PERSONAL PROJECT:
LINKING GLOBAL CHANGE SCIENCE TO YOUR LIFE

	Individual Assignment worth 30 pts Due in the D2L DROPBOX by 11:59 pm Early Due Date  = Wed Nov 24th (will earn you 2 bonus pts for being early)  Final Deadline =  Mon Nov 29th    GRADING RUBRIC (The rubric is NOW posted!)

The assignment involves the following steps:

1. STEP 1: Select one of the project categories below that interests you and begin thinking about possible questions to investiagate that are related to that category.

2. STEP 2: View Film & Videos and Post Commentary:   View one of the full-length films posted in D2L:  HOME, Kilowatt Ours, Who Killed the Electric Car?, An American Nile + Last Oasis,  or FRESH - The Movie.  Also watch two (or more) of the shorter videos. The films will give you background information (and probably raise some issues) about consumerism, sustainability, and the environment.  Hopefully they will also spark some ideas on what you might want to learn about or investigate for your personal project.   

   Descriptions of the FILMS & VIDEOS available for viewing
   (NOTE: some of the full-length films are available only at the
   streaming video links found under the MOVIE  (videos) con in D2L)
   
   

    

   STEP 2: Discussion Board Post

   • After you've watched your full length film, post a thoughtful 100 - 200 word commentary or critique on the D2L DISCUSSION BOARD.

   • Then post a second commentary on ONE of the shorter videos you viewed.

   • You are encouraged to comment on other postings by hitting reply.

   • In your commentaries, describe your personal reaction to the film or video, what you found interesting in it or learned from it, whether you agreed or disagreed with various parts of its message, if you found it hopeful or depressing, if you would recommend it to others -- and/or anything else you would like to say.
     
     Your posting effort will earn you up to 5 points on the Linking-to-Life Assignment.

3. STEP 3: Pose a Question:   Design an investigation plan that connects one or more NATS 101 GC concepts to your project by posing a question and collecting supporting information that allows you to draw a valid conclusion (i.e., make a choice or decision, make a "personal statement," or discover something new and interesting) that links global change science to your life.    More explanation, guidelines, and sample questions to be posted soon!.    

4. STEP 4:  Investigate -- collect the data/information you need, analyze or interpret it by organizing your supporting information, and draw your conclusion based on the supporting information.  More explanation and suggestions for where to find supporting data and information to be posted soon!.

5. STEP 5: Write up a 2 page report that:  (a)  summarizes your question, (b) presents the information /data  you collected and investigated to explore your question, and (c) states what you concluded, decided, or discovered through this process.  More details and guidelines on what's expected in the report to be posted soon!.

6. STEP 6: Illustrate your investigation and what you discovered, decided, or concluded on a single Powerpoint slide.  Your slide will then be included in the CLASS LINKING-TO-LIFE slide show near the end of the semester. More explanation, format guidelines, and examples of slides to be posted soon!.

7. STEP 7: Dropbox submission - Deposit your Report (Step 5) and your Slide (Step 6) in the D2L Dropbox.

DIRECTIONS:

STEPS 1, 2  & 3 -  Select one of the following PROJECT CATEGORIES  (STEP 1) that interests you and think about ways the category relates to one or more GLOBAL CHANGE class topics.  To learn more (or if you can't decide on a category right away) VIEW SOME FILMS (STEP 2) for inspiration.  Then POSE A QUESTION (Step 3) which you will then investigate to learn more about how our class topics link to your own life, your interests, your major, your concerns, etc.  Some possible questions are suggested below, but feel free to pose your own!

PROJECT CATEGORIES
See category choices below or devise your own.

PROJECT CATEGORY	Earth's Global Environment	Energy Conservation	Transportation Options	Water Sustainability	Food & the Environment	Artistic Expression / Advocacy	GC-Savvy Consumerism, Sustainability & Business
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS	How do human's impact the environment in different parts of the world? Are there global examples of sustainable practices? What is my response to the "Home" film: "Listen  . . .to this extraordinary story and decide what you want to do with it."	Where does my energy come from? How can I lower my carbon footprint -- why should I?  Is solar energy viable for me? Will energy policies work? Does our local utility have a "green power" program?	Can I find a "dream car" that balances performance, fuel economy, cost, and "crashworthiness"? What's the most sustainable form of transportation for my needs? What's the most promising type of alternative fuel vehicle? What are + and - of travel by plane vs., train, vs. auto?	Where does my water come from? What are Tucson & Phoenix water managers doing to address sustainability? How is climate change exacerbating the future of water in the arid West -- and the world? What's the connection between energy & water supplies?	How does food production impact global change? How far does my food travel to get to me?   Why does meat add so much CO2? How are food production and deforestation linked? Which Tucson supermarkets provide the most food choices?	Can science and art be linked? How can my art, writing, or poetry express my views on the environment? What does the SGC textbook cover "say" to me about Global Change? Is there an advocacy group that resonates with me?	How can I make "global change savvy" consumer choices? Can a business be run sustainably? Can Energy Star labels help me find "green" electronics and appliances? How can I detect and avoid "greenwashing"?
SUGGESTED FILMS & VIDEOS highlighting = full length movie bold = key short video	HOME Acid Test:  Ocean Acidification sea level rise: Tuvalu: the Sinking Feeling & Tracking Greenland's Glaciers	Kilowatt Ours: a Plan to Re-energize America The Story of Cap & Trade	Who Killed the Electric Car? Understanding Car Crashes, It's Basic Physics	An American  Nile & Last Oasis (Cadillac Desert Episodes)	FRESH - the Movie The Story of Bottled Water Cheeseburger Footprint	Photographic Artist Chris Jordan Earth: Art of a Changing World Midway. Message from the Gyre	The Story of Stuff The Story of Electronics The Interface Road to Sustainability

NOTE:  OTHER CATEGORIES OR ACTIVITIES ARE POSSIBLE!
Devise a category or activity of your own along the lines of the examples posted above!
Then  email Dr H to see if it will be acceptable for this assignment. 

STEP 4 - INVESTIGATE

Click on the category links below to find suggestions of data and other information sources that may help you investigate the question you have posed about one of the categories.  more links for the other categories to be added soon

• Earth's Global Environment

• Energy Conservation
  (also see some of the links under GC Savvy Consumerism)

• Transportation

• Water Sustainability

• Food & the Environment

• Artistic Expression / Advocacy

• GC Savvy Consumerism / Sustainability & Business
  Everyday Use products
  Electronics
  Appliances

STEP 5 - REPORT  of 2 pages¹ containing thw following parts:

• An  Introduction  State what CATEOGORY you chose to explore and WHY it interests you.  Then state the QUESTION you posed for your investigation of this category.  In this paragarph you can also include comments about the film and/or videos you watched for your category.

• Connection to Global Change. Here is where you will explain how your cateogry and/or question relate to one or more of the topics of our course.  This is a key section of  the whole report so spend some time on it and be as specific and as thorough as possible.  Be sure you mention the general course topic(s) by name and number, e.g. Topic #9 Thermodynamics, Topic #14 Anthropogenic Forcing and Global Warming, and then also include more details about what in that course topic connects to your question and investigation and how it does so., e.g., the 2nd law of thermodynamics, the Keeling Curve, etc. etc..

• Data / Information and Methods    Here explain what you did, what data or information you collected, where you got it, and how you analyzed it.  Where possible, include the data (or a summary table or listing of it).

• Findings & Discussion   In this section express what you found out through the analysis of your data / information.  Explain what you discovered and learned, plus how your findings relate to the question you posed.

• A Concluding Paragraph.   State your conclusion (or "Bottom Line").  Then explain what you decided about the question you posed and provide a reasoned explanation of how the information or data you collected in your investigation supports this conclusion. Note that your investigation may open up new questions, or you may find that there is no easy answer to the question you posed originally.   That in itself is a "finding" or conclusion.

• A Reference List citing sources for your information (e.g., include all articles, and webpage URL's from which, you obtained information).  Your citations should by inserted in the text to connect the statement with the source of the information for the statement -- the way to do this can be found HERE.  For a good handbook on documentation of the sources of your research  CLICK HERE  and refer to "Documenting Sources" to see examples of how to reference different types of sources, including websites.
  
  ¹ The total length of the write-up is flexible.  You don't need to email Dr H to ask if you can go over 2 pages or if it should be double or single spaced.  Use the length and spacing you  need to get your information across.  Just don't go to either extreme:   i.e., a "bare bones" report with minimal content or an over-the-top report with too much info or lots of verbage without saying much!.

STEP 6 - POWERPOINT SLIDE  - Create a single Powerpoint Slide -- one (1) slide ONLY, not a presentation! -- that will attractively present your "Linking-to-Life Project" to the class during our class slideshow and which illustrates its connection to global change and/or NATS 101-GC.  

The slide must contain the following items:      See a slide example here:   SAMPLE SLIDE

• your NAME & GROUP #    Don't forget to put your Name  & Group # on your slide!!!

• In  large FONT:  the QUESTION you investigated  (this should be no longer than one sentence and in the form of a question)

• a clear CONNECTION to GLOBAL CHANGE  and our class - list the topic(s) your project connects with  (e.g., #4 Energy & Matter,  #6 Electromagnetic Spectrum, #10 Global Energy Balance) & add a diagram or figure from class that links to your project.

• some words or phrases that specifically explain the connection to Global Change (refer to the diagram(s), or figure(s) from class you added to your slide above).

• as needed, add one or more additional images to illustrate what you investigated, learned or concluded in a creative way

• your CONCLUSION or  "BOTTOM LINE" statement about what you learned, discovered, or found out in your investigation (from your REPORT (Step 5).  (This could be in the form of a recommendation to others in the class, e.g.,  "Bottom Line: stop drinking bottled water -- I found it costs too much and  . . . ..etc. etc."

CAUTION FOR MAC USERS: 

Be absolutely sure your ppt file will view properly on a PC before you submit it to the D2L Dropbox. PC's will not display TIFF *(.tif) files in PowerPoint (ppt or pptx).  If you want to insert an image, save it as a JPEG (.jpg) file BEFORE you put it into the ppt slide. When you copy and paste an image with a Mac, the default is a TIFF file so you must save the image as a ,jpg file whenever you copy and paste it into your PowerPoint.  It will look fine when you view it on your Mac, but will come up blank when the same file is displayed on a PC.  See this LINK for details about problems that sometimes arise.

STEP 7 -- DROPBOX -- Place your REPORT (Step 5) & your SLIDE (Step 6)
                  in the appropriate D2L Dropboxes by the due date:

• Name your REPORT file as follows:  your-name-report.doc  (e.g.  stella-student-report.doc)

• Name your SLIDE file as follows:  your-name-slide,ppt   (e.g.,  stella-student-slide.ppt )