Climate Change Mitigation Essay

Climate Change Mitigation Essay

Instructions/Descriptions

Climate Change Mitigation Essay

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Introduction and Purpose

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States has the second highest energy consumption of any country in the world, the first highest being China. Though U.S. energy use has decreased in recent years, our overall energy consumption (including water, fuel, and electricity) impacts both U.S. residents and the world as a whole.

In 2010, the United States alone used more energy than all of Europe combined. This is striking considering that, at approximately 309 million, the U.S. population was less than half the size of Europe, which had a population of approximately 711 million in 2010. For more information on world energy consumption, see: http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/IEDIndex3.cfm?tid=44&pid=44&aid=2)

The goal of this assignment is to increase your awareness of your use of resources (water, electricity, petroleum products, etc.). You can use this assignment to connect your own use of resources and energy to larger questions about regional energy needs, environmental pollution, geo-political issues, and even climate change.

Decisions we make (about whether to drive, how warm to keep our rooms, how long to shower, for example) have consequences, costs that our society and the planet overall, has to bear. The assignment asks you to analyze your own use of energy by taking an online quiz and keeping track of and estimating your use of water resources over three days .

Eco Economy

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Carbon Hoofprint: Changing Our Diets to mitigate Climate Change

The first step for 1A is to get a general sense of your “Ecological Footprint.” In order to do this, go to the following site to calculate your footprint using an online tool: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/

See my video on how to do this HERE

Once you reach this site, click on your location (USA). As you take this quiz please use ONLY the detailed answers at the bottom of the screen “ADD DETAILS TO IMPROVE ACCURACY (so not the general/generic ones)

If you are living in a PSU dorm please choose the home of a parent or relative. (Many of our dorms have been updated to be eco-friendly) You can call your parents or others to answer some questions such as monthly electricity or gas bills or simply click “I don’t know.” Also You will likely need to take the quiz more than once since it may require that you gather some information that you may not have immediately on hand. Take notes as you go, keeping track of some of your key answers and noting anything you find interesting. Though this online tool will not provide a precise measurement of how many resources you consume, it will give you a general sense of how much and what you use in your everyday life.

The second step of Part 1A requires you to keep track of your water over the course of three days. Use the attached audit forms to keep track of your usage. Ideally, these three days should represent your common, everyday usage of these resources. Therefore, you should pick two weekdays and a weekend day. Fill out these audit forms electronically and save them on your google drive. Then, calculate your average monthly use by multiplying that number by 10. You can also note anything out of the ordinary for those days in terms of usage.

The final step of Part 1A requires that you make visual graphs to represent what you learned and how you might be able to change your resource use. Make 2 graphs that summarize your monthly water use. Use two different types of graphs (you might, for example, choose a bar chart and a pie chart). Clearly label and title each graph and make sure to include the quantity/unit presented (in this case, gallons).

Then, make ONE graph that shows how resources could be saved through use of one approach to conservation (e.g., use of low-flush toilet). This will require that you re-calculate one of the estimated uses, based on a different flow rate, gallon per flush, type of transportation or car, etc. Then create a graph, showing the amount of resources that would be saved through this change. Again, focus on the use of resources in one month.

Part 2 (70%)—Essay and Analysis

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Note: Even though Part 2 is worth 70% of your grade for this assignment, you cannot successfully complete this part without having successfully completed Part 1.

• Part 2 of this assignment requires that you write a 750-1000 word essay. The essay should analyze your own energy consumption and choices, as well as the environmental factors that might influence those choices, and consider ways that you individually and we as a society can change our resource usage. Your essay should be focused and well-organized, with a clear thesis. You should provide clear and specific evidence for your claims, making use of the readings, information from Part 1, as well as other sources (see below). Discuss your findings and graphs and fully integrate them into your essay!

Sources for Part 2 : You should use specific examples from the readings and your audit. This assignment also requires that you use at least two other authoritative sources to supplement the knowledge you’ve gained. These do not need to be academic scholarly sources, but they should be reliable.

For example, you might use information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) given above or other government sites, or you might use information from a reputable non-profit on non-government agency. You might find good sources on water, such as the Portland Water Bureau site http://www.portlandoregon.gov/water/55162 or the following post: http://visual.ly/water-we-eat.

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As you develop ideas for your essay, you should consider the following questions:

• How resourceful are your own habits, and how/where did you develop those habits?
• What are some of the factors that lead to those habits and how are habits changed?
• How might your home and neighborhood be different than others, and how might those differences influence your resource usage?
• How are neighborhoods here in Portland possibly different from neighborhoods in other places or cities you know?
• How do your own needs (getting to school or work, shopping, laundry) influence your usage, and how might they be different than others. This can apply to habits other than water consumption such as food choices or travel choices.

You should also consider larger questions about our overall consumption in the U.S., taking into consideration why that consumption is relatively large and the impact that it has.

Keep in mind that you will not be able to completely address all of the above questions. Ultimately, these questions should serve as a guide to brainstorm your ideas and help focus your thinking on the topic.

Three-Day Water Audit

Track your use of water over the three days. Again, you should pick days that represent your common usage and that cover two weekdays and one weekend day. I obtained the “gallons per flush” values and flow rates from the PDX Water Bureau (see http://www.portlandoregon.gov/water/55162); these are averages of basic fixtures. You can check the Portland Water Bureau site to more accurate readings for your own utilities. You should adjust these numbers as needed. Keep track of the minutes of washing and number of flushes, etc., calculating the gallons of water you use each day, based on the estimates provided.

Toilet flush = ______3.5______ gallons per flush. [ low-flow and newer toilets use only 1.6 gal/flush]

Shower flow rate = _____5 ___ gallons per minute. [newer shower heads use 2.5 or less]

Bathroom sink flow rate =_____2.2_____ gallons per minute.

Kitchen sink flow rate = _____2.2______ gallons per minute.

Note: Pick two weekdays and one weekend day

___/20% Development of ideas, including the development of your thesis and claims

• You develop compelling ideas that demonstrate that you have thought about the issue and considered various points of view.
• Your paper is focused includes a clear and compelling thesis which is developed throughoutthe paper.

___/20% Integration of sources and compelling examples

• The paper uses clear, vivid, and appropriate examples to back up your claims, and demonstrates that you have read closelyand critically.
• The paper presents an ability to analyze and synthesize ideas, and to connect the ideas in the sources to your own claims.
• You use sources to support your analysis (instead of allowing the sources to simply speak for themselves).
• You make use of class readings and at least two other sources (see assignment details).
• You use active and appropriate signal phrases/verbs to introduce sources and ideas.

___/15% Overall organization and fluency of observation

• There is a clear logic to the structure of the paper and the flow of ideas.
• The paper uses clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.
• The paper has a strong introduction and conclusion, and an original title that reflects the ideas in your paper.
• Your paragraphs are focused.
• You elaborate on your ideas using specific examples to back up your claims.

___/ 15% Writing style and tone, and grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation in observation

• The tone of your observation is consistent and appropriate for audience.
• Your writing is concise (you emphasize “quality” over “quantity”).
• You work to avoid errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation, particularly errors that may impede the readers’ ability to understand your ideas.
• Your vocabulary is appropriate and varied.

Climate Change Mitigation Essay

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