Course: Environmental Science

Welcome to Environmental Science. The purpose of this assignment is three-fold. First, it will help you become
aware of the environment and many of the ongoing concerns related to it. 2 nd, it will help us to cover the
information required for the course. Third, it will hopefully inspire you so that you come ready to learn about all
of the great topics we will cover this year. If you have any questions about this work over the semester , please
feel free to email me. Thanks in advance for the time you put in and know that I’m picking the most important
topics for you to work on since I want you to have plenty of time to enjoy the semester too!! ALL topic
assignments must be completed in order to receive full credit. You will have 1-2 weeks to complete each of the
seven topic assignments. You will see the topics under D2L labelled topic #1, topic #2 etc.

** Note: In our effort to be environmentally conscious this year, I will be inviting you to hand in assignments in a
digital form (unless I specifically state otherwise). You will be uploading to assignment folder on D2L.

ASSIGNMENT Topics: 10 points

CURRENT TOPICS: ENVIRONMENTAL ARTICLES SUMMARIES, VIDEOS AND REFLECTIONS

Watch the video and read the articles provided for each topic. Some of the topics are videos on you tube, podcasts and/or
articles from an environmental website.

- Each article/video in the topic is about a different environmental issue Examples: algal blooms, deforestation,
ecosystems, energy, invasive species, climate change, pollution
- You can include your own references or articles you found when writing about your topic.
- Sources you include, should be based on scientific publications, journals, or newspapers. Please do not use
Wikipedia to find your information/references.
o Try to look for online cites ending with .gov, .edu, or .org
o Please use APA citations

For each summary please address the following criteria in at least one page single-spaced per topic.

1. Summarize the content of the video/article IN YOUR OWN WORDS

a. Focus on the following questions
i. What is the problem? When did it begin?
ii. Who is the responsible party?
iii. How severe is the impact on the environment?
2. Reflect on or write your personal reaction to the article.
a. Focus on the following:
i. What are your thoughts on the issue?
ii. How does it compare to information you have heard or read before? Does it support what
you know or felt that you knew?
iii. What other information would be helpful for you to better understand the environmental
impacts?
iv. Are there words or concepts that you do not understand?

Do you feel the facts are coming from a trustworthy source? Is there any information in any other website or article that
defends or discusses this exact issue?

Other information you can include in the summary:

- Who the article/video is about

- What the article/video is about

- Where the activity in the article/video is taking place

- When the activity is (has) taking (taken) place

- Why the activity is occurring

- How it affects the planet (try to cite something that we have studied in class)

- One interesting thing that you have learned from the article/video.

Think about who this event impacts and how.

Explain why it is significant or provide your opinion about the topic.

Questions: Include two to three relevant questions about the video/article (these are questions you would like answered
about the article/video) These you can label questions at the end of your summary

*D2L “assessments” scroll down to “assignments” and select the folder to upload your summary assignment

**When uploading to D2L please make sure your assignment is saved as a word document, pdf, or scanned document (some
other formats are not able to be opened in D2L assignments)

***Include your name at the top of the topic assignment and a short title

The Todays Nile River by Lucca Proenca

 In the African continent, people have come up with an incredible idea, a great wall of trees that
spread out for multiple countries and cover from one ocean to the other of the African continent.
The idea is to plant multiple strains of drought resistant trees across a perpendicular line. One
may think that just planting a bunch of trees in a straight line is not worth the effort because there
aren’t many benefits, well, that assumption is completely wrong.
The great green wall presents itself by bringing multiple life changing benefits to the land,
people, and animals that live near the tree line.
-Reverse Desertification
Habitants of the area state that before the great green wall was planted, the wind of the
Sahara Desert used to dig up and erode the soil, but now with the trees, it no longer has
that effect. Also, the leaves and compost left by the trees, now humidify the environment.
While also offering shade.
-Acacia Trees
This strain of trees that are being planted throughout the line hold a lot of water in its
roots, providing moisture to the land its planted on, and also reviving old dry wells that
provide water to its users.
-New Economy
Before the tree planting, there was a lot of hunger, and drought in the area, however, with
the green wall being planted, it opened up the possibility for people to grow up gardens
and plant all kinds of crops. This process now generates jobs, in which mostly women
work on and are well paid. The opportunities for jobs in crop growing near the great green
wall are giant now.
-Migration
Habitants of the area say that before the great green wall, people move around a lot due to
climate complication such as intense drought of the Sahara Desert. However, now people
tend to settle close to the tree line, because the line provides food, water, and jobs, much
like the Nile River in ancient Egypt.
-Education
This one links to the migration topic. Now that people settle in one place that provide all
they need to survive, people attend more to schools, and more and more people are being
educated around the tree line.
In conclusion, the great green wall is an outstanding idea that brings about many benefits to the
people of Africa and solves many resource issues that they have there. The project that started in
2017 is expected to cost around 8 billion US dollars, and the project is still years from
completion, however, institutions like the world bank, the UN, the African Union and the UK
Botanical are determined to help with the funding and completion of the project.
This project is one example of how Humanity and Nature can coexist and help each other to
flourish. A great project that provides true inspiration and prosperity for future generations.