PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: The Global Pollution Perspective
Environmental
Studies 2925, 3 credits (BWCA Field Study)
Dr.
Patrick Welle, S126, BSU, Bemidji, MN 56601
Phone: (218) 755-4103 Fax: (218) 755-4107
e-mail: pwelle@bemidjistate.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This interdisciplinary course will focus on environmental problems and their regional and global causes. The impacts of these problems on different people, cultures and global society as a whole will be studied from varying perspectives based on different values and world views. The course is designed to provide a forum for discussion, debate and critical evaluation, which will be provided by students exchanging ideas during this field study. These discussions will occur during the pre-trip training sessions and while the group is in the BWCA. This course satisfies the Liberal Education requirement (Area X) for an Environmental Issues course. There are no prerequisites.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The
major purpose of this course is to heighten awareness of environmental
challenges and the interconnectedness of human and natural systems in
confronting these challenges. Students
will
integrate various disciplinary perspectives on
environmental problems and solutions and employ critical thinking in reflecting
on the value basis and ethical dimensions of environmental
decisions.
Students will gain an understanding of the bio-physical-ecological
foundations for environmental processes and the social-cultural-institutional
influences that shape human impact
on the environment. In light of these impacts, possible improvements in these institutions will be considered. Immersion in the BWCA Wilderness provides a unique venue for considering environmental challenges with a unifying theme of the meaning of wilderness in the modern world.
COURSE FORMAT
The
interdisciplinary survey of environmental issues will be provided through the
series of instructional sessions preceding the BWCA trip. These sessions will expose students to a breadth
of multidisciplinary perspectives on environmental problems focusing on
problems in northern Minnesota. The
learning method will be problem-solving oriented in that environmental problems
are identified and related causes, implications and principles are evaluated.
Integrative thinking is emphasized through the instruction connecting the
pre-trip presentations and challenging students to synthesize the various
perspectives provided. Active learning
will be enhanced not only through field study but also through exercises and
group activities conducive to discussion, interaction and collaboration as
goals of the liberal education experience.
Critical thinking and values clarification should also be enhanced by
the blend of the multidisciplinary presentations and group discussions.
REQUIRED READINGS FROM MILLER TEXT
The
required readings will be mainly from the book, "Sustaining the Earth: An
Integrated Approach" by G. Tyler Miller.
(6th edition, used copies of the 5th edition are okay, but
confusing due to changes in numbering of chapters and pages.) The schedule of assigned readings and topics
is provided in the next section.
Students should rely heavily on this book as a learning tool in that it
provides comprehensive coverage of the material for this course.
The
instructor offers the following suggestions for learning from the book:
1. Read
the "Critical Thinking" questions at the end of the chapter first to
focus your thinking on
the
broad concepts in the chapter.
2. Focus
on fundamental concepts and basic principles in the chapters, especially those
illustrated
in
the figures and diagrams.
3. Learn
key terminology by paying special attention to terms typed in bold face in the
text.
4. Reinforce
your learning from each chapter by practicing the tutorial quizzes that are on
the
book's website. (See below.)
5.
Recognize that Chapters 2, 3 and 4 provide the foundation for the course
through its
comprehensive coverage of ecological principles. Please read the highlighted sections
(see
content notes) from these chapters thoroughly twice and review. Learning these fundamental
ecological principles will give you the building blocks for attaining
the goals of this course.
READINGS FROM THE MILLER TEXT (ISSUES
RELEVANT TO THE BWCA IN PARENTHESES)
(Watch sessions 1-3 & 6 on the CD.
These correspond to Chs. 1-5 in Miller as listed below.)
Ch. 1
Current State of Environmental Problems (Watch CD session 1.)
Chs. 2, 3 & 4 Interconnections in Ecosystems (Ecology of Northern MN, CD
sessions 2 & 3)
Ch. 14 Interconnections in Economic/Political
Systems (Economic Pressures on MN Resources)
Ch. 5 Population Principles & Human/Social
Dimensions (Pressures on BWCA, CD session 6.)
Ch. 7 Biodiversity Issues: Land (The Meaning of
Wilderness, blowdowns, fires and human
intervention)
Ch. 8 Sustaining Biodiversity: the Species
Approach (the grey wolf, exotic species in Midwest)
Ch. 11 Air Pollution, the Greenhouse Effect
& Ozone Depletion (Long-Range Transport of Air
Pollution into BWCA:
mercury and acid rain, problems related to burning fossils fuels.)
OTHER LEARNING AIDS
There are two websites designed to assist students in learning. The BSU website for this class can be found
at: /academics/liberal_education/courses/people_environment/ It provides information and materials for
the course in electronic form and provides links to this syllabus (click on
BWCA Program) other websites pertinent to the course. It identifies additional readings of interest.
Students should also work with the website that accompanies the
book. It provides a variety of
"Learning Tools" for the course.
In particular, we recommend that students practice the "Tutorial Quizzes"
for each chapter. Some of these
questions will be used for exam questions.
The
tutorial quizzes and other "Learning Tools" can be found at the web
address shown on the back cover of the book.
Follow these steps:
1. open
file http://www.brookscole.com/biology
2. at
this screen click on Brooks/Cole Biology Resource Center
3. at
screen titled "Brooks/Cole Biology Resource Center" click on the icon of a globe titled
"Ecology and Environmental Science"
4. at
screen titled "Ecology and Environmental Science" click on Miller, "Sustaining the Earth"
5. You
are now at the website designed for our textbook. To access the tutorial quizzes you need
to
highlight the desired chapter in the
box titled "Chapter" and highlight "Tutorial
Quizzes" in the lower box titled
"Resources" and click GO.
THEMES TO BE INTEGRATED THROUGHOUT THE
COURSE
The
following five major themes of the course are explored in a multi-cultural
context:
* Cultural Ecology: Interconnectedness of Humans
and their Environment,
* The Wilderness Act: Critiques and
Endorsements,
* Environmental Ethics and the BWCAW,
* Uncertainty and Risk in Environmental Decision
Making,
*
Identification of Basic Species in Northwoods Ecosystems.
STUDENTS WILL IDENTIFY THEIR CONCERNS AND
CONSTRUCT RESPONSES
Students will have a great deal of influence over the topics and issues
that are covered through their participation in discussions. Students will identify environmental problems
of interest. These topics will be used
to develop the five major themes noted above.
These topics will be developed in conjunction with ideas from the
assigned readings from Miller and additional readings below.
ADDITIONAL READINGS IN THE CULTURAL
ECOLOGY OF NORTHERN MN AND THE BWCA
(Costs covered in program fee.)
Adams, David. Season of the Loon. St. Cloud: NorthStar Press, 2001.
copy covered in
program fee. Recommend entire book, but not covered on exams. Chs. 1, 8, & 10-15(pages 9-14,
70-82,88-193 ) required and should
inform your 10-page paper.
Program Reader
(Contents in
the following order. Readings 1,
2 and 4 required.)
1. Duncanson, M. Paddler’s Guide. pp. 1,28 & 29.
2. Furtman,
M. Canoe Country Camping. “On Wilderness” pp. 176-181.
3. Furtman,
M. Magic on the Rocks. Pp. 134-142 & 145-149, about pictograph sites
we’ll visit
4. Backes,
D. Canoe Country: An Embattled Wilderness. Preface iv-vii & pp. 158-167.
5. Tribute
to Sigurd Olson, Wilderness Society and Friends of the BWCAW.
6. Olson, Sigurd. Open Horizons. New York: Knopf, 1974, pp. 69-73, 91-5, 123-6, 178&9, 193-211.
7. Wilderness
News. Issue on Plan to Deal with Blowdown.
8. Selected short articles from the Boundary Waters Journal. We’ll meet the editor.
Purposes of the Field-Study Program:
1)
Promote
environmental stewardship and critical thinking to aid the protection of our
wildlands.
2)
Create
a field experience to fulfill the Liberal Education requirement (Area X) on
environmental issues..
3)
Orient
students to the rich cultural and natural history of north-central and
northeastern Minnesota
4)
Create
a student-friendly field-environment wherein both incoming and current students
can meet and help to ease
the transition for those entering a new college.
5)
Provide
an interdisciplinary approach to the Wilderness idea and promote critical
evaluation of wilderness policy.
Bemidji
BSU campus is the starting point for our two-week chautaqua. “Bemidji” is an Ojibwe Indian word that means “lake with a river running through it.” Lake Bemidji was rated by Con De Naste Travel Magazine as one of the ten most scenic lakes in the country. With city parks lining its shorelines, the lake is student friendly and offers countless opportunities for recreation. We will rendezvous at the BSU Campus then set up camp at the Bass Creek Group Campsite at Lake Bemidji State Park.
Ely
Charles Kuralt of CBS’s On The Road fame loved Ely so much that he bought the radio station. Kuralt saw in Ely blueberry festivals, polka bands playing to folks who knew the words, cedar strip canoes. He would say of its residents:
Ely is a town full of good people. I know all towns
are, but Ely has always seemed to me especially rich in neighborliness and good
nature and the salt-of-the-earth virtues. It’s hard to be a stranger there. If
your name is Charles, everybody in Ely calls you Chuck.
The Boundary Waters
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness lies 180 miles to the northeast of Bemidji. The largest designated Wilderness east of the Rockies and north of the Everglades, the BWCAW encompasses one million acres of lakes, rivers, forests and marshes. As the nation's only canoe country and lakeland Wilderness, the region is definitive of “primitive America.” Home to over 1,000 lakes ten acres or larger, when combined with the hundreds of backwater ponds and countless miles of navigable rivers leading into and out of the lakes, what you arrive at is a stand alone recipe for a canoe country Wilderness experience.
Itinerary:
Days 1-2: BSU Campus and Lake
Bemidji State Park
Our Northland Heritage Program begins at Lake Bemidji State Park. Over the first two days, we'll engage in activities creating a Northwoods sense of place. Discuss the Northwoods in the context of global environmental issues. Our geology overview will walk you through the Ice Age and the formative period that created a Land of Lakes. Next, share in the rich history of Northland human habitation that dates back to the Woodland Indians. Finally, spend an afternoon searching out the birds of the Northcountry as you learn about biological succession following the retreat of the glacier.
Overview of Environmental Issues
Environmental Education
Geology and the Northwoods Environment
Lake Ecology: Pontoon Tour of Lake Bemidji
Nature Tour on State Park Trails: Plant and Wildlife Identification
Global Environmental Threats to Northern Minnesota:
Climate Change, Mercury Contamination in Lakes, Acid Deposition
Population and Environmental Concerns
Social and Economic Pressures on the Environment
Perspectives on Wilderness
Days 3-5: The Edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Leave the sandy outwash plains of north-central Minnesota for the granite bedrock of Minnesota’s
Arrowhead Region. Before entering the Boundary Waters, make a stop over in the border town of
Ely for a few nights of camping. Here we will learn about a variety of wilderness perspectives including:
the
U.S. Forest Service, outfitters, pro-wilderness and wise-use special interest
groups.
What Charles Kuralt failed to mention was that the town is also a hotbed of political activity. The
most recent political skirmish centered around the presence of trucks on Wilderness portages.
Pro-wilderness advocates have lobbied for the absence of other motorized vehicles; wise
use proponents favor motorized access. You will have the opportunity to hear from both sides in
this wilderness
debate and other perspectives on environmental issues.
Environmental Challenges Confronting the BWCAW
Population, Social and Economic Pressures on the BWCAW
Environmental Ethics
Further Perspectives on Wilderness
Days 5-11: Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness
Leaving the town of Ely, take to the stern of a canoe for a seven-day journey through unspoiled lands. Seasoned backwoods instructors will lead discussions on humans and their environment. Discussions will also focus on the Wilderness Idea and wilderness policy. Calling upon a variety of Northwoods perceptions, consider the meaning of Wilderness as both a cultural construct and natural entity. Nights will be spent around campfires in the company of fellow students and calling loons. Continue discussions of course topics and issues around the campfire or at the shoreline.
Program Fee: A program fee of $400 per
student covers the following expenses:
Instructor/Guide costs
Rental
of Canoes, Tents and Group Gear
Food
in the BWCA
Ground
transportation
Camping
and Permit fees
Museum
fees
Program
reader and David Adams book
Institution costs
Tuition for three credits is extra.
Course
Requirements:
Two tests, keeping a
journal, and a 10-page summary paper comprise the workload for the program.
Tests: Exams will include multiple
choice questions from the Miller text.
The first exam (on Chs. 1-5 & 14) will be held in Ely the day before
we enter the BWCAW. The second exam
will be held upon return to BSU. Other
than the multiple choice questions from Miller chapters, essay questions will
be comprehensive and will cover material from the Miller text, the program
reader, selected sessions on the CD, guest presentations and field activities
during the program. (Each of 2 exams will comprise 20% of grade and remaining
60% will be for the summary paper.)
Short essays/Journal Writing: Throughout the program,
“take-home” or reflection questions will be suggested. These should be incorporated into the
summary paper and hence will help you to progress steadily in writing material
for the paper.
Term paper: A ten-page paper is due one
month after the end of the field study.
This will allow enough time to write a quality paper. The topic of the paper is your overall
notion of “wilderness” and the theme of “Sustaining the Earth” as shaped by the
field study.
Course Conduct:
The program takes place in a
wilderness setting. Loud and unruly behavior cannot be tolerated at our
lakeside campsites. Underage consumption of alcohol or possession of illegal
drugs is expressly forbidden. Failure to obey state laws and the program rules will
result in immediate dismissal without compensation.
RECOMMENDED WEB
READINGS: These will enrich the field
study experience and can be included in the paper.
Boundary Waters Reservation Site http://www.bwcaw.org/
Magazine devoted to the Boundary
Waters, we’ll read some of these articles http://www.boundarywatersjournal.com/
Friends of the BWCA http://www.friends-bwca.org/
Site where people report on trips
they’ve taken http://www.paddling.net/bwca/
Bemidji Co. that makes camping food,
will teach us some of their coking secrets on Mon. June 3rd http://www.cachelake.com/
Nice personal site heralding BWCAW http://www.geocities.com/bwca_minnesota/
International Wolf Center http://www.wolf.org/
Pat Welle’s written testimony
supporting Mn Public Service Policy to approve new power plants with lowest
social and environmental cost, not commercial cost
http://vax1.bemidji.msus.edu/%7Epwelle/puc1.html
Ottertail Power Co. website
on wind energy program
http://www.otpco.com/TW/AboutTailWinds.htm
Indigenous Environmental Network.
International Environmental Organization Headquartered in Bemidji, we’ll visit
their office http://www.ienearth.org/
MN Fish Consumption Advisories, check
your favorite lakes and a few we’ll visit on our canoe trip (Fall Lake,
Basswood, Crooked, Horse, Fourtown) http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/fca/
Climate Change Calculator composed by
reforestation advocacy group American Forests http://www.americanforests.org/resources/ccc/
www.ewg.org
or go directly to list of top recipients http://www.ewg.org/farm/top_recips.php?stab=US
MN Office of Environmental Assistance
webpage promoting non-toxic fishing tackle and reporting scientific results on
loon research, etc. http://www.moea.state.mn.us/reduce/sinkers.cfm
Bird songs on the net (from NY but many
species found in MN)
http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/birds/sparrows.html
& gov. site from Midwest http://www.nps.gov/wica/Bird%20List.htm