Tuesday, May 6, 2014

5/6/14

Tonight's homework is the following:

12A - Continue working to set up and execute your plan.

12CD - Begin conducting background research and choose a topic of interest. A page of background information, the idea for your action/design/intervention is due on Thursday or Friday (depending on if you are taking the AP Lit exam on Thursday. Also, please bring back your AP Review book.

Unit 8 Project Environmental Science Action Research

Introduction

Over the past eight months, we have a discussed a wide variety of topics concerning how the Earth and its various living and nonliving systems interact and how humans impact those systems. Now that you have a deeper understanding of the environment and the factors that affect it, you are in a place to put that knowledge to some use. Your final major project for semester will be to research an actionable topic of interest, develop a plan for action/experimentation/design, implement it, and analyze/reflect on its results.

Procedure

1. Think about topics that you have been interested in over the course of the school year, conduct background research, choose a topic, and write up a brief summary of your research thus far.

Product - One page submission detailing topic choice and a summary of background research thus far. Due date: Thursday, May 8th.

2. Continue background research.

3. Reach out to an advocacy group concerned with your topic about ideas for action/experimentation/design ideas/background research materials/etc.

Product - BCC’ed email to pwhelton@sof.edu reaching out to advocacy group. Due date: Friday, May 9th.

4. Complete background research and develop a clear plan for experimentation and/or action.

Product - 4 to 6 page written submission of background research and action plan. Due date: Friday, May 16th.

5. Implement action plan.

6. Analyze and evaluate results of action/experimentation and write about your findings/reflections.

Products - 3 to 5 page analysis/reflection. Draft due date: Friday, May 30th. Final due date: Wednesday, June 4th.

Potentially Interesting Topics (not an exhaustive list)

For experimentation…
      Composting
      Particulate matter in buildings
      Using grey water
      Constructing and optimizing bioreactors
      Constructing and optimizing vertical farms
      Using solar power effectively in NYC
      Measuring the effects of green roofs
      Redesigning packaging to minimize waste/material usage
      Using wind power effectively in NYC

For design…
      Designing and constructing a solar heater
      Designing and modeling green roofs
      Designing and constructing a composter
      Designing and modeling an ecologically sustainable city
      Designing and building a window farm

For action…
      Green roofs in cities
      Lowering emissions from vehicles
      Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas
      Recycling in schools
      Composting in cities
      Conserving water
      Changing building design in cities
      Conserving electricity
      Reducing emissions in cities
      Ensuring clean drinking water/proper wastewater treatment
      Eating lower on the food chain
      Slowing population growth

      Vertical farming in cities

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