Weekly Current Events Format - Bowie APES



Current Event Information

An environmental issue is referenced up to 20 times in every edition of every newspaper every day in the United States. Consider that these stats are similar on the international scale, and environmental issues are wrapped and tied into the news media like a political battle, social crisis, or worldwide epidemic. These articles may be about obvious environmental issues such as water quality or the ozone hole or ecological issues such as plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions or changing weather patterns. Yet, the scope of environmental science is even larger than these fundamental parts—it is social, political, and technological. Thus, articles about environmental action groups or new global technologies can also be considered comments on environmental science.

It is ABSOLUTELY impossible to write or compose an article that does not possess bias. Bias is implied just by the shear selection of a topic upon which to discourse. Though terms such as “like” and “dislike” may not be present in the article, as a surveyor of environmental publications and information, it is ones job to read for terms and ideas that may be controversial or express a simple opinion, be it ever so subtle.

• Possible Topics for Current Events

o 1. Human population growth

o 2. Transgenic species (GMO’s)

o 3. Non-native (invasive) species

o 4. Food production, food safety

o 5. Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)

o 6. Renewable resources (solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, etc.)

o 7. Nuclear energy

o 8. Air quality

o 9. Water quality (surface or groundwater)

o 10. CO2 and global warming

o 11. Recycling or another aspect of waste management (garbage)

o 12. Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, or similar NGO

o 13. Over fishing, or over hunting

o 14. Deforestation

o 15. Ozone depletion

o 16. Legislation or International Treaty dealing with an environmental issue

Article Requirements:

1. Your article should be related to environmental science and be from a reputable source.

2. The article must be sufficient in length to provide you with enough information for a discussion section (see more specific requirements below.)

3. Your article may not be more than 2 years old and may not have been written up by any other students. The first person to submit an article will be given credit. It pays to submit early!

4. Choose from one of these sources.

1. Newspapers: Austin American Statesman, New York Times, etc.

2. News Magazines: Newsweek, Time, US News and World Report periodically have science or technology features.

3. Science Magazines: Discover, Popular Science, Science News, E: The Environmental Magazine, Natural History, Virginia Wildlife and others can all be found in our school library.

4. Internet: You can find science articles from the sources above online.

2 Per Six Weeks Grading Period

Must present 1 time per six weeks (sign up in class)

Current Event Questions

• Copy of the article

• Brief summary of the article and describe how it relates to environmental science.

• What are scientific, economic, and political implications associated with this article?

• Identify the species and/or groups of people impacted by the issue.

• What is your reaction? How should the issue be addressed or resolved? Why?

• Does the article teach you anything new? Why or Why not?

Possible Sources

Free Access to Austin American Statesman:



Username: bowieapes

Password: lorax

KUT News



Listen to NPR at 90.5 for possible ideas – very informative

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