Write a short (400 word or less) essay that describes TWO sustainability problems affecting the place you live (or a place you have lived before), describes why they are problems using course material citations, identifies specific lifestyle changes you can make to help solve these problems, and notes challenges associated with those lifestyle changes. This essay is worth 150 points.

To score well on this essay, you need to provide specific information for each of the two problems you identify. First, you need to not only identify a sustainability problem (such as water pollution, decreasing biodiversity, etc.), but also describe WHY it is a problem using two course material citations per problem. For example, why is water pollution unsustainable, and what parts of the textbook explain this? You need to explain why in your own words, but while referencing scientific information from the course, using proper citation techniques. You need to cite two references for each problem. Second, you need to identify a specific lifestyle change you can make to solve this problem, and explain why it will help. Finally, you need to identify at least one personal, political, or socio-economic challenge that you face when making this lifestyle change. Each of your textbook chapters has a "Bring It Home" conclusion naming personal choices you can make to help our world be more sustainable - feel free to adopt these personal choices as your lifestyle changes, but make sure you explain why they affect your sustainability problem, in your own words. The four course material citations required for this assignment (two for each problem) must be from chapter content, not from these special "Bring It Home" sections. Remember to repeat these requirements for each sustainability problem.

You must answer within a word-count (no less than 200 words, maximum count 400 words for entire essay) using proper English grammar. English writing quality is VERY important for this assignment, and points will be deducted for spelling, grammar, and other writing errors. Aminimum of four different reference sources from the course content (from the text and videos) are required to support your ideas. Don't provide only video references. For text references, you must provide author and page number (for example: Karr, et al., p.57). For video references, you must provide video name with a minutes:seconds timestamp (for example: The Future of Food: A Looming Crisis, 33:54). Citations from non-course material may be used but will not be counted towards the four required. If the formatting is off when you copy and paste, no worries - as long as you have the word count, good grammar and correct spelling, points won't be subtracted for formatting problems (which are common in online submissions). Do NOT cite Wikipedia or the internet in general in this assignment (or ever, really, in academia).Read the rubric below to earn maximum points possible:

40 pts: meet minimum 200-word requirement, with adequate writing quality

40 pts: identification AND description of two sustainability problems (20 pts for each problem)

40 pts: inclusion of four course material citations (10 pts for each)

20 pts: identification of two lifestyle changes addressing specific problems (10 pts for each lifestyle change)

10 pts: identification of challenges associated with both lifestyle changes (5 pts for each challenge)

Points will be deducted if necessary as follows:
-5 poor grammar
-10 spelling errors