphing skills, and writing skills developed in previous assignments, so be sure to refer back to those assignments.
Final Personal EcoPlan Paper (200 pts):
This paper should be between 5-10 pages, 12-point font, double-spaced, and must use scientific writing format (APA).
Introduction: You will be exploring 2 environmental issues (see list below) that you find interesting. Thoroughly examine and explain each environmental issue. This should include: Why this is an environmental issue? What are the causes of the issue? What are the connections between these issues? What are your connections to these issues? Finally, you will conclude your introduction with a statement of intent. The statement of intent will be explaining what you intend to accomplish in a broad sense for this research. Citations will be needed in this section (at least 4).
• Increase of greenhouse gases into atmosphere (climate change)
• Freshwater Pollution
• Soil Degradation/Pollution
• Air Pollution
• Water scarcity
• Waste Management (Disposal and Recycling)
• Habitat Destruction/Degradation
• Wildlife Endangerment
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Marine Degradation/Pollution
Methods: Now for each of the environmental issues that you selected, determine a habit (you should have 2 different habits) in your life that exacerbates the issue. How could you help decrease your impact on the Earth? Use your 2 habits and how they are connected to illustrate how you could become more environmentally friendly. This should include at least 2 changes you could implement (be explicit). Use the pillars of sustainability to evaluate the pros and cons.
Results: How do your changes lessen your environmental footprint? Determine how, quantifiably (meaning this must include numbers and math), your change will help solve Personal EcoPlan 2 the environmental issue it is associated with. This will also include 3 graphs, 1 for each habit and then one that combines your habits to evaluate your overall effect on your environmental footprint. Notice this section focuses on the environmental pillar; therefore, your math and graphs should not display money.
Discussion: Explain how your changes together can reduce your overall impact and why that is important. This should include a citation and your opinion. What does this mean to you? Does this lead you to think about other issues/solutions/questions? Does the standard of Living have to decrease in order to be a steward for the living world? Cite with examples and discuss your own.
