AP Environmental Science Summer Assignment 2008



AP Environmental Science Summer Assignment 2011

Part 1:

Collect at least 5 current (from June, July or August of 2011) articles on any of the following environmental problems (all 5 can be on one problem, or the articles can be on a variety of the problems listed below.)

 

• Air pollution

• Water pollution

• Habitat loss and Species Extinction

• Alternative energy sources (solar power, wind power) and hybrid vehicles

• Global warming

 

Suggested sources for articles are a good newspaper like The New York Times, news magazines like Time, Newsweek, or US News and World Report, other local newspapers and other magazines. No articles except newspaper articles should be downloaded from the Internet. You can copy articles from sources like these in your local library if you don't receive them at home. Make sure you have information on the date and source of each article.

 

For each article, write a summary on just one side of a 3x5 or 4x6 note card. Make sure the date and source of the article is on the note card. Organize the articles according to topic. Place each article on a piece of paper with its corresponding notecard (see below). Save these articles and note cards in a folder or large envelope and bring them to school for the first day of class in August.

 

Part 2

“Tragedy of the Commons”

Read Garrett Hardin’s essay, available at the link below.

Answers to the following questions must be thorough, typed, and in full sentences. Examples must be different from those given by Hardin, unless specified in the question.

1. What does Hardin mean by a "technical solution" to a problem?  Give an example of an environmental problem for which there was a technical solution.

2. What does Hardin mean in stating that you can't maximize two variables simultaneously?  To what two variables is he referring in the case of population growth?  Is this true for other environmental concerns?

3. Describe Adam Smith’s concept of the “invisible hand.”

4. What does Hardin means by a "commons"?  Describe an example of commons in which you participate or share.

5. What analogy did Garrett Hardin use to illustrate the concept of the tragedy of the commons? Explain.

6. Contrast Hardin’s tragedy of the commons with Smith’s invisible hand.

7. Describe an example of a tragedy of the commons in the environment. Provide a reference.

8. What do you think happened at Leominster, Massachusetts, when metered parking spots near downtown stores were free during the Christmas shopping season?

9. According to Hardin, how is morality "system sensitive?"  Give an example.

10. What does Hardin think about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states "...any choice and decision with regard to the size of the family must irrevocably rest

11. Why does Hardin argue that controlling the breeding freedom of humans cannot be done by an appeal to conscious?  Do you agree?

12. What does Hardin mean by "mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon?"



Part 3:

Please purchase the following book:

The Cartoon Guide to the Environment by Larry Gonick & Alice Outwater

This book can be purchased used and can be found on such sites as for as little as $5.00. We will use this book as a supplement to your textbook throughout the year.

Part 4:

Environmental Legislation is extremely important to our study of Environmental Science. Please complete the following:

Create a timeline for the laws on the following list. Each law should

be summarized and a key should allow someone to easily identify the

type of law (Air, Land, Energy, Biodiversity, etc). I suggest color-coding

your laws by type. Get creative with how you are going to organize all

of this information.

Arctic Conservation Act, 1978

California Desert Protection Act, 1994

Clean Air Act, 1955

Clean Water Act, 1972

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and

Liability Act, 1980

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species,1975

Emergency Wetlands Resources Act, 1986

Endangered Species Act, 1973

Energy Tax Act, 1978

Environmental Education Act, 1990

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act, 1947

Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 1976

Fish and Wildlife Act, 1956

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1980

Food Quality Protection Act, 1996

Food Security Act, 1985

Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act,1976

Freedom of Information Act, 1966

International Environmental Protection Act, 1983

Kyoto Protocol, 1997

Lacey Act, 1990

Land and Water Conservation Act, 1965

Low Level Radioactive Policy Act, 1980

Madrid Protocol, 1989

Marine Mammal Protection Act, 1972

Montreal Protocol, 1987

National Environmental Policy Act, 1969

National Forest Management Act, 1976

National Park Service Act, 1916

National Trails System Act, 1968

Nuclear Waste Policy Act, 1982

Ocean Dumping Ban Act, 1988

Pollution Prevention Act, 1990

Price-Anderson Act, 1957

Renewable Resources Planning Act, 1974

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 1976

Safe Drinking Water Act, 1974

Soil and Water Conservation Act, 1977

Soil Conservation Act, 1935

Species Conservation Act, 1966

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, 1977

Waste Reduction Act, 1990

Water Quality Act, 1965

Water Resources Planning Act, 1965 Wilderness Act, 1964

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Article

Notecard

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