Global Environmental Change

Global Environmental Change - EBIO 1040

Cades Cove, Smoky Mountain
National Park, photo by B.E. Fleury

These course materials are intended for students enrolled in EBIO 1040 for Fall 2014.

EBIO majors must take EBIO 2050, offered by Dr. Blum.

Lecture Syllabus

Class Schedule

Terms

Lecture Notes

Global Change Playlists

The Louisiana Environment

Links

Return to B. Fleury's Home Page

Course Philosophy and Goals

Change is an integral part of natural systems. The constant cycling of energy and materials through ecosystems maintains a delicate natural balance. Human impacts on ecosystems, however, have affected natural cycles in many unexpected ways. By changing both the magnitude and timing of energy and materials cycling through global systems, by reinforcing some processes and restricting others, we are slowly but steadily changing the face of the planet we share. Some of these changes are desirable, but most are not.

Somewhere in the course of human evolution, we have lost touch with the Earth. Most of us neither understand or appreciate the true complexity of our environment, nor the many ways in which we have disturbed it. This class will attempt to acquaint you with the natural processes that keep our planet alive, and the many ways in which we have upset those processes. This class will also help make you an environmentally literate citizen, who can speak (and vote) with authority on environmental issues. You will learn the language and conceptual structure of basic ecology and environmental science. This knowledge will allow you to develop informed opinions on a wide range of environmental issues.

Course Requirements

Readings: Textbook and other reading assignments are listed below. The text should reinforce the lecture material, and fill in the cracks between lecture topics. Additional outside readings (book excerpts and journal articles) appear in italics. These outside readings are available on BlackBoard.

Exams: Exams will be based on materials covered in lecture and in your outside readings. Exams will not include topics in the textbook that are not specifically covered in class. The general format of the exams will be about 50/50 short-answer essays and objective questions (definitions or fill-ins). The final exam will be cumulative.

Lectures: The full text of all lecture presentations is available through the links to the "lecture notes" at the bottom of the page. The online lecture notes contain the full text of every slide. The lecture notes and term list, though an essential resource for exam review, are no substitute for regular attendance. Lecture presentations include extensive multimedia material, more detailed explanations of critical concepts, and LOTS of helpful hints on what you need to know for the exams.

Grading: Exams will be based solely on material covered in lecture, therefore attendance at lecture is strongly recommended. There will be three one-hour lecture exams and a cumulative final exam. Each of these exams will count for 100 points. There will be no make-up exams or extra credit work under any circumstances. Missing a lecture exam will result in a grade of zero for that exam. The lowest lecture exam, however, will be dropped before calculating your final grade. You must take at least two of the lecture exams and the final exam in order to pass the course. Each student will be expected to uphold the ideals of academic integrity expressed in the Honor Code of their college or division. The LAS Honor Code, which can be found at: http://tulane.edu/college/code.cfm. Violations of the honor code will be prosecuted.

Initial grades will be based on a standard percentage scale (see table below). Before final grade are assigned, however, significant individual improvement over the course of the semester will be considered as an important factor in the final grade. Further information about examination format and content will be given in lecture. Final grades will be calculated as a percentage of 300 points as follows:


A 93-100	B+ 87-89	C+ 77-79	D+ 67-69
A- 90-92	B 83-86	C 73-76	D 60-66
	B- 80-82	C- 70-72	D- 55-59

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Course Topics


Date	Topic	Readings - 8th Ed.

August

26	Introduction to Global Change	Ch. 1-2
28	Attitudes Toward Nature	White

September

2	The Balance of Nature	Ch. 5, Calhoun
4	Earth Systems, Feedback Loops, and Gaia	Ch. 4, 6
9	Cycles of Nutrients and Materials	Ch. 4
11	Energy Flow and Ecosystem Structure	Ch. 3
16	Equilibrium, Feedback, and Disturbance - Community Processes	Ch. 5, Reice
18	Origin and History of Life on Earth
23	Biodiversity and Extinction	Ch. 16
25	Lecture Exam #1
30	Conservation 1	Ch. 16, 17

October

2	Conservation II - Ecosystems as Islands
7	Introduction to Population Ecology
9	Fall Break
14	Human Population	Ch. 8
16	Soil – Fertility and Degradation	Ch. 14
21	Agriculture, Food, and Water	Ch. 13, 18
23	Lecture Exam #2
28	Global Change - Fossil Fuels and their Global Impact	Ch. 10, 11
30	Global Change - Alternate Sources of Energy	Ch. 12

November

4	Global Climate Change I	Ch. 20
6	Global Climate Change II
11	Global Climate Change III
13	Global Climate Change III
18	Global Climate Change IV	Taylor, Fischetti, Penland
20	Trash	Ch. 23, Rathje
25	LA. Environment - Environmental Racism	Ch. 2, 7, Bullard
27	Thanksgiving Holiday

December

2	Sustainable Lifestyles	Ch. 1, 24
4	Lecture Exam #3

Dec. 12 (Fri)	Final Exam , 10:30 - Noon