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Liam Mullin-Garcia

Mr. Castille

Proposal to make Environmental Science a mandatory course at Saint Louis University

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Overview

Many people are unaware that the average human being in the United States accounts for

more than four pounds of waste a day. The students at Saint Louis University alone could

account for over fifty six thousand pounds of waste daily.

What is Environmental Science?

Environmental Science is the study of all aspects of the environment and the footprint its

organisms have. Environmental Science covers many of the fields of science including biology,

earth science, physics, chemistry, and social sciences. Environmental scientists may focus on an

array of jobs but, most environmental scientists spend time studying the effect we have as

organisms have on earth. These scientists may also find ways to protect the environment and its

organisms; It is their job to find new innovative ways to make the world we live in today green

and safe for us to live in.

In the 1960s there was a need to investigate the environmental problems that were

happening at the time. After some investigation, scientists found that the footprint caused by

them was more then they had imagined. There was little research and testing done before this so

this proved to be astonishing for many. Once the research had concluded people all over the

world were then aware of the pollution they were causing; This is when we began to see people

all around the world take action.

Proposal to make Environmental Science a mandatory course

At Saint Louis University we as community should do all that we can to make this world

as clean and green as it can be. I do understand that there are a couple clubs at SLU that promote
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green living but, in my opinion that is not enough. Saint Louis Universitys own Jesuit mission

calls for us to care for others and the environment we live in. The only way to make SLU more

environmentally friendly at large would be to make it so that the students must take

environmental science for at least one semester in hope that we as a community can become

more aware of the footprint we make on the environment. Once this policy is instilled, students

will have a more in depth understanding of the environment they live in. This course will be an

eye opener to many as most Americans are unaware of the amount of pollution we as humans

cause on a day to day basis.

Students taking the course will hopefully take what they learn and apply it to their daily

lives. Not only will it help Saint Louis University to become more environmentally friendly but,

it will now expose students to a new subject that they had never seen before. Environmental

science proves to be a very important subject to the world in many different situations. Knowing

about the environment and the things that may harm it can help with decision making and

recently, world leaders and representatives have turned to environmental scientists for advice on

decisions to be made. In the United States, many decisions are brought up to these scientists to

see how much harm this decision would make to the environment. As population is increases,

there will be a ongoing need for more and more environmental scientists and taking this course

might get a few students to find a new passion.

What should SLU do?

If the course were to be made mandatory I believe a semester of an introduction to

environmental sciences would be sufficient. This course would be a general overview and

introduction of environmental science. In this course, students will learn about different aspects
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of the environment along with an idea of how we pollute the earth. This course will not have to

be too rigorous as most introductions to environmental science are quite easy and

straightforward. SLU should do its best to also encourage students to take what they learn in the

class and apply it to their every day lives.

What should SLU expect for the future?

Students taking this course will hopefully take what they learned in a serious matter. If

this course were to be made mandatory it would be expected for students to be more

What has SLU done?

In recent years, Saint Louis University has adopted a couple environmentally friendly

practices around campus. For example, SLU has made it quite easy for any person on campus to

recycle from any point on campus. SLU has also taken initiative to lower energy consumption by

installing LED fixtures all around the school. This essentially lowers the energy needed to run

the lighting by six hundred percent. As you may see, SLU does in fact take some action to keep

the campus green.

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Works Cited

Austen, K. "Environmental Science: Pollution Patrol." Nature, vol. 517, no. 7533, 08 Jan. 2015,

p. 136-138. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/517136a.

Khoiyangbam, R. S. and Navindu Gupta. Introduction to Environmental Sciences. The Energy

and Resources Institute, 2015. EBSCOhost, ezp.slu.edu/login?url=http://

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1219188&site=eds-live.

National Research Council, (U.S.). Science for Environmental Protection : The Road Ahead.

National Academies Press, 2012. EBSCOhost, ezp.slu.edu/login?url=http://

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=867954&site=eds-live.

Dagilit, Renata and Andrius Niaura. "Changes of Students Environmental Perceptions After

the Environmental Science and Biology Courses: VMU Case." Procedia - Social and

Behavioral Sciences, vol. 141, no. 4th World Conference on Learning Teaching and

Educational Leadership (WCLTA-2013), 25 Aug. 2014, pp. 325-330. EBSCOhost, doi:

10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.05.056.

Ruth, Michael. "Environmental Science." Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, January.

EBSCOhost, ezp.slu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ers&AN=98402337&site=eds-live.

Environmental Science. [Electronic Resource] : Water Research & Technology. Cambridge :

RSC, 2015. EBSCOhost, ezp.slu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=cat00825a&AN=slu.b3981775&site=eds-live.
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Singh, Y. K. Environmental Science. [Electronic Resource]. New Delhi : New Age International

(P) Ltd., Publishers, 2006., 2006. EBSCOhost, ezp.slu.edu/login?url=http://

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?