This project is assigned in our team taught First Year Seminar, Humans and the Environment, which combines literary study with climate science to help students to understand climate science -- and how they can be part of the solution.
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Rationale: Your development as a citizen is one of the many goals of a liberal education. Taking responsibility for one’s contributions, both positive and negative, is part of being a citizen and an adult. In this course, we want to encourage civic engagement by asking you to think about how you can make a contribution to improving the environment. Habits require practice; your project involves making a semester-long commitment to changing some aspect of your daily or weekly activity in a way that is environmentally constructive. Because feedback and support from others is helpful, we have structured this assignment as an ecampus discussion and hope you will use this as an opportunity to get to know one other.
Instructions: For this project, you will choose a project involving making an environmentally informed commitment to change your habits. You will document this project during the semester by posting updates on eCampus in September, at the beginning of the project, and in October, approximately at the midpoint. At the end of the semester you will use your updates as data to write a reflective paper. In your initial post, your midterm update, and your final reflective paper, explain how your project helps the environment.
For the first ecampus post you will describe, in 400-500 words, the commitment you have chosen, explain how you anticipate it will improve the environment, discuss what changes you need to make in daily or weekly routines in order to succeed, and think ahead to possible challenges in maintaining your commitment. NO FLUFF! Provide a one-sentence introduction, at most two sentences of conclusion, and make every word count.
After you have submitted your ecampus post, read what your classmates have posted. React to three different posts from classmates: have you learned something from their posts? Do you have advice for them? Are you intrigued by their choice of commitment? Don’t just say “hi” or “that’s a good project” -- for credit for a response, you need to add to the conversation.
Grading
Your eCampus post will be graded on thorough attention to the instructions, careful explanation of your project, thoughtful analysis of potential pitfalls, and good use of detail to support your ideas, as well as on organization, conciseness, and mechanical accuracy.
Some possible projects:
● Reduce your meat consumption. Limit the amount you eat at every meal, or pick a meal or a day every week to eat vegan or vegetarian
● Write a letter to an elected official twice a month demanding environmentally responsible policies
● Limit food waste: buy what you will eat, and eat what you buy
● If you live at home, turn down the thermostat in the winter or up in the summer
● Buy clothes only from thrift shops for the semester—or, don’t buy any clothing atall
● Purchase a reusable water bottle and coffee cup and skip disposables
● If you live within walking distance of campus or work, pick a day a week to walk orbike instead of driving
● Avoid food packaging, for instance from take-out food, and by choosing lowestpackaging options at the supermarket
● Reduce electric consumption by turning off lights, switching to LED bulbs,unplugging unused appliances, and similar activities. Bonus: Get a solar or hand-crank generator to power your smartphone, or organize a competition between MU dormitories to see which one can reduce electrical consumption the most.
● Reduce your waste stream. Reuse, recycle, repurpose, rethink how much garbage you’re contributing to the local landfills every day and how you can cut back.
If you choose a different project, please consult with one of the instructors for the course.
Posts
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