Introduction to Environmental Issues (ENV 201) Environmental Program Wake Forest University Fall 2009 Dr. Lucas Johnston Office: 018A Winston Hall Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 12:00-1:30 (or by appointment) Email: johnstlf@wfu.edu Course Description: Environmental issues increasingly occupy social and political discourse and impact people in various ways in their daily lives. Careful analysis of complex environmental problems is an important prerequisite to moving toward a sustainable culture. This class introduces students to some of the key issues related to the environment, highlights the important contributions and limitations of environmental sciences, and analyzes the values that lie behind public policy, relevant research, and activism. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course students should: Have a basic understanding of the science of ecology and the complex ways in which human cultures interact with their habitats Understand terminology related to environmental sciences and studies, and be able to speak coherently and intelligently about environmental issues Possess an understanding of some of the historical circumstances and trends that led to specific environmental problems Be able to analyze the ways in which various stakeholders with diverse value sets influence the formulation of public policy Be able to articulate these diverse values in terms that constructively work toward dispute resolution Required Texts: Easton, Thomas. Environmental Studies: Sources (3rd ed). New York: McGraw Hill. Easton, Thomas. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues. New York: McGraw Hill. Additional readings available through the WFU Blackboard. Assignments and Grading: Response Papers (5): 25% These papers should be 2-3 pages in length. The first paper is a reflection on the Ecological Footprint analysis. The other four papers are due in class on Tuesdays following discussion sections focused on the “Issues” from the Taking Sides text. Each paper should include: a) a brief summary paragraph stating the nature of the debate and the variety of stakeholders represented, with a strong thesis sentence characterizing the debate; b) a discussion of the evidence mustered by each stakeholder in the debate; and c) an argument presenting the student’s own understanding of the issue. Students need not choose a side, particularly if they ultimately do not find either side entirely convincing, but
Interview produce and meat buyers from Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Piggly Wiggly, Fresh Market, and the Reynolda Farm Market. -What percentage of their produce or meat products are grown in North Carolina, the Southeast, the United States? Do they have any public or internal policies regarding the percentages of food they procure from domestic growers? -How do these businesses determine the price they charge for their produce or meat? Do they have a formula? -Do they have significant knowledge of the labor conditions under which their produce or meats were grown or produced? -If they work through distributors, do they have any policies about any standards above (point of origin, labor standards, farming practices) they would like the distributor to consider? How are these tracked and enforced? -What does each interviewee wish we, the citizens, understood better? Are there any common themes? - Do any of the course materials/readings relate to this assignment? Did they help you to think through these issues? -Illustrate how the concept of an integrated bottom line (considering economic, ecological and social values) relates to the production and consumption of food. *If someone will not or can not answer any of the above questions, why? Is it lack of knowledge or something else?