APES Current Events Summer Assignment

Issues in environmental science can change daily. So it is imperative that students keep abreast of current events. With this in mind, students will be required to collect and analyze THREE current event articles (about 1 per month over the summer). All articles must pertain to Environmental Science and have significant science content. All articles must be current (the last 2 years) and taken from a reliable source. The sources may be scientific publications, popular magazines, newspapers or the like. Try the NY Times, the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Treehugger.com, Discover Magazine, etc. Do not simply Google a topic and hope to find an article. Try to find a variety of articles at the state, national or global level. The article should be long enough (more than a few paragraphs) for you to write a substantial summary and well though-out response. You should do three different topics from the list below:

Environmental law / Ecosystems / Climate / Evolution / Preserving our biodiversity / Health risks
Water pollution / Population / Cities and Waste / Geology and Energy Resources / Food/ Agriculture / Air pollution

Journal Criteria

·  The article or printed copy of the article. Stapled together and neat.

·  Typed entry for each article that includes

o  Summary of the article

o  Description of the environmental issues addressed in the article

§  This should be fairly detailed (a paragraph or two) and may need additional research.

o  Description of any economic implications caused by the environmental issues addressed in the article.

o  Analysis:

§  Point of view: Does this article give 2 different view points? Yes or no? If so, what are they?

§  Bias: The order in which information is presented and the amount of text devoted to influencing a reader’s opinion is called bias. Is this article biased, and if so, which way is the article biased (slanted)? In your opinion, does the author give a positive, negative or neutral view of this environmental science topic? Explain.

§  Controversy: Is there any controversy surrounding this article? If so, briefly explain it.

§  Affect on you: How does this topic affect you, or how does it relate to your life?

§  Your personal opinions of the topics in your article: These are your views, not mine. State your perspective on this news article based on your personal knowledge of the topic and your reading of this article. Please to not try to guess what Mrs. Rinyu would want to hear. What I want to hear is your opinion (hopefully well thought out).