Religion and the Environment

Reading

Lynne Townsend White Jr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Townsend_White,_Jr.

Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis- by Lynne White
http://www.zbi.ee/~kalevi/lwhite.htm

Overview of World Religions and Ecology
http://fore.research.yale.edu/religion/index.html

My lecture notes came from-
Religion, nature and environmentalisms- EoE
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Religion%2C_nature_and_environmentalism

Powerpoint Presentation
Religion and the Environment- http://www.slideshare.net/secret/59gLmN30XTsJbX

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course a fully engaged student should be able to

- Discus the relationship between Christianity, Islam, Bhuddism, and Animism and the environment

Environmental Ethics

Reading

Environmental Ethics- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-environmental/

Environmental Ethics- University of California
http://cnx.org/content/m16743/latest/

Environmental Ethics- Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_ethics#Libertarian_extension

Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic- EoE
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Aldo_Leopold%27s_Land_Ethic

The Land Ethic- by Aldo Leopold, taken from Sand County Almanac

Anthropocentric versis Non-Anthropocentric Environmental Ethics
http://ocw.capcollege.bc.ca/philosophy/phil-208-environmental-ethics/non-anthropocentric.htm

Environmental Ethics and Gaia Theory- EoE
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Environmental_ethics_and_the_Gaia_theory

Deep Ecology- EoE
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deep_ecology

Ecofeminism- Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecofeminism

The Gaia Hypothesis
http://erg.ucd.ie/arupa/references/gaia.html

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course a fully engaged student should be able to

- distinguish between anthropocentric, biocentric, and ecocentric environmental ethics

- distinguish between the development, preservation, and conservation environmental ethic

- discuss the Judeo-Christian Environmnental Ethic

- briefly discuss Deep Ecology and Ecofeminism

- be able to clearly articulate their own personal environmental ethic

Writing Assignment # 3

Using DDT to control malaria in Africa

DDT is a synthetic organic pesticide that has been used to control insect pests. For a variety of reasons, DDT has been banned in the US and many countries. Recently, there has been some controversy about whether DDT should be available for use to control mosquitos that are the vectors of malaria in Africa.

Writing Assignment: In 2 - 3 pages answer this question- Do you think that people should be allowed to use DDT to control malaria in Africa? (be sure to use good critical thinking in your answer)

Important Dates *** Note these dates are slightly different than those we discussed in class.

Rouch Draft Due- Wed Oct 21
Workshop - Friday Oct 23
Final Draft Due- Wed Oct 28

Reading

From the Media

WHO backs use of DDT against malaria
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6083944

If malaria is the problem then DDT is not the only answer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/04/AR2005060400130.html

Background information

DDT- http://www.eoearth.org/article/DDT

Malaria- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Malaria

Malaria and DDT- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Malaria_and_DDT

Human Health Consequences of DDT Use- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Human_Health_Consequences_of_DDT_Use

Rachel Carson- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Carson%2C_Rachel_Louise

Global Climate Change

Here is a link to the powerpoint presentation from class.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/j33lxyHuPGwVzS

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course a fully engaged student should be able to

- describe why climate scientists have concluded that global temperatures are increasing

- describe why climate scientists have concluded that humans are the cause of this increase in temperature

- discuss changes, other than increases in temperature, that are thought to be caused by humans increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Global Carbon Cycle and Global Warming

Human activity, including burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and buring trees, has altered the global carbon cycle. This alternation of the global carbon cycle is the proposed cause of global climate change (global warming).

Obviously, global climate change is a very imporant issue facing us today. If you are alive and paying any attention, then you probably know that there is some disgreement out there about (1) whether global warming is occuring, (2) if it is occuring is it a natural occurence or is it caused by humans, and (3)what should we as individuals and a society do about these issues. As I mentioned in class, it is very important that you understand what components of the debate are facts and what components of the debate are based on mathematical models or other forms of argument. I think that it is important that you should be able to explain to other people why scientists will never be able to conduct the experiment that will nail down whether or not humans are causing global warming (we have only one earth).


Further Reading

Carbon cycle- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Carbon_cycle

Global warming- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Global_warming

Global warming Frequenty Asked Questions- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Global_warming_frequently_asked_questions

Climate change FAQ- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_change_FAQs

Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change_%28IPCC%29

IPCC Assessment for Policymakers- http://www.eoearth.org/article/IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report%2C_Working_Group_I%3A_Summary_for_Policymakers


Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- diagram the global carbon cycle
- discuss how humans have altered the global carbon cycle
- discuss how the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide varies annually
- discuss the proposed relationship between human caused changes in the global carbon cycle and global warming
- discuss alternative causes of global warming
- discuss the experiment that would be required to determine whether or not human activity is the cause of global warming
- articulate and defend their own personal view of how they intend to deal with the global warming issue

Ecosystem Ecology

Ecosystem ecologists focus on the flow of enery and the cycling of nutrients through the ecosystem.

Further Readings

Ecosystems- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecosystem

Ecological energetics- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecological_energetics

Nitrogen cycle- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Nitrogen_cycle

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- diagram and discuss the flow of energy through an ecosystem
- diagram, discuss the causes of, and discuss some of the implications of the enegy pyramid
- diagram nitrogen cycle within an ecosystem
- discuss the factors that influence the rate of flow from dead bodies to the soil and discuss the implications of differences in this rate