In this lesson, you will again apply the knowledge that you have gained in Module 1 to analyze one or more energy- and sustainability-related media selections. The selection may come from a variety sources and may be in various forms. Please keep in mind that you may encounter and utilize many of the terms from the first Module in this (and future) Modules, so it would not hurt to review them from time to time. I suggest at least looking over the "Language of Energy and Sustainability" terms and phrases at the ends of each Lesson in Module 1.
You will be presented with multiple themes this week. Pick one theme to analyze. I suggest at least browsing all materials before choosing a theme.
Please note that you will make a Yellowdig discussion board post this week based on the theme you choose.
Note that at the end of the lesson you also have an important assignment due, which is based on your current understanding of issues related to whichever book you choose to read in Module 3. You will base part of your analysis in the following Modules on this submission. Do not forget to do this assignment! It should not take long, as you should not do any reading or other investigation before coimpleting it. It is meant to illustrate your current thinking about these topics, without any additional research. See the Calendar for all due dates.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
See the assignment pages for all the specific details.
Requirement | Submission Location |
---|---|
Lesson 6 YellowDig Discussion Board post on chosen theme | Modules tab > Lesson 6 |
Lesson 6 Content Analysis: Preliminary Thoughts on Book Topic | Modules tab > Lesson 6 |
If you have any general course questions or questions about this lesson's content, please post them to our HAVE A QUESTION? discussion forum located under the Modules tab. I will check that discussion forum regularly to respond as appropriate. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses and comments if you are able to help out a classmate. If you have a question but would like to remain anonymous to the other students, email me through Inbox.
If you have something related to the material that you'd like to share, feel free to post to the Coffee Shop forum, also under the Modules tab.
The goal of this lesson is for you to apply the knowledge you've gained in the first Module to a contemporary artifact in energy and sustainability. Pick one of the themes below to analyze. I strongly suggest taking a look at the assignment details prior to reading and/or listening to it, and before deciding which theme to analyze. This will help frame your thinking and home in on key details. I also suggest at least browsing through each of the selections below in order to make a well-informed choice regarding which theme to analyze.
The assignment is to analyze and post about one. If you analyze more than one, you may earn more Yellowdig points, but it isn't necessary if your first post is engaging and thorough. You are encouraged to go through each of the selections, as these are all really important contemporary issues. However, your only required to analyze one.
In this podcast, the folks at Vox explore the concept of degrowth, which puts a name to something that we have explored in this course. While there is not one universal definition to point to, degrowth refers to minimizing and/or eliminating the influence of GDP on economic policy and instead pursuing quality of life and sustainable use of natural resources. In order to do this, wealthy countries in particular must stop growing economically, and even shrink. If you choose this topic, base your discussion board post this week on this artifact.
In addition to the podcast, you should read through this article and video [1]about degrowth from the World Economic Forum as well as this article [2] from The Conversation. These are meant to help you think about degrowth and its pros and cons.
As you can see by the title, this is a pretty big topic! As you all know, the U.S. needs to decarbonize (become carbon neutral) by around 2050, and the world soon after. Okay, that makes sense; but how do we actually make that happen? It is not as if we can wave a magic wand and convert everything to renewables! Even if we could do that, the grid would need to be remade and things such as storage and smart grid technology would need to be ubiquitous. There are many other questions to be answered. As demand continues to rise, do we have enough land to accommodate the new generation and infrastructure? What will we do for liquid fuels? How much will this cost? And more. This podcast guest does a great job of explaining the devilish details involved in the necessary transition to decarbonization. You may want to review Lesson 4 prior to listening to this.
In this podcast, Jesse Jenkins of Stanford University talks to Ezra Klein (my favorite news & information podcaster) about different pathways to decarbonization in the U.S. If you choose this topic, base your discussion board post this week on this artifact.
You may want to review Lesson 4 for this course. You may also want to browse the Net Zero America website [5], which this interview is partially based on. (The site was created by the Princeton ZERO lab, which Professor Jenkings leads.) If you are not familiar with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), you may also want to browse "The Inflation Reduction Act: Here’s what’s in it [6]" by McKinsey & Company and the one page summary [7] of the IRA from Democratic Senators.
In another The Ezra Klein Show podcast, Leah Garcés discusses the true costs (externalities alert!) of that all American pastime: Eating meat. Lots and lots of meat. According to Our World in Data, Americans ate [11]nearly 300 pounds of meat in 2020, and according to Ms. Garcés, we were projected to eat almost a pound a day in 2022. While it may be delicious (depending very much on personal preference), eating meat has a host of sustainability and animal welfare impacts.
In this podcast, Ezra Klein talks to Leah Garcés about the many (deliberately) hiddent impacts of the meat industry. If you choose this topic, base your discussion board post this week on this artifact.
Well, that's all she wrote for Lesson 6! After this, you are on your way to Module 3, in which you will analyze an entire book, then Module 4, in which you will analyze a movie. You should be able to do the following after completing the Lesson 6 activities:
Complete all activities in Lesson 6, located under the Modules tab.
For any assignments (e.g., Yellowdig discussion board), it will be helpful to look at the rubric before answering. You will see a button that allows you to view it below the assignment.
These activities are to be done individually and are to represent YOUR OWN WORK. (See Academic Integrity and Research Ethics [23] for a full description of the College's policy related to Academic Integrity and penalties for violation.)
If you have questions about the assignment, please post them to the "HAVE A QUESTION?" Discussion Forum. I am happy to provide clarification and guidance to help you understand the material and questions. Of course, it is best to ask early.
Links
[1] http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/what-is-degrowth-economics-climate-change/
[2] http://theconversation.com/critics-of-degrowth-economics-say-its-unworkable-but-from-an-ecologists-perspective-its-inevitable-211496
[3] https://podcasts.musixmatch.com/podcast/today-explained-01hjz7abr0s9jvzptbvqrevwxr/episode/blame-capitalism-degrowing-pains-01hbh8dy7r6y9txkmptqaq21m8
[4] https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast
[5] https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/?explorer=year&state=national&table=2020&limit=200
[6] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/the-inflation-reduction-act-heres-whats-in-it
[7] https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/inflation_reduction_act_one_page_summary.pdf
[8] https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-ezra-klein-show-2/episode/the-single-best-guide-to-decarbonization-ive-heard-206882473
[9] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/emsc240/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.emsc240/files/Ezra%20Klein%20Show%20-%202022%20-%20The%20Single%20Best%20Guide%20to%20Decarbonization%20I%E2%80%99ve%20Heard%20-%20transcript.pdf
[10] http://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-jesse-jenkins.html
[11] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-meat-consumption-per-person
[12] https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-ezra-klein-show-2/episode/the-hidden-costs-of-cheap-meat-209096943
[13] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/emsc240/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.emsc240/files/Ezra%20Klein%20Show%20-%202023%20-%20The%20Hidden%20Costs%20of%20Cheap%20Meat%20-%20transcript.pdf
[14] http://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-leah-garces.html?showTranscript=1
[15] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/emsc240/node/512
[16] https://www.perc.org/2011/06/10/the-promise-and-problems-of-free-market-environmentalism/
[17] http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2014/08/terry_anderson.html
[18] https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-2/
[19] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/direct-air-capture-co2-environment-climate/
[20] https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-07-03/can-direct-air-capture-make-real-impact-climate-change
[21] https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2017/05/pros-and-cons-on-negative-emissions-prospects/
[22] https://www.iea.org/reports/direct-air-capture
[23] https://www.ems.psu.edu/undergraduate/academic-integrity/academic-integrity-undergraduates