LINKING-TO-LIFE TERM PROJECT PART C
Final Project Deliverable
 worth 70 points

 For a RUBRIC for your PROJECT SLIDE, CLICK HERE

New DELIVERABLE directions are now posted - scroll down to see them

#1.  The most critical element of your Project Report is how accurately and effectively you link your project topic and question to our GC 170A1 course material!  There are many questions you could pursue in your project, but do not get sidetracked on an issue that doesn't link directly to one of our class topics.  In your report slide you should explicitly state which of the course topics your project links to (i.e. specifically state one or more topic #'s  such as:  #6 The Radiation Laws,  #8 Thermodynamics and Energy Transformations, #15 Global Warming & Anthropogenic Forcing, etc.). 

For example, if you are interested in the FOOD topic, do not get diverted into exploring  issues of food quality or nutrition, health issues, harmful ingredients, toxics, etc. --While these issues are important, there are not related directly to our course topics.  Important food topics that ARE related to our course might be the reasons why vegetarians have a much lower carbon footprint than meat eaters, the amount of energy or greenhouse gas emissions involved in the production of different food products, the amount of energy needed to transport food products to our grocery stores from their place of origin, why the "locovore" movement is climate-friendly, etc.

#2.  One thing that may help you focus on topics related to the course that are also linked to your life, is to go back and review the Ecological Footprint Calculator:           
                                 http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS FOR PART C:

The assignment involves the following steps:

1. STEP 1: Develop a Research Question --   Pose a question linked to one of the PROJECT CATEGORIES about something you want to investigate or dig into more deeply, based on things you've learned in the course or when you watched the film and videos.
    HINT:  Is your question stated in a way that can actually be answered?  If not, re-think it or rewrite it. Will you be able to obtain data or information that will allow you to address the question?   If not, re-think it or rewrite it

2. STEP 2:  Investigate -- collect the data or supporting information you need, organize it in a way that allows you to analyze and interpret it, and draw your conclusion based on the supporting information. 

3. STEP 3: Summarize your investigation and what you discovered, decided, and/or concluded on a single Powerpoint slide.  . Summarize your investigation succinctly on the slide by including  the items described in STEP 3 below.

4. STEP 4: Dropbox submission - Deposit your Powerpoint slide and supporting references as needed (Step 3) in the D2L Dropbox. under LTL-Part C Project Report  no later than Friday Nov 15th @ 11:59 pm.
   
   

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 You are encouraged to come up with your OWN question to investigate! But if you like, you may use one of these suggestions.	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 1 - POSE QUESTION

 Pose a Question based on things you've learned in the course since then (and Dr H's Part B feedback).  Then develop or refine an investigation plan that connects one or more GC 170A1 concepts to your project by collecting supporting information that allows you to answer or draw a valid conclusion about your question (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.   

STEP 2 - INVESTIGATE

Click on the category links below to find additional suggestions and ideas that may help you investigate the question you have posed about one of the categories. 

• 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

(Note: if you find some links that are broken on these pages, please let Dr H know!)

STEP 3 - SUMMARIZE    New "DELIVERABLE" directions!!

Summarize your project by creating a a single Powerpoint Slide  (one (1) slide ONLY, not a presentation!) -- that succinctly presents the question you explored for your "Linking-to-Life Project," your project's connection to global change, and your "Bottom Line" conclusion. 

The slide must contain the following items:      See Stella's slide example here:   SAMPLE SLIDE

A few additional slide examples will be posted soon.

• your NAME & GROUP #    Do NOT 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.(e.g., from Class Notes, Dr H's lectures, the E-Text or Dire Predictions, etc.)

• 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.  (This could be in the form of a recommendation to others in the class, e.g.,  "Bottom Line: stop drinking bottled water -- My analysis found that it costs too much and  . . . ..etc. etc."

• IMPORTANT: Because you are not going to be required to write up a full report, your slide needs to stand alone and include enough information to explain what you did, as well as demonstrate that you put in a significant effort to do it.  Students who want to go "the extra mile" may submit supplementary material to document their project investigation, but this is not required.

CAUTION FOR MAC USERS submitting slides: 

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. 

To avoid the above problem altogether, you may save your slide as a PDF and submit it in tat format.

STEP 4 - DOCUMENT

 In a Word document, include a list of all the sources you consulted  for your information (e.g., articles, books, data sources,  complete webpage URL's, persons interviewed, etc.).  If you actually conducted an experiment, collected your own data, designed your own analysis, etc.  here's where you should describe what you did in a few sentences -- no longer than a paragraph.  Iif one or more of your references or URLS played a prominent role in your analysis and/or conclusion, include it in this list but you should ALSO  include it up front on the slide.  

 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.

• Save your Word document with the title LTL Documentation and submit it in the Dropbox with your slide
   ( STEP 5)
  

STEP 5 -- DROPBOX

Place your SLIDE and DOCUMENTATION  (Steps 3 & 4) in the appropriate D2L Dropbox by the due date: Final Deadline =  Friday Nov 22th by 11:59 pm

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

Below are the original directions for the paper project report.   You don't need to write a paper like this or include everything that is listed below, but the sections and details described below may help you organize and structure your investigation and assist you in selecting what to put on your slide. Your slide SHOULD include section titles that are similar to the underlined headings listed in the directions below.

 PREVIOUS PROJECT REPORT DIRECTIONS:

Your paper should contain the following parts to organize it.

• Research Question  Start your report with a QUOTE that evokes the theme of your project.  (It can be the same quote you used to introduce Part B, or a new one.)  Then state the  PROJECT CATEGORY (listed above) that you explored and WHY it interested you. Then state the QUESTION you posed  for your investigation of this category (either the original quote from your PART B or a new question that you've found to be better).  In this paragarph you should also include comments about the films/videos you watched in Part C to learn more about your category.

• Connection to Global Change. Here is where you will explain how your Project Cateogry and  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 thoughtful,  as specific and as thorough as possible.  Be sure you mention the general course topic(s) by name and number, e.g. Topic #8 Thermodynamics, Topic #14 Global Warming and Anthropogenic Forcing, and then also include more details about what in that course topic specifically connects to your question and investigation and explicitly how it does so, e.g., the 2nd law of thermodynamics, the Keeling Curve, etc. etc..

• Data & Methods    Here explain what you did, what data or information you collected, where you got it, and how you organized and analyzed it (made a graph, put together a table of information, did a comparison, etc.).  Where possible, include the data (or a summary table or listing of it).

• Findings   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 original question you posed.

• "The Bottom Line" (a short summary and concluding section).   In a section with the heading "The Bottom Line" begin by stating your  conclusion   about the question you posed. Then provide a reasoned explanation of how the information or data you collected in your investigation supports this conclusion.

• [ NOTE: Your investigation might have opened up new questions, or -- after your investigation -- you might find that there is no "easy" answer to the question you posed originally.   That in itself is a "finding" or conclusion.  If this is the case for your project, state what you found out and then also state what new questions your research generated and/or what more would have to be done to answer your the question.]