In this course we examine a number of environmental impacts, and some of them may be of particular concern in your local area. Environmental impacts like urban sprawl, air and water pollution, and rapid urban growth (just to name a few) tend to affect varied locations to different extents, and it is likely that one or more of these issues are relevant where you live. To allow you to see the local implications of the environmental issues discussed in this course, you will create your own "case study" of a local environmental issue in which you describe the situation in detail, and then present and discuss your results in a powerpoint presentation.

 (1.) Investigate: Your fellow students are geographically scattered. Therefore, it is unlikely that they have a close knowledge of your hometown and environmental issues of local concern.

The first major part of your assignment is to investigate an environmental issue from your local area. It can concern development, the pollution of a local waterway, air quality issues, or any of the topics addressed in this course. You should develop a thorough and detailed understanding of the situation. An important component of this investigation, however, is not just a presentation of the problem but why it is difficult to solve this particular problem. This is where you will have to understand that there will be opposing viewpoints on the issue, which you are expected to present. Generally differences in opinion will emerge with regard to policy, that is, on the question of how to address the issue. For instance, everyone agrees air pollution is bad, but we don't all agree on how to solve the problem, or even what the main causes are. You will be required to dig deep into your specific case to find these divergent views, particularly as they pertain to policy and solutions.  

Before undertaking the actual investigation, you will submit a proposal in the Semester Project dropbox. Your proposal must include: (1) the environmental issue you choose to investigate, including the geographic area in question, and (2) a brief overview of the divergent policy recommendation to solve the problem, (3) at least three suitable references you will use to construct your case study. Consider the references you will use in this project carefully! Although it is acceptable to use encyclopedia-type resources (such as Wikipedia) to get ideas, these should not be used to write the case study itself. Use and citation of such encyclopedia articles in the case study and/or presentation report will be penalized. The resources you use in writing should be from reputable sources, such as reputable news publications and government (.gov) websites. You may also use sources such as environmental organizations (whose websites generally end in .org), but remember that information they publish cannot be considered bias-free. For help in selecting references, you may want to look at:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/1/