How Clean is Nuclear Energy? An Evaluation of the Environmental Impacts of Nuclear Power as an Alternative Energy Source part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This writing assignment is in lieu of a laboratory activity during the discussion of nuclear chemistry within the general chemistry curriculum.

The True Cost of Clean Water: A General Chemistry Lab part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Students investigate methods to purify a sample of "dirty" water to drinking water. They'll look at three different methods for purification: distillation, filtration, and iodine (I2) treatment. They then will calculate the monetary cost of purifying water.

Swimming Upstream: Relating Trapped Energy in Organic Hydrogenations to Use of Reduced Hydrocarbons as Energy Sources part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
An activity designed to inform the student of the potential and pitfalls of storing energy by the generation of reduced organic molecules, particularly as pertains to the generation of ethanol from molecules of a greater oxidation state and the ultimate fate of oxidized carbon when the energy potential is realized. As a part of a discussion of sustainability issues, the activity will be part of a discussion of global energy generation and use and couched in a form similar to the US energy flow trends.

What is the True Cost of Burning Coal? part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This activity is a framework for general chemistry students to explore the costs, ethics and alternatives to coal-fired electricity.

Alternative Deicers: An Application of Freezing Point Depression part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Road deicers raise several environmental and cost concerns. In this activity students consider alternatives while investigating colligative properties.

The Sustainability Triangle: How Do We Apply Science to Decision Making? part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This writing assignment uses the "Sustainable Development Triangle" as a framework to critically evaluate an environmental issue of the student's choice. This learning activity provides an opportunity for an introductory chemistry student to use the sustainability's "Triple Bottom Line" as a tool to use material learned in the classroom to look at how environmental science helps inform economic and social/cultural factors in the development of sustainable solutions to our environmental challenges.

Science and Sustainability: A Freshman Seminar Course part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
The backbone of the course is made of two books: Berger and Luckmann's The Social Construction of Reality and Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Students will discuss these readings in a seminar format, write papers, take exams, carry out a chemistry experiment using mass spectroscopy, and undertake a research project into current pedagogical approaches to science and sustainability.

Acidification of Freshwater Streams and Lakes part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Students research the acidification of freshwater streams and lakes, identify at least one of the sources, and determine how their daily activities contribute to the problem.

Integrating Sustainability Concepts into First Quarter General Chemistry part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
The goal of this project is to insert sustainability concepts and issues into the general chemistry curriculum. Specifically, I focus on carbon as the example to be considered throughout the quarter.

Researching Ocean Acidification in General Chemistry part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This research-based student project used the problem of ocean acidification to cover the sustainability concept of fossil fuel combustion and the disciplinary concepts of kinetics, equilibrium, acid-base chemistry and solubility.

Bottled Versus Tap Water: What You Drink and Why part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
In the activity students learn about the properties of solutions, acidity and pH, electrolytes versus non-electrolytes, and solution concentration. Hopefully, this activity will also dispel common misconceptions about tap water and bottled beverages.

An Environmental Analysis of Lake Waughop part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Through an analysis of water quality in a nearby lake, students are introduced to basic chemical techniques such as titrations (both acid/base and oxidation/reduction), atomic absorption spectrometry, and uv/vis spectrometry

Organic Chemistry: Friend or Foe? An Organic Chemistry Special Investigation part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Students are asked to work in teams to find a claim in the media relating to the impact of an organic compound (or class of organic compounds) on the environment and its inhabitants. Their chosen compound should have an effect on the sustainability of plant or animal life, or, in particular, the sustainability of human health.

Comparison of Traditional and Green Chemistry Methods for Extracting Essential Oils from Spices part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This assignment connects aspects of green chemistry and environmental stewardship with some of the skills and theory involved in natural products chemistry and separation methods.

Chemistry Laboratory Waste Evaluation part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
From the scientific viewpoint, this evaluation will help the students see a process instead of just a data collection event, and they will get to practice estimating amounts. They will also need to determine the products of any reactions performed during the experiment. From the standpoint of sustainability, this evaluation is intended to help the student recognize the environmental "cost" of an experiment-in consumables used and in waste products generated.

How Many Plants Make a Future? The Carbon Dioxide Challenge part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This activity focuses on the role of photosynthesis in a sustainable future. Students explore the effect of photosynthesis and respiration in a 'closed systems' containing plankton, marine plants, and fish. By calculating carbon dioxide uptake and production in these systems, they predict a plant: animal ratio sufficient to maintain a system in carbon dioxide 'balance' for one hour.

Environmental Justice in Tacoma: A Non-Majors Qualitative Assessment of Pollution and Public Policy in the Local Community part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This activity is designed to get non-environmental majors to qualitatively examine their own community for evidence of environmental injustice. Using a mix of evidence from online sources (U.S. Census, EnviroMapper, Toxic Release Inventory, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, etc.) and field observations, student groups describe the population and pollution sources found within an assigned elementary school district in Tacoma.

Creating a Connection between Everyday Life and Stoichiometry using ChemPrime part of Pedagogy in Action:Partners:ChemEd DL:Activities
This activity allows the student to access a webpage that provides examples of stoichiometry using terminology and objects they use in their everyday life. This activity can help a student make a connection between the complex chemical concept of stoichiometry and their current knowledge.

Ocean Acidification part of Cutting Edge:Oceanography:Activities
Students choose shell fragments from different species of Molluscs and calculate percent lose after soaking in different ph solutions for different periods of time. They research ocean acidification and especially ...

Making Sustainable Business Decisions In Four Different Industries and Their Effect on People (Social), Planet (Environment), and Profit (Economics) part of SISL:Activities
The student will gain a better understanding of "Global Warming" and the "Triple Bottom Line" by viewing the first two videos. Further the CEO2 game will introduce many new ideas/options that specific industries have to select from in achieving their desired corporate/company goals.