Greening the Community College
English 112 Online, Spring Semester 2008
Assignments
on the Environment
1. Students
read contemporary arguments in their text on “Negotiating the Environment” such
as N. Scott Momaday’s “The Way to Rainy Mountain,” Daniel Glick’s “The
Big Thaw,” and selections focusing on Habitat Loss—The Reintroduction of Wolves
into Yellowstone.
2. Students
completed the Think Piece & Research #2 assignment.
For Part I, they were asked to respond to one of the four questions taken from
Tom Ellis’ “The Gaia Model.” For Part II, they were asked to find an Internet
site that pertained to the question they selected.
- What
can be done politically to promote conservation of energy?
- What
economic incentives are available to promote conservation of energy?
- What
technological innovation would result in greater energy efficiency?
- What
cultural values and practices would promote conservation of energy?
3. Students
completed the Point & Counterpoint #3 assignment,
an online discussion activity. For Message 1, they were asked to listen to an
online program entitled “Clean
Coal Dreams and Climate Realities” from the OnPoint site with host Tom Ashbrook.
For Message 2, they were asked to read all responses and then reply to someone
who has taken the opposite position by presenting an alternative viewpoint,
offering supporting explanation and examples.
Examples
of Student Responses
Think
Piece & Research #2
Point
& Counterpoint #3
Observations
of Student Responses
Think
Piece & Research #2
- Most
students noted the importance of government involvement such as tax incentives
to encourage people to “green” their homes and buy hybrid vehicles.
- Some
noted the importance of educating the public about energy conservation; a
few students noted the importance of educating people about the energy problem
around the world.
- One
student said Al Gore’s film caused her to “stop and think.” She “began to
take action and start changing some of [her] ways.”
- Most
students mentioned the importance of recycling. One noted, “Recycling is probably
the most simple thing that [we] can do in [our] homes.”
Point
& Counterpoint #3
- It
did not matter if students were for or against the FutureGen
Project—they expressed a concern for the environmental impact of sequestering
CO2 underground.
- Many
thought the coal industry should be partly responsible for funding such a
costly project—government alone should not be responsible for funding, especially
with the huge national debt, as some noted.
- One
student suggested developing the technology for the FutureGen
Project for the purposes of selling the technology to other countries so the
U.S. would then
have the capital to invest in alternative clean sources of energy.
- Most
stressed the importance of developing wind and solar sources of energy.