ENVR 202 ASSIGNMENT 3

HUXLEY COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Western Washington University
Envr 202 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: A SOCIAL SCIENCE APPROACH
Professor Gene Myers
Assignment 3: Decisions and Solutions
DUE Dec. 1, in class. (16 points)

Purpose:
Once an environmental problem is identified and understood, and once different positions on it are clarified, and facts are verified, we are in a position to make intelligent progress toward solutions. Seldom is an environmental problem solved in one step or action. Usually complex problems such as these persist and change, as we realize weaknesses of one solution, or as we see the need to include some excluded perspective, or as a new scientific understanding grows, or indeed as the problem improves - or worsens.

There are several ways to fulfill this assignment; the questions you must answer are less prescribed, and you are invited to be more creative in how you research and formulate it. Indeed, one option is not primarily research-based, but includes an opportunity for you to learn hands-on from your community through a community-based, service-learning project (see option #6).

The spirit of the assignment is to explore one or both of these questions:
A) How has a decision been reached about what to do about the issue you have been studying?
B) What solution or solutions has or have been proposed, or may be possible, to the problem you have been studying?

The following are some suggestions for how you might go about answering these (if you have another idea, feel free to check it out with me and then pursue it):

1) Report on a success story related to your issue.

2) Research the biography of a person whose work contributed to solving your problem, or a related one.

3) Examine the actions of a specific decision maker.

4) Report on a law, court decision, or Environmental Impact Statement on a key topic in your issue.

5) Propose a solution yourself.

6) Undertake a Service Learning project related to your topic, and write up your reflection on your expereince.

7) As a final option, you may follow this set of questions in doing your analysis. (Some of these questions help stimulate your ideas if you're considering one of the other options.)

1) Report on a success story related to your issue.

Discover a success story about your issue, or one like it. Find out about legislation that was passed, about a court case that succeeded, about a bureaucracy that adapted, or better yet, about a community that come together and cooperated to solve a problem. Don't ignore industries that have made big improvements or become leaders in their field. Research a key "whistle blower" who stepped forward and brought to light an environmental wrong or violation within her or his workplace. There are many candidates out there. Here are a couple of places to start looking, but look for your own, too:

Horizons Solutions site lists many interesting examples that might provide models for others to follow.
Center for Excellence of Sustainable Development Success Stories.
Renew America lists success stories. See their 8th Annual Award Winners, for some examples.
-You might also find something interesting through the Alliance for National Renewal web page.
-Check out this book, which is on reserve: Eco Pioneers: Practical Visionaries Solving Today's Environmental Problems, by Steve Lerner. It has many examples. See the Table of Contents to see if it could help you.

2) Research the biography of a person

whose work contributed to your problem, or a related one. You may have already discovered an important person in your field. If not, here is a list to get you started: Figures in environmental history. It's up to you to find out about this person's contributions and to tell the story of their influence on environmental events during their period of history. For contemporary figures, you can also use the book mentioned above by Steve Lerner. Also, several environmental magazines carry stories on leading figures. Wilson Library has a good set of resources in the Reference room for biographical research.

3) Examine the actions of a specific decision maker.

From your knowledge of the issue, choose a person who has important decision-making power, and look at their decision on matters bearing on your issue. How you do this is up to you, but it should be based on enough research that you can explain the factors that constrained the person's choice. You should also be able to put their decision in the context of the problem itself, showing why it is or is not adequate to the environmental context of the decision.

There are some good web sources to help, especially with public officials. Try Project vote smart; consult its Biographical Data Page for members of Congress, you can find position statements, summaries of ratings of office-holders by various interest groups, Congressional Committee assignments, and other information. One rating not to miss for environmental issues is the League Of Conservation Voters' Scorecard.

4) Report on a law, court decision, or Environmental Impact Statement

on a key topic in your issue. For this option, you will need to use the resources in Wilson Library's Government Documents collection. Get assistance to locate an EIS or other document related to your issue (such as a National Forest managment plan, or the species recovery plan for the Snake River salmon, or an EIS for a new construction project or policy). Familiarize yourself with the organization of the document before you pick parts to read. Provide a summary of the preferred option, and a critique of the way the issue is dealt with by the EIS.

Alternatively you can look up a law and its history; or research a court decision (for this you may need to go to the Whatcom County Courthouse Law Library) in which a law was interpreted. Summarize what was at stake in the law or court case, and what action was taken or what decision was made. These are slightly more advanced tasks, but certainly not beyond what any college-educated person should be capable of doing. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

5) Propose a solution.

You may propose your own solution to the issue you've been studying. You should draw from several different sources (from the web, and from print media) to make a cohesive strategy for positive change. Use what you have learned from reading about the issue to anticipate what will and what will not work as a solution.

6) Service-Learning experience & reflection.

Service-Learning means you work with others to help solve real-world problems, at the same time as you pursue your own learning goals. It is neither volunteering nor an internship. Volunteering often invovles work primarily for the sake of others, not your own development; and an internship may be undertaken only for your own education, without also helping out in your community. Service-Learning is mid-way between these. It gives you hands-on knowledge, and increases the relevance of your academic work, but it also meets real community needs. Service-Learning balances learning with reciprocity to your community. It's a great option for this assignment, because by now you've studied your issue, are informed, and can make good use of helping implement a real solution.

To do this option, you need to have chosen an appropriate issue for your other papers earlier in the quarter. What makes it appropriate? This: There must be a local organization working on the issue which you can join up with to help out. This organization will be your partner for a Service-Learning experience, and you need to make your arrangements with them early on - by Oct. 13th as explained below. This option requires a 10-hour commitment of time to work in the field with members of your chosen organization. Then you will write a reflective essay about what you learned from the experience, and how it bears on resolution of the problem you've been studying. Here are details on how to go about it:

  1. When you are deciding what topic to pick for the papers this term, consult with Stacey Wood at the Center for Service-Learning (x 7542, or staceyrwood@hotmail.com). She will help you identify an organization of interest to you. Then you can start the first paper, knowing that you work will culminate in an engaging service learning activity.
  2. Contact Stacey Wood by Oct. 6.
  3. With her help, find out how to contact the organization, and arrange to meet or speak with someone from there. You should find out about their work, and make arrangements for your Service-Learning time.
  4. You need to schedule a minimum of 10 hours of work on-site with your partner organization. These hours must be scheduled by Friday Oct. 13. Your 10 hours of service-learning with the organization must be completed in time for you to write your last paper by Dec. 1.
  5. The Center for Service-Learning will ensure that these hours are verified by providing documentation for your community site supervisor to complete (e.g. a time log and/or brief evaluation form).
  6. The Center for Service-Learning will also provide you with information on doing a reflective essay on your experience. This essay should address the following question: What did you learn about the challenges and promise of attempts to solve the issue you've been studying as a result of your Service-Learning experience? You may want to discuss other topics as well. The essay should be about 3 pages long, and the format is up to you.

7) Rather than doing one of the above options that calls for more creativity, you may take a more formulaic approch. In that case, follow these questions to do the assignment. NOTE: YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THIS OUTLINE ONLY IF YOU ARE NOT DOING ONE OF THE OTHER OPTIONS.

Your purpose is to examine what went into the decision to pursue a particular solution, and what the effects of that solution were. Depending on your issue, various kinds of considerations will come into play, and different kinds of information will be important in answering the question.

Topic:
Your topic is a decision to follow a particular solution strategy, and the effects of that strategy.

Procedure:

  1. Provide a concise summary of the problem and the solution strategy.
  2. Explain who did make, is making, or will make the decision to follow this solution strategy. Was it an administrative or executive decision? An organizational one? A legislative one? Or is the decision distributed among several actors?
  3. Depending on whether the decision is a past one or one that is very recent or even yet to be made, pick a) OR b):
    1. If the decision you are examining has not yet been made, answer these questions:
      1. What options are available to solve the problem?
      2. What factors are being weighed in choosing between these options?
      3. Who or what may be affected, and how?
    2. If the decision was made in the past (long enough ago to see its effects), answer these:
      1. What were the intended effects? Did they occur?
      2. Were there any unintended effects, whether positive or negative? If so, what were they?
      3. Who gained and who lost in these results?
  4. Give your assessment of the situation as well as you can; specifically, answer the following:
    1. If the decision has yet to be made, which alternative should be chosen, and why?
    2. If the decision was made in the past, was it a good one or not, and why?

Evaluation:
Discussion (12 pts); Writing (4 pts).

Writing & technicalities: Be sure to see the general instructions.

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