Environmental Ethics
Matt Tedesco, Beloit College
This course focuses on two sets of issues in environmental ethics. The first set of issues, emerging significantly from practices such as animal agriculture and animal captivity in zoos, research facilities, and other settings, concerns the moral status of non-human animals. What kind of moral consideration are non-human animals owed? Do they have rights, and if so, how extensive are those rights? As a philosophy class, our emphasis is on the analysis of concepts and the critical evaluation of arguments. Beyond gaining a familiarity with the issue of the moral status of animals (along with the second issue of the class, not discussed here, concerning global climate change), students should expect to develop their analytic and evaluative skills through in-class discussion and a range of writing assignments.

Where does your energy come from? Analyzing your energy bill
Mary Savina, Carleton College
Students use utility bills to determine the cost and sources of energy in their households.

An Environmental Assessment of Newark Road Prairie
Sue Swanson, Beloit College
The goal of this exercise is for students to complete a basic environmental assessment of Newark Road Prairie, a 35-acre wet-mesic prairie and state natural area owned by Beloit College. The exercise is completed ...

The Virtual Geology of Beloit College (using handheld PCs)
Sue Swanson, Beloit College
The goals of this exercise are for students to create their own geologic map and cross-section of the Beloit College campus and to describe the geological history of the campus based on their interpretations. The ...

Gathering field data using a GPS and ArcGIS 9.3 Part 1: Collecting Point Data
Jeff Clark, Lawrence University
Students learn how GPS and GIS can be used to gather and analyze point data. The main outcome is a digital map of campus trees classified by size and type. The technical skills learned in this lab will be used in a ...

Home Energy Audit/Retrofits
Barbara Whitten, Colorado College
Home energy audit/retrofits allow students to apply thermodynamic principles to planning and executing a retrofit to make an existing home more energy efficient.

Common Resource Experiment: Simulating Tragedy of the Commons in a Classroom
Dmytro Zhosan, Ripon College; Aaron Swoboda, Carleton College; Steve Holland, Luther College; David Hayes, Coe College
An in-class activity intended to introduce students to the Tragedy of the Commons, its causes and potential solutions.

Spatial Distribution of Lead in Urban Soils
Jeff Clark, Lawrence University
Students gather soil samples and collect information on property attributes (size, exterior type, condition, etc.) in order to analyze the spatial distribution of lead in soils in the neighborhood around Lawrence ...

The Effects of Storm Water Management on Water Quality
Jeff Clark, Lawrence University
This lab follows the skill development lab "Gathering Point Data using a GPS and ArcGIS 9.3." The topic is storm water detention ponds, which are designed in part to improve water quality. Using in-situ ...

Gathering field data using a GPS and ArcGIS 9.3 Part 2: streaming data and contouring
Jeff Clark, Lawrence University
This exercise introduces streaming data collection using ArcGIS and a GPS receiver. Analysis of these data serve as an introduction to the art of contouring and topographic map making. Routines within ArcGIS ...

Meal Satisfaction and Sustainability for Psychology
Lee, Jen (Coe College) With Contributions from Kent Simmonds (Luther College) and Betsy Hutula (ACM)

Understanding and Analyzing an Environmental Controversy
Steve Martin, Ripon College
Students will write a paper that analyzes a particular controversy that is related to the environment or issues of sustainability. In so doing, they will discover the role discourse plays in resolving, or failing to resolve, the different goals of competing interests.

PANning for Facts
Tom Hicks, Coe College
This PANning observation presentation can help participants see the realities of their surroundings. Paired with almost any topic, it can shed new light on participants' experiences with issues of social justice and equality while helping them develop agency.

Looking Back at History
Jim Farrell, Saint Olaf College
Students research an organism/commodity in the colonial period of American history, and write a first-person narrative/autobiography of its history as European settlers reshaped the environment (mental and physical) of North America.

Mineral Resources Museum
Mary Savina, Carleton College
Students trace the mineral/material sources of common objects in their dorm rooms and create a display of these objects with information about material sources, processing, and sinks.

1908 Conservation Conference
This page is authored by Jim Farrell, St. Olaf College.
In groups, students research environmental activists of the early 20th century, and write and deliver a first-person speech expressing that person's concerns to the 1908 Conservation Conference.

Considering Animals Senior Seminar
Kimberly Smith, Carleton College

Oakwood Cemetery Excursions - Beloit, WI
Susan Rice, Beloit College

Exploring in the Footsteps of Columbus: Letters Back Home
Nancy Gates-Madsen, Luther College; Anne-Marine Feat, Luther College
Students will write a letter back home describing a "pristine" wilderness scene of a Caribbean beach. They will compare their descriptions to Columbus's diary chronicling his first impressions of Hispaniola, paying attention to: 1. what is seen (and not seen) 2. the filter/frame of reference used to describe the landscape 3. the rhetoric of the letters.

Experiencing Systemic Thinking
Craig Mosher, Luther College
This teaching activity will assist social work students to experience and understand social and natural systems through observing and writing about their observations.