GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
OCN/OEST/MET 310, FALL 2009
MWF 12:30 – 1:20 pm, MSB 100

Instructors:
Dr. Erica Goetze, Assistant Professor, Oceanography, MSB 606; Tel. 956-7156. Email: egoetze@hawaii.edu; office hours: by appointment.

Dr. David Ho, Associate Professor, Oceanography, MSB 517, Tel. 956-3311. Email: ho@hawaii.edu; office hours: by appointment.

Dr. Zuojun Yu, Associate Researcher, IPRC, POST 403B, Tel. 956-8175, Email: zuojun@hawaii.edu; office hours: by appointment. 

TA: Emma Williams, Graduate student, Oceanography, MSB 513: Tel. 956-2442. Email: emmalw@hawaii.edu; office hours: by appointment.

Course Description: Global environmental change is a subject area of considerable interest today. Change can be rapid and threatening; thus, the subject has forced itself before the world and its citizenry. The subject matter is now being addressed regularly by scientists, teachers, policymakers, economists, sociologists, lawyers, and the general public. Global environmental change involves both the physiochemical and biological nature of change and the effects and consequences of natural and human-induced change for ecosystems, humans, and human infrastructures. The unifying theme of this course is consideration of both natural and human-induced environmental change, with emphasis on the latter. Earth’s ecosphere or exogenic system­-the Earth surface system of land, water, biota, air, ice, and sediments—has always been in a dynamic state of change. Change is probably more characteristic of the planet than constancy.
Under the continuously changing umbrella of natural environmental change, human activities have become a force in the global environment. The growth of the human population, reaching six billion in 1999, and the consumption of natural resources to feed, house, clothe, and provide energy for this growing world population have resulted in a plethora of environmental issues. These include deforestation and consequent issues of land erosion, changes in regional water cycles, and nutrient cycling; freshwater usage and quality; eutrophication of water bodies; acid deposition; tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog; stratospheric ozone depletion and enhanced UV radiation; and global climatic change. In this course, we shall consider the scientific basis behind these problems and the economic, social, ethical, and policy questions that stem from these disturbances of the environment.
We recognize that there probably will always be a need for natural resources and for development, but not necessarily for growth. The mining, processing, and use of natural resources, the construction and maintenance of transportation systems and human structures, and the activities associated with the growing and distribution of food are some of the human enterprises that are prone to generating pollutants and inducing environmental change. Whenever these activities occur, there is an increase in the amount of waste material on the planet. This is an inexorable outcome of the fundamental laws of science. As a global civilization, we must decrease the rate of production of this waste that leads to degradation of the environment and learn to manage the global ecosystem in a sustainable way. This course will provide some of the knowledge required to accomplish this goal and for the student to become a wise environmental steward of the planet.

Teaching Method: Lectures and discussions in special sessions; some time in each lecture will be devoted to questions on the lecture material (speak up!). There will be several additional homework assignments that cover a variety of activities, including short essays, calculations, web-based exercises, and a sustainability project. Homework assignments must be received on the due date to receive full credit. Assignments turned in one school day after the due date will receive an automatic 20% reduction. No assignments overdue by more than one school day will be accepted unless prior arrangements have been made. Students will also each participate in teaching their peers through one group project that will include a class presentation and preparation of handouts.

Prerequisite: One environmentally oriented course or consent of instrctor; Global Environmental Science degree majors should enroll in section 2 of OCN/OEST/MET310.

Contemporary Ethical Issues Focus: This course carries the Contemporary Ethical Issues Focus designation. People are called upon daily to make decisions in their personal lives that impact the environment. We are also involved in development of public environmental policy from the local to the global scale. Responsible decision-making in environmental issues requires a sound understanding of the scientific considerations as well as of the many implications for human welfare. The issues are complex. Many contemporary ethical issues will be presented in class lectures and debated in seven discussion group meetings. In discussions, emphasis will be placed on examining the many facets involved in environmental decision-making: weighing the benefits to different groups, balancing economic benefits vs. environmental health, consideration of the conflicting demands and needs of industrialized vs developing countries and of current vs future generations. Discussion group essays will address specific questions of an ethical/ scientific nature that arise from the assigned readings. The first meeting of the discussion groups will include discussion of various frameworks for ethical decision making as outlined in Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making developed by Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J. Meyer (available at: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/ practicing/decision/thinking.html). Contemporary ethical issues constitute at least 30% of the course content.

Means of Evaluation:
Two midterms (15% each)                                                                     30%
Final exam                                                                                            20%
Discussion groups (attendance, participation, and essay assignments)        20%
Homework, quizzes                                                                               15%
Group project                                                                                        15%

All exams will be cumulative, but will emphasize more recently presented information. Exams will cover information from lectures, homework, readings, quizzes, discussions, and the discussion papers.

Final Examination: December 14, 2009, 12:00 -2:00 pm. Location: MSB 100. No alternative exam date or time will be given: all students must be present during the University scheduled exam period.

Text for the Course: “Our Changing Planet: An Introduction to Earth System Science and Global Environmental Change” by Fred T. Mackenzie, 3rd Edition; Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-13-065172-9.
Make sure you have the 3rd edition and not an older edition. Supplemental readings will be provided.

Problems: Students should do problems at the end of each chapter on their own. The problems are designed to test knowledge of the chapter and to expand on concepts developed in the chapter. Answers are in the back of the textbook. If you do not understand a problem, please see the TA or instructor for help. These questions are prime source material for the examinations.

General Expectations: Students are expected to attend all class and discussion sessions. The information in Chapters 1-5 of the text is largely background material and will be review for many of you. Highlights from these chapters will be covered in lectures, but you will be responsible for all material in these chapters. Homework assignments will focus on the main aspects of these chapters.

Student Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of OCN 310 a student should be able to:

• Identify and summarize human impacts on the global environment
• Use simple calculations to understand and illustrate the dynamics of global carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen cycles
• Evaluate and use scientific data to explain sources of environmental variability and climate change
• Critically evaluate and discuss current media coverage of climate change
• Make and justify ethical decisions regarding use of environmental resources

Schedule (subject to revision):